The words lettuce and salad are practically interchangeable since most salads are made predominantly with the green crispy leaves of lettuce. Most varieties of lettuce exude small amounts of a white, milky liquid when their leaves are broken. This 'milk' gives lettuce its slightly bitter flavor and its scientific name, Lactuca sativa since Lactuca is derived from the Latin word for milk
Benefits
All lettuce is a good source of chlorophyll and vitamin K.
Lettuce is very good for dieters because it is very low in calories.
Lettuce is a good source of Iron which is the most active element in the
body therefore it must be replenished frequently to meet any sudden demand
of the body such as the rapid formation of red blood corpuscles in heavy
loss of blood.
Lettuce magnesium content has exceptional vitalizing powers especially
in the muscular tissues, the brain and the nerves.
The juice of lettuce combined with carrot and spinach juice is very
helpful for maintaining the normal color of the hair.
Lettuce is beneficial in the treatment of insomnia as it contains a
sleep inducing substance.
Lettuce may also help treat the following problems; acid indigestion,
anemia, arthritis, catarrh, circulatory problems, colitis, constipation,
cough, diabetes, gastritis, gout, insomnia, irritable bowel, obesity, sexual
addiction, stress, tuberculosis, ulcers and urinary tract diseases.