Is it true that salad (lettuce) has no nutrional value? I'm trying to eat healthier

[Arkitech]

I'm not sure if its true or not but I've heard someone say that salad has no nutrional value. Can anyone confirm or deny that statement?

I'm on the quest of trying to eat better and exercise more which has been some what difficult because I love beer, junk food, fast food and sweets. I'm improving though, I have'nt had any beer in 2 weeks and I've been eating been eating healthier food over the last 5-6 days. I would like to eventually eliminate all fried foods from my diet and try to also keep breaded and starchy type foods down to a mininum. Actually I'd like to cut back on as many carbs as I can overall.

Anyone have some advice for a guy trying to get healthy?

 

[Azraele]

I'm not sure of its nutritional value, but I do know that eating it helps maintain a clean and healthy colon.

 

[cjchaps]

Almost any vegetable that you put in a salad will be low-cal and low-fat. Lettuce as almost no calories, and some items like celery have no calories. You seem to have a good idea about what you would like to do. Salads can become dangerous when you start putting cheese, crutons, and dressing on them. Lowfat turkey or low-fat/low-cal lunchmeat are good healthy additions to a salad. Also, if you want salad dressing and want it healthy, buy stuff labeled as low-calorie. Salad dressing labeled low-fat doesn't mean it's good for you.

When it comes down to the basics, the best diets lower calorie intake which usually lowers fat also. Don't eliminate fat completely from your diet, just lower it.

If you do want to eat bread, always buy whole-wheat bread, and stay away from "enriched" white bread. Eating white bread is basically the same as eating sugar.

Try to eat lotsa leafy green veggies, as they provide many good nutrients and vitamins.

Good luck!

 

[nd]

I dunno if you drink a lot of pop, but if so I'd recommend switching to water. I did, and after a few weeks it didn't even bother me anymore.

I also heard the lettuce thing... but this only applied to certain types of lettuce. Edit: Yes, it was Iceberg lettuce.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Azraele
I'm not sure of its nutritional value, but I do know that eating it helps maintain a clean and healthy colon.

Ah yes. Never underestimate the value of a good, healthy poop...

 

[Templeton]

I've heard in the past the iceberg lettuce has very little nutritional value. Other types of salads, like those made with romain lettuce or some type of mesculine greens are supposedely much more nutritous.

 

[CPA]

you need to measure more than just calories. Iceberg lettuce also has very minimal amounts of vitamins and minerals. Go with Romaine or Red Leaf for more vitamins and still have a healthy colon.

 

[ElFenix]

field greens are good. but pretty much any vegetable is going to be so low-cal that if you start putting cheese and dressing on it you're quickly going to have a high calories from fat percentage.

 

[DDCSpeed]

lettuce has no nutrient value (very little vitamins). just water.

 

[SagaLore]

Iceberg lettuce, the cheapest and most commonly eaten lettuce, has almost no nutritional value (mostly water).

All the other lettuces are packed with nutritions - minerals, vitamins, chlorophyll, etc.

Most organic sections in food stores sell the best lettuces, but in the veggie section you can find backs that say "casear" or "spring fresh" or "mediterannean", etc. They usually contain romain, baby leaf, spinach, greens, etc.

And try not to buy store sald dressing. Make your own with this recipe:

1 part Extra Virgin Olive Oil (this type of oil is the only oil that isn't chemically altered and processed, it's all natural!)
1 part Red Wine Vinegar
Sprinkle of Onion powder and Garlic powder
Dash of pepper
Couple shakes of Sprinkle Parmesan/Romano
other herbs to taste (maybe dill?)

Shake that up when ready to use. YUMMY! And it's good for you too.


