Is iceberg lettuce the healthiest kind of lettuce?

Iceberg is probably the least beneficial of all the lettuces. It is very low in calories but other than that it doesn’t offer much in the way of nutrition in comparison to other varieties of lettuce like romaine, butter, Chinese or loose leaf lettuce. The funny thing is iceberg was bred to remove the bitterness in some kinds of lettuce but along with the loss of bitterness comes the loss of health benefits and sometimes the iceberg is more costly than the healthier varieties. Bland but crisp iceberg lettuce has a nice texture on sandwiches but it is full of water and not much flavour or as many beneficial vitamins and roughage of something like a romaine lettuce. The lettuce varieties with more flavour and colour are full of healthy antioxidants and vitamins. They are much better for you and more filling. Romaine lettuce for example has more calcium, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin K beta carotene, and fiber than iceberg lettuce has, although the calorie content and protein content are about the same in both iceberg and romaine lettuce. Iceberg lettuce has become the popular lettuce of choice in many fast food places, which somehow ironically fits the bad image a lot of fast food has, but iceberg lettuce is not as healthy or beneficial a choice. It is better than no produce to eat iceberg lettuce but if you are looking for health benefits go for the lettuce with colour and flavour. The general belief is the richer the colours are in produce, the better produce is for you. If that is true the washed out green of iceberg is very telling. If you aren’t used to the flavour of other lettuce varieties give them a try. You may find they make for a much better tasting salad or sandwich. Mama Nono