Red leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a leafy vegetable within the daisy family. It resembles romaine lettuce, except for its leaves that have a purple or pink tinge. Aside from including a burst of shade on your favorite salad or sandwich, this vegetable offers several benefits.
Here are 9 health and nutritional benefits of purple leaf lettuce.
1. High in nutrients but low in calories
Red leaf lettuce is nutrient-dense, which means that it’s high in a range of vital vitamins and minerals, yet very low in calories.
Three cups (85 grams) of shredded leaves offer the following nutrients (1):
Calories: 11
Protein: 1 gram
Fat: 0.2 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Vitamin K: 149% of the Daily Value (DV)
Vitamin A: 127% of the DV
Magnesium: 3% of the DV
Manganese: 9% of the DV
Folate: 8% of the DV
Iron: 6% of the DV
Vitamin C: 5% of the DV
Potassium: 5% of the DV
Vitamin B6: 4% of the DV
Thiamine: 4% of the DV
Riboflavin: 4% of the DV
Its nutrients profile is just like different famous leafy veggies, such as a green leaf, romaine, and iceberg lettuce, although there are some outstanding variations. For instance, when compared to romaine, crimson leaf lettuce offers extra diet K, barely greater iron, and barely fewer calories — at the same time as romaine gives extra fiber and vitamins A and C (1, 2).
2. Very hydrating
Maintaining adequate hydration is important for your health. While consuming water plays a significant role in maintaining your body hydrated, consuming water-wealthy meals, together with red leaf lettuce, also can help. Red leaf lettuce is 96% water, making it incredibly thirst-quenching (1). Its high water content may assist slash starvation and sell fullness (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source).
3. Loaded with effective antioxidants
Red leaf lettuce boasts some of the antioxidants, which protect your body from damage due to risky molecules referred to as free radicals. Having too many loose radicals in your body may also boost your chances of certain sicknesses (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source). Red leaf lettuce is in particular rich in the antioxidant beta carotene, which is a carotenoid pigment that your body converts into vitamin A (8, 9).
Eating adequate quantities of beta carotene might also bolster your eyesight and decrease your risk of macular degeneration, a condition that could lead to vision loss (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source). What’s more, purple leaf lettuce gets its reddish-red color from anthocyanins, a collection of flavonoid antioxidants (12Trusted Source).
Diets rich in anthocyanin-dense meals may also fight irritation and are connected to enhancements in heart disease risk elements, consisting of HDL (correct) and LDL (awful) LDL cholesterol (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).
Additionally, pink leaf lettuce is a superb source of diet C, another powerful antioxidant. Foods high on this nutrition may reduce your risk of heart disorder and positive cancers (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).
4. May maintain your coronary heart healthily
Generally speaking, a weight loss program rich in fruits and vegetables may also lessen your risk of coronary heart disease (19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source). While no study has immediately tested the outcomes of pink leaf lettuce on heart health, this veggie does have numerous coronary heart-promoting properties.
For example, pink leaf lettuce offers 3% of the DV for magnesium and 5% for potassium in just 3 cups (85 grams) of shredded leaves, sufficient for one mid-sized salad (1). Potassium and magnesium preserve a healthy heartbeat and permit your heart’s muscle cells to relax (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).
Additionally, each mineral’s deficiencies were linked to numerous coronary heart-related problems, such as high blood pressure, coronary heart failure, and coronary heart disease (23Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source, 25Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source).
5. Excellent supply of diet A
Vitamin A is the common name for a group of fat-soluble compounds involved in maintaining immune fitness, cell growth, and eye health, and imaginative and prescient. This vitamin is likewise critical to the regular improvement and function of many vital organs, along with your heart, kidneys, and lungs (27).
Red leaf lettuce is chock-complete of nutrition A, supplying 127% of the RDI in only three cups (85 grams) of shredded leaves (1). Adding simply one or servings of red leaf lettuce for your food plan, some instances in keeping with the week, can help you meet your desires for this vitamin.
