Anyone who eats a lot of salad, does a lot for his health. However, lettuce does not equal salad. Not all varieties are nutritionally particularly valuable. Some of them are “of vital substances bombs”, a popular but hardly more than “filling”. And some of them can be stronger with pollutants and germs-loaded. What you should know for Salad consumption.
Salad is without a doubt one of a healthy diet. Most of all, who would like to low-calorie or losing weight, is with a salad properly. He provides little calories, vitamins, minerals and secondary plant substances such as carotenoids, but as good as no fat.
Although lettuce consists of about 95 percent water, “saturates it well, because he has a lot of volume, so it fills the stomach,” explains Nadia Röwe, nutritional science expert at the Department for nutrition and digitization in the Federal centre for nutrition (BZfE).
In this case, each type of Lettuce provides special nutrients in different quantities. Therefore, all salads are not equally valuable. The nutrient profiles of the most popular varieties as a short plug-in letters (all quantities per 100 g raw material):
1) arugula
Calories 24 kcal
Carbs 2.1 g
Protein 2.5 g
Dietary fiber less than 2 g
Water 87 g
Special Feature: Iron, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Mustard Oil Glycosides, Vitamin C, Beta-Carotene. Its mustard oil glycosides will be useful in the prevention of cancer.
2) Green salad lettuce/Oak/Lollo rosso
Calories 11 kcal
Carbohydrates 1.1 g
Protein 1.3 g
Dietary fiber 1.6 g
Water 95 g
Features: Beta-carotene, B-vitamins, Vitamin K (important for blood clotting and bone building, because it is the formation of bone white supports, 50 gr lettuce to the daily requirement of Osteocalcin cover)
The other Relatives of lettuce such as Oak leaf and Lollo rosso differ little, have only slightly more calories than the green lettuce.
3) Radicchio
Calories 14 kcal
Carbohydrates 2 g
Protein 1.2 g
Dietary fiber 1.6 g
Water 95 g
Specificity: Beta-carotene, phytochemicals such as anthocyanins, dyes; the bitter substance Lactucopikrin supports the function of bile, liver and pancreas.
4) chicory
Calories 17 kcal
Carbohydrates 2.3 g
Protein 1.3 g
Dietary fiber 1.3 g
Water 93 g
Special feature: The with Radiccio related chicory provides significant amounts of Beta-carotene, also the bitter substance Lactucopikrin. The less green the leaves of the chicory, the less bitter substances they contain. Chicory is grown in a light-tight room, only so the leaves remain predominantly white.
5) curly endive
Calories 15 kcal
Carbohydrates 1.2 g
Protein 1.7 g
Dietary fiber 1.9 g
Water 94 g
Special feature: potassium, and calcium, iron, Vitamin B2 and folic acid
6) iceberg lettuce
Calories 14 kcal
Carbs 3 g
Protein 1 g
Dietary fiber 1.2 g
Water 96 g
Special feature: iceberg lettuce has the lowest amounts of vitamins barely minerals and antioxidants compared to the other salads.
7) lettuce
Calories 14 kcal
Carbohydrates 0.8 g
Protein 1.8 g
Dietary fiber 1.5 g
Water 93 g
Special feature: a lot of Vitamin C, Beta-carotene, potassium, iron
Lettuce is actually not a lettuce, it belongs to the family of the Valerian family. Its leaves contain essential Oils, which are similar to Valerian-act Oil.
Three factors, amount of Vitamin to reduce, and what helps
In addition to these natural characteristics of each type of Lettuce, a whole series of other factors, however, play a role, which can decide, for example, whether a salad is especially rich in nutrients or not.
This is about the amount of vitamins. Miscellaneous can affect the natural content negative:
1. Salad should not be immature to be harvested. Only Mature harvested and promptly eaten salad (also applies to fruit and vegetables) contains the greatest possible amount of nutrients. You can buy fresh, Mature product.
2. He should be charged by short routes of transport, because “some of the vitamins are light – and temperature-sensitive,” explains the nutritional science expert. The longer the salad is on the move and stores it, the less it contains of certain vitamins. You can opt for regional and seasonal.
3. Salad should be properly stored so as dark as possible and cool in the fridge for about in the bottom compartment. Heat and light affect the amount of nutrients. Also, the preparation can help you to get vitamins: not Water lettuce, but you can rinse it briefly under running water.
Nitrate is often a typical winter problem – arugula can be especially burdened
In addition, there are pollutants that affect the health profile of the salad. The most famous of which is nitrate. Nitrate is a nitrogen compound that occurs in the soil, of course, but also with fertilizer on the fields is brought is. Also genetic, geographic, climatic factors and poor hygiene of foodstuffs affect the nitrate content of the Plant.
“Plants need in small quantity of nitrate, to be able to protein build up,” explains the expert, the one side of this substance. Nitrate itself is not toxic, however, can be nitrite from nitrate in the body – this again, nitrosamines that can be carcinogenic. This is the other side of the nitrate.
