How Many Calories In Lettuce?

Lettuce, which represents a vital element in salads and sandwiches among other things, has many nutritional benefits without excessive calories, and these benefits depend on the type of lettuce.

Lettuce provides many important nutrients for a healthy body. It has high levels of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, folate, calcium, and fiber. In addition to these nutrients, it offers high levels of antioxidants, which can help prevent heart disease and reduce cancer risk. As a general rule, darker and redder lettuce leaves have more antioxidants than their lighter counterparts, but they all represent a low-calorie, nutritious diet option.

There exists many different types of lettuce, such as Butterhead, Romaine, Iceberg, Green Leaf, and Red varietals. Butterhead lettuce, which people often describe as sweet and succulent, consists of about 3.69 calories per ounce, which equals about 7.15 calories per chopped cup. Romaine lettuce, which has a less-sweet flavor than Butterhead, consists of 4.83 calories per ounce and, therefore, has 7.15 calories in a chopped cup. The infamous supermarket varietal commonly known as Iceberg lettuce has the least amount of nutrition compared to all of these types, and it contains 10.08 calories per each shredded cup. On the other hand, Green Leaf lettuce has higher levels of antioxidants than does Butterhead and Romaine but less nutrition than Red Lettuce. Green Leaf lettuce contains 5.4 calories in a cup whereas Red lettuce, which has the most nutritional benefit, has 4.48 calories in a single cup.