Lettuce health benefits

Lettuce is one of the most delicate salad plants - there is usually nothing but disappointment to be gained from trying to bring a wilting specimen back to life. It has been cultivated since the earliest times, and varieties such as Cos or Romaine had become popular by the middle ages.



Culpeper, the old English herbalist said, `The juice of lettuce mixed with oil of roses, applied to the forehead and temples procureth sleep and easeth the head-ache? He goes on to say that when taken 'it abateth bodily lust? This, it seems, is an accurate observation. Lettuce juice has been likened in effect to the sedative action of opium without the accompanying excitement.



H.M. Evans of the University of California demonstrated in a series of experiments that whilst the lettuce had a calming effect on sexual ardour, there was a surprisingly strong compensatory effect in that the rate of fertility was greatly increased. So although the normal person might well find these two results to be incompatible (or at any rate inconceivable) lettuce is frequently suggested to help men who suffer from premature ejaculation.



Pythagoras, the ancient Greek mathematician, therefore knew only half of this information when he called lettuce 'The plant of the eunuchs:

• This compensation results from a mixture of tonic and sedative components in which the calming effect on the nervous system and digestive organs as well as the sexual is combined with a tonic action upon the glands.



• There is a slight laxative action with the unusual feature that the odour of ill-smelling stools is often much improved. Lettuce contains a good spectrum of minerals, although these are present in average rather than exceptional quantities. The vitamin content includes a fair amount of carotene, but it is essential to bear in mind that the outer leaves may contain fifty times more than the white inside leaves, so juice everything.



• The strong therapeutic effect results from the many alkaloids present. These include asparagine (see asparagus), lactucine, lactucic acid and hyoscyamine.



• A mixture of lettuce and spinach juice is said to help the growth of hair if drunk to the extent of a pint or so a day. So much hair loss is caused by your genetic inheritance and not through deficiencies that this information is given for the sake of the desperate.



• There is much more evidence for its effectiveness in dealing with a nervous cough and as supportive therapy which might help but not cure the diabetic and the asthmatic and help ease those who have continuous pain.



Lettuce Facts: A fast-growing and hardy salad vegetable, lettuce either has compact leaves or loose leaves. The color could range from light green to reddish brown and shades in between. The flower stalks can be anywhere between two to three feet in height and the flowers are small and yellow. Found commonly in supermarkets, people believe that growing lettuce at home can be quite difficult. However, the Butter head version of lettuce with delicate and crunchy leaves is fairy easy to grow in your vegetable patch. Leaf lettuce is simple to grow too. This salad vegetable is a cool-season crop and is generally grown right from the seed.



Growing Tips: Gardeners believe that one should sow a succession of crops in the beginning of midsummer. If you stay in a place with mild winters, then you can grow lettuce in the winter, fall and spring. If you want to grow lettuce right from the seeds, then sow these about ¼ inch deep and in wide rows. You also need to thin the leaf lettuce to about eight inches apart and then also, head the lettuce to twelve inches apart. Do remember that you need to thin the lettuce. The soil needs to be well-worked and should have good drainage. Moist soil works well for lettuce. So take care not to let these shallow-rooted plants dry.



If you wish for an earlier crop, you can start off the seeds indoors, sometime around February. Alternatively, buy some saplings the moment these make their appearance in garden stores. If you are using seeds, put a few in every container and cover with a thin layer of soil and tamp on. Once you see little plants peeking out from the ground, you have to harden them by exposing these little ones to a little cold. Make sure you do this gradually over a few weeks before you transplant these into your garden patch. If you’re expecting a lot of snow and freezing weather soon after you’ve planted them in the garden, then you can cover these with a blanket or sheet. Lettuces can live in light frosts.



Lettuce can also be grown in containers and this is good news for all those of you, who have their own container gardens. Use a shallow and wide container for lettuce and again, moisture and moist soil is the key to growing a healthy crop of lettuce. Use soil that can retain moisture and place these pots on the window sill, where the plants can get strong and indirect light. You may also like to speak with a gardener to get more tips about growing lettuce.



Harvesting Lettuce: When the lettuce grows, you can pick the outer leaves, while the inner leaves are left to develop, or, you can harvest the entire plant all at once by chopping it off from the ground level. It is a good idea to harvest lettuce in a cool weather, so that the leaves remain crisp



Types of Lettuce: When we talk about lettuce, it’s the iceberg lettuce that comes to mind. But actually, there are quite a few interesting varieties of lettuce to choose from. A few grocery stores have started offering various kinds of lettuce like butterheads and loose leaf. Let us know more about the five basic types of lettuce.



Butterhead: This lettuce is also known Limestone, Buttercrunch, Bibb or Boston. A delicious lettuce, this has a sweet and smooth flavor and the leaves have a buttery feel, thus the name. Butterhead lettuce are generally red or yellow in color and have a small, loose head, and are generally bold resistant and heat tolerant, to a certain extent. These are great for your home vegetable patch.



Crisphead: This one is more commonly known as Iceberg and a touch variety of lettuce, also grown in the home garden. Do remember that these lettuce need a long growing season sans extreme freezes. These have a tendency to bolt and can become bitter during the warmer months.



French Batavian: This kind of lettuce is also known as French Crisp, Loosehead, Summer Batavian and Batavian. A few of the varieties can be bland, but these lettuce are bolt resistant.



Looseleaf: This variety of lettuce comes in a variety of flavors, colors and textures as well as varied leaf shapes. You may even want to grow some of these in your garden. You can harvest some when the leaves grow big and ready to be eaten. The leaves are known to regenerate very quickly.



Romaine: Manchester lettuce, Roman and Cos are some of the other names of this lettuce. This is a long-leaved, deep green, mildly bitter and a very nutritious variety of lettuce. It needs a long season for growing and can bold easily.



Health Benefits of Lettuce: Nutritional value of lettuce differs from one variety to another. Lettuce calories are low and these can be used to make great salads. Let’s look at the lettuce benefits



Romaine is supposed to be loaded with nutrients, while iceberg lettuce is not all that nutritious. But do remember that the calories in iceberg lettuce are low. When you are making a salad, you can use lots of leafy greens, fruits and lettuce. Some of the leafy greens to be used include escarole, chicory, endive, arugula and radicchio.



If you’re trying to lose weight, then a mixed salad is great for you because the calories in lettuce leaf, including Romaine are very less. You may also want to drink lettuce juice because of all the health benefits. There are no lettuce side effects, the lettuce antioxidants are good for your health, and eating lettuce for weight loss is a good idea.



The darker the color of the lettuce leaf, the more nutritious is it. Dark greens are packed with beta-carotene, a disease-fighting nutrient and the antioxidants can combat health problems like cancers, cataracts and heart disease. Dark green leaves also have folic acid and good for pregnant women. Salad greens are also good sources of fiber and vitamins.