Clearly, lettuce is a popular addition to people’s daily diet. Also known as Lactuca sativa, lettuce first appeared in Egyp long time ago (1). Not only does lettuce gain interest in culinary culture, it also has valuable supporting health qualities.
This article will shed light on nutrition facts and health benefits of lettuce which have been proved by scientific evidence.
Nutrition Facts
For long, people have been familiar with using lettuce for many medical purposes.
In particular, lettuce can help with improving sleep quality, regulating blood pressure, etc.
According to scientific studies, lettuce also contributes to the treament of insomnia, gas.
These effects are attributed to the appearance of many beneficial components in lettuce (2).
To specify, lettuce is an excellent source of energy and protein.
Also, it consists of fiber, sugars and carbohydrates.
What’s more, lettuce is a powerful house of essential minerals and vitamins.
They are calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium and zinc.
Health Benefits of Lettuce
For long, lettuce is well-known for the role as a vegetable.
More than this, people can make use of lettuce as a herbal medicine.
Following are top 8 benefits of lettuce which you may not know.
- Anti-inflammatory Effects
In fact, anti-inflammatory quality is an important factor which contributes to benefits of lettuce.
In fact, inflammation may be an indication of certain health problems such as heart diseases.
Generally, lipoxygenase and carrageenan are 2 deciding factors for the appearance of inflammation.
According to scientific research, lettuce extract may keep inflammation condition in check (3).
To specify, it can control the activities of lipoxygenase and carrageenan inside the body system.
- Neuronal Cells
Another benefits of lettuce is its good impacts of neuronal cells.
Neurons are brain cell connectors which are responsible for maintaining memory.
Therefore, any damage to neurons can seriously cause memory loss.
In some situation, neuronal death may trigger Alzheimer’s – a popular neurodegenerative issue.
Luckily, lettuce extract may effectively control neural activities and protect them from dangerous factors (4, 5).
That’s why lettuce becomes traditional solution for some neural-cell-related issues.
- Cholesterol Levels
One of the most typical benefits of lettuce is its ability to regulate cholesterol levels.
Obviously, high cholesterol levels is risky factor which can result in heart diseases and many health ailments (6)
In reality, some research have suggested that lettuce intake may regulate cholesterol levels well (7).
This effect comes from the appearance of lipid peroxidation.
- Sleep Quality
When it comes to benefits of lettuce, many people refer to its function as a sleep inducer (8).
In a study, lettuce extract showed great ability to isolate depressant chemical.
According to scientists, this chemical can release sedative effects which can bring about a better sleep.
Moreover, this research concluded that lettuce could lower heart rate by blocking signals of neural tissues (9, 10).
- Antioxidant Properties
Another beneficial effect which brings about benefits of lettuce is antioxidant quality.
In fact, antioxidants are reallly necessary for human.
To specify, they can create a barrier against free radicals.
It is undeniable that free radicals are dangerous factors which may trigger cancer.
Therefore, by consuming lettuce, people may suffer less from harmful attacks of free radicals (11).
- Antimicrobial Properties
In fact, lettuce latex contains a wonderful souce of antimicrobial qualities (12).
Terpens and cardenolids are 2 telling examples of antiomicrobial-releasing substances.
Interestingly, antimicrobial effects can play a part in the treatment of some infections (13).
They include Candida albicans and various yeast infection.
- Anxiety
To control is another benefits of lettuce which people usually mention.
In a research, anxiolytic qualities in lettuce may relax nervous system (14).
As a result, it can keep yourself away from worry and tiredness – 2 common problems which come from anxiety.
- Cancer
Nowadays, cancer is one of the biggest killers in the world.
This health issue can quickly take away the life of thousands of people.
Unluckily, cancer remains uncured as no medicine can concretely eliminate cancerous cells.
Therefore, it is necessary to prevent the development of cancer right from its early stage.
Among many natural foods for cancer prevention, lettuce is popular.
In fact, luttuce leaf can effectively neutralize the activities of breast cancer in women.
Source: wikihomenutrition.com
