Description
Lettuce is regarded as the king of salad
plants. It is most popular of all the salad vegetables It has rounded leaves up
to 25 cm. in length and 15 cm. in width. Leaves and stem contain milky juice. There
are several varieties of lettuce. They differ in color of the leaves, size and texture.
The color of leaves varies from light to dark green. Broadly two varieties are generally
used at table, namely, the loose-leaf lettuce and the true head-lettuce. In the
loose-leaf lettuce the leaves hang on all side. The head lettuce is like a cabbage
with the leaves drawn together
The center of origin of lettuce appears to
be the Middle-East. The first records of lettuce as a vegetable in a long-leaved
form are depicted on Egyptian tombs dated 4500 BC. It was used by the Persian royalty
more than 550 years before Christ. Lettuce was cultivated as a salad plant by the
ancient Greeks and Romans.
Lettuce reached China in the seventh century
AD. It was first used in England in 1520 and King Henry VIII is said to have conferred
a special reward upon the gardener who devised the combination of lettuce and cherries
for the royal table. Lettuce is comparatively a recent introduction into the tropics.
It is now widely cultivated in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, China,
the Caribbean, Central and South America and East, West and Central Africa.
Food Value
Lettuce is a live food with its rich vitamin
content, especially the antiscorbutic vitamin C. It is bulky, low in food value
bot high in health value. It is rich in mineral salts with the alkaline elements
greatly predominating. So it helps to keep the blood dean, the mind alert and body
in good health.
Lettuce*
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Food Value
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Minerals and
Vitamins
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Moisture
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93.4%
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Calcium
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50 mg
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Protein
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2.1%
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Phosphorus
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28 mg
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Fat
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0.3%
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Iron
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2.4 mg
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Minerals
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1.2%
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Vitamin
C
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10 mg
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Fiber
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0.5%
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Small
amount of
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Carbohydrates
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2.5%
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Vitamin B Complex
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100%
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*Values
per 100 gms edible portion
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Calorific
Value - 42
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The loose-leaf lettuce is considered a better
food. It has the advantage of being more exposed to sunlight, thus providing it
with a richer supply of vitamins than the head-lettuce in which the leaves are closed.
Whatever quality of lettuce is selected for use, it should be ensured that it is
fresh, crisp and green -leaved. The greener the leaves, the higher the vitamins.
Lettuce contains several health-building qualities
and many medicinal virtues. It has many essential values to the human body. It is
very good for brain, nervous system and lungs. The raw juice of lettuce is cool
and refreshing. The high content of magnesium in the juice has exceptional power
to vitalize the muscular tissues, the nerves and the brain.
When making juice from lettuce for definite
therapeutic purposes, it is best to use the
leaves that are of the darker shade of green.
The leaves which are inside the head of lettuce and have remained white should be
discarded. The former are much richer in chlorophyll and other vital elements than
the latter.
Constipation
As lettuce is rich in cellulose, it increases
the bulk of the intestinal contents and encourages peristalsis. It is, therefore,
highly beneficial in curing chronic constipation.
Insomnia
Lettuce is beneficial in the treatment of insomnia
as it contains a sleep inducing substance called “lectucarium”. Lettuce juice has
been likened in effect to the sedative action of opium without the accompanying
excitement. According to Culpepper, the ancient English herbalist, the juice of
lettuce mixed with oil of roses, applied to the forehead and temples, induces sleep
and eases the head -ache. l The seeds of lettuce in decoction are useful in insomnia
and wakefulness due to mental overwork.
Diabetes
Lettuce belongs to that group of vegetables
which contain three per cent or less of carbohydrate. It is, therefore, among the
important foods which can be prescribed for diabetes. It can be used freely by diabetics.
Anemia
Lettuce contains considerable amount of iron
and supplies a good form of vegetable hemoglobin. It can, therefore, be used as
a good tonic food for anemia. The iron obtained in this way is absorbed by the body
to a much greater degree than the inorganic iron tonic.
Pregnancy and Lactation
Eating raw lettuce has a highly beneficial
effect during pregnancy and lactation. A very important nutritional factor, folic
acid, contained in lettuce prevents megaloblastic anemia during pregnancy. In a
series of experiments with lettuce, its useful effect during pregnancy confirms
that mothers who had a regular use of lettuce were free from nutritional anemia.
One particular benefit of lettuce eating is that it prevents habitual abortions.
It is believed to have a great influence over the secretion of progesterone hormone.
Eating lettuce with spinach, peas, asparagus and cauliflower increases the folic
acid or vitamin B content of the food. It is estimated that about 300-500 mcg. of
this vitamin is daily required during the last trimester of pregnancy. The deficiency
of which causes magaloblastic anemia.
Uses
Lettuce is normally used in the raw state as
salad. The leaves are also cooked as greens, especially loose-leaf lettuce. It will
cook in almost no water at all. The water which clings after washing will suffice.
It should be kept covered over a stove for the first few minutes until the juice
starts flowing. It should then be cooked uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Precautions
Lettuce leaves should be washed thoroughly
before use as salad. They should be washed leaf by leaf. When thoroughly clean,
they should be put repeatedly within the folds of a clean towel until the leaves
are completely
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