Choose spinach for you salads instead of iceberg.
Hey there, Vic here and I just finished replying to my daily dose of email. And time after time I get asked the same thing. . .
What is my problem with iceberg lettuce?
I know I mentioned in the 31 Day Fat Loss Cure manual that you shouldn’t eat iceberg lettuce. But I didn’t go into why I recommend staying away from it. . .
It is not because iceberg lettuce will hinder your weight loss. It won’t. If all you are concerned about is losing weight, then eat all of the iceberg lettuce that you like.
But if you are concerned with your overall health – with ensuring that your body gets the vitamins and minerals that it needs – then iceberg is the worst choice you can make when compared to other leafy green vegetables.
All of the information below was taken from healthaliciousness.com which is a cool site that lets you compare the nutritional values of various foods. I used 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) as the serving size.
Calories and Macronutrients:
As you can see, none of the above numbers are very significant. To give a non-leafy-green reference point for calories, a medium sized apple is about 100 calories. And although the spinach and kale have about 3 times the protein as either of the lettuces, it is still quite small when compared to 3 ounces of beef sirloin which has about 25 grams of protein. It’s when we start looking at vitamins and minerals that iceberg is shown to be the equivalent of leafy green cardboard.
Vitamins:
The percentages refer to the Percent Daily Values based on a 2000 calorie diet so the numbers won’t apply exactly for everyone’s diet. But whether you eat 1500 calories or 2500 calories per day, it’s clear that iceberg gets the vitamin smack down (spinach has 18 times the vitamin A and kale has 40 times the vitamin C!) when compared to the others. And iceberg keeps getting bullied when we look at the minerals.
Minerals:
The mineral numbers don’t look quite as dramatic as the vitamins. But both spinach and kale beat out iceberg by at least three times in all of the minerals above.
So now you know why I have a grudge against iceberg. Using a leaf or two as a garnish or adding a few pieces to your spinach salad for a little extra crunch is fine. But using iceberg lettuce as the main ingredient for a salad is a nutritionally inferior choice.
Am I being too harsh on the iceberg lettuce? I so, why? Let me know in the comments below.
Train Hard!
~ Vic
Men Click Here for a FREE presentation with unique tips for losing your belly fat and getting ripped six pack abs.
Women Click Here for a FREE presentation with a few “weird” tricks for losing your tummy and getting flat sexy abs.
P.P.S. – If you liked this article or got some good tips from it, click the “Like” button below to share it with your Facebook friends
When I started the 31 day fat loss plan, I changed from Iceburg to Young Spinach and have not once looked back. I tried Kale a few times too but it wasn’t my cup of tea.
[Reply]
LeeAnn Reply:
July 9th, 2011 at 2:56 pm
Toss your kale with a little olive oil and salt, place it on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes. It gets crunchy and is delicious!
[Reply]
I don’t think you’re being harsh at all on lettuce – I avoid baby sweetcorns for the same reason. BUT it is excellent to add “bulk” to any fat-loss meal, as well as texture.
[Reply]
I LOVE iceberg lettuce! It is crunchy, crisp, very refreshing and of course, the only type of lettuce I ever ate until I was over 20 years old. It is what we, in Oklahoma in the 50′s, considered salad. Complete with a little tomato and thousand island dressing we were good to go. We have come a long way in the last 50 years and while I recognize the nutritional deficiency inherent in this lettuce, as long as you are getting the spinach, kale and other greens in sufficient quantities, I’m all for a big chunk.
[Reply]
Vic—
You are 100% right about iceberg lettuce. It’s solid water. There are so many better ways to get crunch in your salad…Why support something that is not as healthy as other alternatives? Why not eat grass? Dandelion leaves? Linoleum? Bob Morrison
[Reply]
I never buy iceberg lettuce for those very reasons you have given, Vic. There are so many other more tasty and nutritious kinds of leafy greens out there that I don’t miss iceberg.
[Reply]
i may be off base here but i make my salads without ANY lettuce. it gives me more room for all the veggies i use. then, i usually top it off with olive oil, a little rice vinegar and a tin of sardines (i’ll drain the oil it’s packed in so i can use my own olive oil).
BTW, did you hear that in one study, they interviewed men and women who lived to be 100+ to find out what the common ingredient was for all these people: they all were regular eaters of sardines.
so i’m hooked. plus they add great flavor to my salads.
p.s. 35 years from now, if i’m still getting vic’s emails, i’ll tell you that it worked…. i’m only 65 now so just 35 to go.
[Reply]
David Reply:
July 11th, 2011 at 8:25 am
I like the way you think! I’m only 53, run half marathons, and am looking forward to many more healthy years ;~)
[Reply]
Vic buddy, I just have three words to say about this article.
Agree, agree, a-bloody-gree !
[Reply]
Absolutely correct about iceberg lettuce, Vic. However, I just bought the first head in years to act as the “bun” for hamburger patties, the “wrap” for sliced turkey breast. IN-N-Out Burgers may have started “protein burgers”…burgers wrapped in lettuce, but even our local cafe now offers a gluten-free sandwich–essentially, turkey wrapped in the infamous iceberg lettuce.
We’ll try the toasted kale this evening..sounds great!
[Reply]
Vic, great article. It just seems to compliment what I’ve been saying all along. Iceburg lettuce is not the ideal diet component to a good healthy meal. I like to mix my leafy greens for better nutrition.
And to Renzo, I’ve been telling my wife how sardines are very nutritional with a high protein content. It also gives you the omega oils that are essential to any diet. Thanks for the input.
[Reply]
I love sardines and am used to the funny looks and comments when I happen to mention this. It’s great to read the inspirational comments from other sardine lovers out there!
[Reply]