Interesting: Some varieties of lettuce to draw the nitrate directly, you have to collect this salt. Some spinach and arugula. So arugula in Tests showed often particularly charged. Especially winter salads, like arugula, too, often by increased amounts of Nitrates, with more than 1000 mg/kg. Seasonal salads get in the rearing less light than their summer colleagues. In the light, as in the spring and summer, the Plant to transforms the nitrate into harmless Compounds. In the case of lack of light, this natural conversion process is missing or is running at least slow, the nitrate content increases.
Who, then, means, to solve the winter problem of nitrate by salads that are grown far away in sun-rich areas, not only in the field of climate protection and sustainability wrong, but wrong also in the nitrate content. “From nitrate also by a lack of hygiene and long storage can occur, as they occur in the case of long transport routes and in the household, nitrite,” adds Nadia Röwe.
Nitrate in the salad – adverse values are hardly achieved
However, it is for adults and school children is hardly possible to exceed the WHO limits calculated by salad consumption: no risk for health problems, the permissible daily, life-long intake (Acceptable Daily Intake – ADI) according to WHO, up to 3.65 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. “That is to say, it is acceptable if an adult man (70 kg) daily over a lifetime up to 256 mg of nitrate, an adult woman (58 kg) up to 212 mg and a child (25 kg) to accommodate up to 93 mg,” explains the expert. That is to say, adults could eat every day at least 100 grams of arugula without any problems.
With a long-term Exceeding BfR), however, is not to be expected, and thus no health risk to the consumer, the Federal Institute for risk assessment (. With the exception of children up to four years. You could develop strongly with nitrate-loaded salads, if you eat larger amounts of a risk for Methemoglobinemia (cyanosis). Background: nitrite alters the red blood cells, causing them to no oxygen can record. This leads to a dangerous lack of oxygen. Particularly vulnerable are babies in the first months of life, but leaf salads do not come with the Little ones in the bottle.
Important preparation tips for the reduction of nitrate
The nitrate content is not available in all Parts of the Plant are the same. Therefore, remove the lettuce, the nitrate-orientated areas such as stem, stalk, stem, thick leaf ribs and outer leaves. In the case of lettuce, you should clean also carefully the small roots to remove and for safety’s sake, one sheet at a time, even if the lettuce rosettes on the salad plate is optically better.
Pesticides to many salads
Another Problem that can the health factor of leaf salads reduce residues of pesticides. Also, in this case especially the winter salad affected, because he is often in a confined space in the greenhouse bred, or in the mammoth plantations, for example, in southern Europe, where often pesticides are used. Here’s lettuce in Tests sometimes, with organic cut altogether, often on the best.
Bacteria and even multi-resistant germs on the salad
Particularly dramatic are the findings of disease are pathogens on salads. On a non-packaged, fresh product of rare human pathogenic bacteria and germs such as Listeria, Salmonella, Escherichia coli,., Hepatitis A Viruses. Unlike in ready-to-eat, often pre-packaged salads is how a study by the Max-Rubner-Institute open. Another study even found multi-resistant germs on the salad. They originate from manure from factory farming, as is known, often antibiotics are used.
Risk ready-to-eat salad – residual risk with germs remains
“Bacteria multiply very quickly, the cut and break points of the salad, so if the plant juices, especially in the case of incorrect storage, so in the case of heat,” explains Nadja Röwe the Background. Then the risk of infection for the consumer is greater. Even if you produce these eating salads, which are already cleaned, again wash, reduces the germs, they disappear, but not always completely. A residual risk remains.
Therefore, the expert groups at risk advises against, such as Pregnant women, children and the chronically ill from ready-to-eat salads more. For others, they can be an Alternative, if it needs to go quickly – assuming you consumed the goods as fresh as possible (a few days before the expiry of the date of minimum durability), the goods are not longer, but is best eaten immediately, and don’t buy them in the first place, if the lettuce is already brown, or muddy Places.
So enjoy a salad healthy and risk-free
It is best to buy salad fresh him self and hygienically to prepare. Regional and seasonal merchandise for the health (and, not least, the climate) is particularly valuable, because the vitamin content is high. Those who opt for Bioware, also has a Chance to get of pollutants as possible unloaded a salad.
Perhaps the best salad is a wild outsider
However, as the expert evaluates the different varieties of lettuce, if it goes exclusively to the health, apart from external factors? “Some of them are actually richer in nutrients than others,” says the nutritional science expert. Your favorites are two wild salads, namely, dandelion leaves and purslane.
No other lettuce has so much potassium, calcium, Magnesium, iron and Vitamin C as these two. There are, however, these rarities are rarely on the market, let alone in the discounters, where most Germans buy their food. Nevertheless, everyone should try these unusual varieties to the possibility of change, she advises.
Keyword try – most important of all is to eat varied. This is also true for salads. Most are characterized by individual composition and concentration of the ingredients. Who changes so often, is most likely to benefit from all the vitamins, minerals and secondary plant substances, with the gets of all the Good. Undisputed cutting however
- Arugula,
- Endive and
- Field salad
of the nutritional values better than, for example, iceberg lettuce. The cost-effective, long-lasting iceberg lettuce is often used as a “filler” for Fast Food. Healthier it makes finished products such as Wrap, salad mix, Sandwich and burgers, therefore, hardly.