Do you like salads with lettuce and other vegetables? In addition to being a recipe the sea of healthy because it has interesting nutrients that will help us improve the functioning of the body, lettuce in particular is a very favorable ingredient for our body as it contains a series of perfect properties to protect our health both internal and external. In this article we will discover the health benefits of lettuce so that you understand how good it is for our body.
Improves digestion
One of the most outstanding health benefits of lettuce is that it helps us improve the digestive system. The reason is that this vegetable is rich in soluble fiber with components such as pectin that helps the glucose in this food to be released more slowly and, therefore, less burdensome to metabolize; In addition, this energy can be accessed throughout the day to burn it, thus preventing it from being stored in the body.
Of course: due to the high fiber content, lettuce is not recommended at night because, if its nutrients are not used, it can end up causing gas and abdominal inflammation, making us unable to rest properly. Lettuce is good but at lunchtime.
In addition, this great fiber content makes lettuce perfect to cleanse our body naturally since it regulates intestinal transit, promoting its internal and natural purification. Thanks, also, to its high contribution in vitamin C, this vegetable further encourages the elimination of toxins.
Helps lose weight
If you want to lose weight or control your line, nothing better than adding lettuce to your diet. Why? Because this ingredient is full of essential nutrients for the optimal functioning of our body and, in addition, it is very low in calories: in fact for every 100 grams that we take of this vegetable, our body only ingests 15 calories.
This allows us to be filling ourselves with interesting vitamins and minerals without our figure suffering the least. Therefore, if you are on a diet to lose weight, one of the most recommended tricks is that you choose to start your lunch with a great salad because it will reduce your appetite in a totally healthy way and with hardly any calories.
In addition to this, we must not forget that, as we have already mentioned, lettuce is rich in fiber, a component that promotes the feeling of satiety, reducing our feeling of hunger between meals. With a smaller amount of food you will get to fill your appetite to the maximum.
Strengthens bones
Another of the health benefits of lettuce is that it is a food rich in vitamin K, a nutrient that helps us produce osteocalcin, the essential protein for the tissue of our bones; therefore, taking this ingredient regularly we get to promote this protein, thus making our bones stronger and healthier.
In addition, lettuce is also rich in minerals such as calcium or phosphorus, which are also perfect for maintaining bone health in optimal conditions. The density of our bones is reinforced with this food that is why many doctors and experts advise its daily consumption, especially in patients with osteoporosis or as a method to prevent said disease.
Improves skin health
It is also an ideal ingredient to improve our skin health because it contains antioxidants such as beta-carotene (also present in other vegetables such as carrots, for example). These components manage to reduce the effect of free radicals, reducing their impact within us and, therefore, preventing the premature aging of our cells.
The vitamin C also present in lettuce contributes to improve skin health by preventing wrinkle formation and this nutrient promotes collagen production, the substance that allows elasticize the skin and keep younger longer.
Improve eyesight
Surely you have heard more than once that carrot is good for the eyes but why? The reason for this statement is that it is an ingredient rich in beta-carotene, the antioxidant that we mentioned above and that, in addition to achieving more radiant skin, it also improves eye health.
Antioxidants are components that help stop premature aging of the body, ensuring that all organs function at their maximum level; for this reason, the health of the retina is highly benefited by these, which also prevent the degeneration of this muscle.
Optimal for treating anemia
In addition, other of the most prominent health benefits of lettuce is that it is an optimal food to treat anemia because it contains high levels of iron, a mineral that increases hemoglobin levels in red blood cells and, therefore, it contributes to overcoming periods such as anemia and the adverse effects that this condition produces (dizziness, weakness, etc.).
