Many plants, including fruits and vegetables are known for their medicinal properties. According to recent studies a compound known as quercetin possesses unique anti-aging properties. Red leaf lettuce is one of the best foods to eat to get your daily dose of quercetin, as previously noted.

The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of quercetin are known to help prevent heart disease, protect against the loss of neurons, and enhance cognitive functions like spatial memory and learning, and it has other nutritional benefits. Here Kaitlyn Berkheiser, HealthLine.com, reflects on the health benefits of red leaf lettuce:

“Red leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a leafy vegetable in the daisy family.

It resembles romaine lettuce except in its tips, which have a red or purple tinge.

Aside from adding a burst of color to your favorite salad or sandwich, this vegetable offers numerous benefits.

Here are 9 health and nutrition benefits of red leaf lettuce.

High in nutrients but low in calories

Red leaf lettuce is nutrient-dense, meaning that it’s high in a variety of essential vitamins and minerals, yet very low in calories.

Three cups (85 grams) of shredded leaves provide the following nutrients (1):

• Calories: 11
• Protein: 1 gram
• Fat: 0.2 grams
• Fiber: 1 gram
• Vitamin K: 149% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Vitamin A: 127% of the DV
• Magnesium: 3% of the DV
• Manganese: 9% of the DV
• Folate: 8% of the DV
• Iron: 6% of the DV
• Vitamin C: 5% of the DV
• Potassium: 5% of the DV
• Vitamin B6: 4% of the DV
• Thiamine: 4% of the DV
• Riboflavin: 4% of the DV

Its nutrition profile is similar to other popular leafy vegetables, such as green leaf, romaine, and iceberg lettuce, although there are a few notable differences.

For example, when compared to romaine, red leaf lettuce provides more vitamin K, slightly more iron, and slightly fewer calories — while romaine offers more fiber and vitamins A and C (1, 2).

Loaded with powerful antioxidants

Red leaf lettuce boasts a number of antioxidants, which protect your body from damage caused by unstable molecules called free radicals. Having too many free radicals in your body may increase your likelihood of certain diseases (6Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).

Red leaf lettuce is especially rich in the antioxidant beta carotene, which is a carotenoid pigment that your body converts into vitamin A (8, 9).

Eating adequate amounts of beta carotene may bolster your eyesight and reduce your risk of macular degeneration, a condition that can lead to vision loss (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).

What’s more, red leaf lettuce gets its reddish-purple hues from anthocyanins, a group of flavonoid antioxidants (12Trusted Source).

Diets rich in anthocyanin-dense foods may fight inflammation and are linked to improvements in heart disease risk factors, such as HDL (good) and LDL (bad) cholesterol (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source).

Additionally, red leaf lettuce is a good source of vitamin C, another powerful antioxidant. Foods high in this vitamin may reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers (15Trusted Source, 16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source, 18Trusted Source).

Excellent source of vitamin A

Vitamin A is the generic name for a group of fat-soluble compounds involved in maintaining immune health, cell growth, and eye health and vision.

This vitamin is also central to the normal development and function of many vital organs, including your heart, kidneys, and lungs (27).

Red leaf lettuce is chock-full of vitamin A, providing 127% of the RDI in just 3 cups (85 grams) of shredded leaves (1).

Adding just one or two servings of red leaf lettuce to your diet a few times per week can help you meet your needs for this vitamin.

May promote weight loss

Many traits of red leaf lettuce make it a weight-loss-friendly food.

For instance, this vegetable is extremely low in calories but fairly high in fiber, which can keep you feeling full (1, 36Trusted Source).

Additionally, it has a high water content. Studies show that diets rich in low-calorie, high-water foods, such as leafy vegetables like red leaf lettuce, can significantly promote weight loss (37Trusted Source, 38Trusted Source, 39Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source).

Although no studies specifically link red leaf lettuce to weight loss, this low-calorie vegetable is likely to benefit your waistline if eaten as part of a healthy diet.”

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Read More … Article Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/red-leaf-lettuce#section8