Want to eat healthy? Eat any type of lettuce except for iceburg. Eat only Extra Virgin Olive oils. Instead of eating beef, trying and substitue with fish. And not fried or battered either. Fish is full of omega3 fatty acids that help your brain and cell membrane regeneration. Take a Calcium Citrate supplement (not calcium carbonate! you won't absorb it), instead of drinking milk. If you want/have to drink milk, make it Skim. I found out that the homogenizing process to make 2%, makes the milk fat so small that it actually passes through your intestinal wall undigested - right into your blood. This is why so many people are lactose intolerant or have clogged arteries. Never ever use a sugar substitute, like aspartame. Not only does apartame break down into formaldahyde while in the container, it causes an amino acid imablance in the body, which results in brain lesions and muscle weakness. But don't use white sugar either. Use honey or pure maple syrup instead. If you want to eat potaties, eat Red Skin potates, they have more nutrients. Don't eat anything with Bleached wheat flour. It turns to glue in your digestive track. Try to eath naturally unprocessed flours and breads, and brown rice instead of white. Try to stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup as much as you can. Soda is especially bad, drink Green Tea or natural fruit juices instead. Studies show that 30 minutes of fast pace walking a day is enough to keep your lymphatic system flowing 3 times faster than normal, which is responbile for removing the toxins made by your cells - you can break it into 2 x 15 min walks too.

well I think that's enough info to start.

 

[UNCjigga]

Originally posted by: nd
I dunno if you drink a lot of pop, but if so I'd recommend switching to water. I did, and after a few weeks it didn't even bother me anymore.

That's a good idea. I found that drinking St. Croix carbonated water helped wean me off of sodas. The St. Croix comes in orange, lemon, lime and berry flavors; it has no calories, no sodium, no sugars, and all-natural flavors. Best of all, it comes in a can like soda and its CHEAP!

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: nd
I dunno if you drink a lot of pop, but if so I'd recommend switching to water. I did, and after a few weeks it didn't even bother me anymore.

I also heard the lettuce thing... but this only applied to certain types of lettuce. Edit: Yes, it was Iceberg lettuce.

When my wife and I started drinking water exclusively, it was hard at first... but then it was very refreshing, and everyone once in a while when we decided to get a soda, we would get half way through a glass and be sick of it. Soda is actually pretty nasty stuff if you medititatively focus on how it tastses... it's very bitter, very very sweet, has no redeeming flavor, and burns your throat. Gee wow.

My theory is that many kids are brought up on soda, and the body craves it at that age because they need a constant supply of sugars.. and plus it's stimulating because of the fizz. But, when you're older, you just drink it out of habit and plus the caffeine has some addictive qualities. But if you force yourself to stop drinking it for a few months, and then taste it again, you'll realize how bad it really is. And now that so many fruit juices have a second ingredient of high fructose corn syrup, it's hard for me to even drink that.

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

The greener the leaf, the more nutrients it has. Of course as previously mentioned, most fruits and veggies are low in calories and are very good for you because of their nutritional content. Cheese is also very good for you IF and I repeat IF you buy low milk fat % cheese. Cheese has a great source of calcium, among other things as well.


I can provide lots more info if you like! feel free to PM anytime!

-MrsSkoorb, RN.

 

[Arkitech]

Thanks for the advice guys

One of the few good habits I've always had is drinking water, I probably drink a few gallons a day literally. As a bonus drinking lots of water prevents hangovers. But I'm pretty much off of alcohol, at least for a while anyway.

Its scary to read about the way enriched flour breaks down in the system. I'm definitely staying away from that stuff.


Is there any ill effects from eating pork or beef? I know some people say that its bad but I'm not sure why

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
Thanks for the advice guys

One of the few good habits I've always had is drinking water, I probably drink a few gallons a day literally. As a bonus drinking lots of water prevents hangovers. But I'm pretty much off of alcohol, at least for a while anyway.

Its scary to read about the way enriched flour breaks down in the system. I'm definitely staying away from that stuff.


Is there any ill effects from eating pork or beef? I know some people say that its bad but I'm not sure why

Pork is great as is beef in MODERATION. That's the key: eat in moderation. Don't eat too much of any one thing!

 

[sandorski]

I freakin hate Iceberg lettuce. It has no taste and no nutritional value, leaf lettuce owns it on both accounts. Unfortunetly, where I live Iceberg lettuce is used most of the time in salads(BTW, Salad is a type of dish, Lettuce is not "salad"). :disgust:

 

[Eli]

What others have said is good advice..

The greener the vegetable, the better it is for you.

Find a brand of soy milk that you can drink instead of milk. Try to limit your meat intake.. suppliment your protein with the said soy milk, and lots of fresh, raw nuts.

Your body will thank you.

 

[gtsukada]

I've heard in the past the iceberg lettuce has very little nutritional value

 

[Howard]

If you must, use butter, not margarine.

BTW, skim milk is still more than 50% fat by volume.