What are the disadvantages of eating raw lettuce?
Raw lettuce is incredibly nutritious. One cup of lettuce provides 94% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting and bone formation.
Lettuce is considered a superfood.
However, according to Heather Anita Garcia, a nutritionist working in Los Angeles (USA), some of these nutrients are wrapped inside the fibrous cell wall, meaning our intestines have to work harder to absorb them.
When lettuce is eaten raw, some of the nutrients are hidden behind intact cell walls and pass through our intestines without being absorbed, explains Garcia, according to health magazine Verywell Health .
Raw or cooked lettuce is better?
Cooking lettuce can make it easier to digest. However, cooking can reduce the antioxidant and mineral content of lettuce.
Another advantage is that raw lettuce can fight certain types of cancer. According to a study published in 2021 in the scientific journal Cancer Epidemiology, raw lettuce has a stronger effect in reducing the risk of pancreatic cancer than cooked lettuce.
Gently crush the lettuce leaves to help break down the fibrous walls and help reduce its bitterness.
The best way to eat salad
To counteract the drawbacks of eating raw lettuce, you can gently crush the lettuce leaves to help break down the fibrous walls, Garcia reveals. Crushing lettuce can also reduce its bitterness. So this may be the best way to enjoy lettuce, according to Verywell Health .
Dr. Sherry Gray, a nutritionist at the University of Connecticut (USA), said: If you like cooked salad, don't boil it, steam it.
When boiled, heat destroys the antioxidants and vitamin C in lettuce.
According to Dr. Gray, steaming is better than boiling because it does not lose many nutrients.
However, expert Garcia said that eating lettuce raw or cooked is good for health, according to Verywell Health .
Source link
Comment (0)