Iceberg Lettuce vs. Romaine Hearts vs. Baby Spinach

Do they differ? Is one nutritiously superior?

Iceberg vs. Romaine vs. Baby Spinach

Have you ever wondered exactly how good that salad is for you that you have at lunch? 

All salads are not created equal, including the staple item, the lettuce. We will be looking at three common vegetables used for salads and compare their nutrition.

 Iceberg lettuce is often used in salads we buy premixed or at restaurants. Iceberg lettuce is cheaper for consumers. However, not a ton of nutrition lies with iceberg lettuce. According to Calorie King (now available as an app!) 3 oz of  iceberg lettuce yields 12 kcal, 1g of fiber, 0.8 g of protein, and 15.3 mg of calcium. 

Romaine Hearts are becoming more popular and usually come in packs of 3-5 at your local grocery store. While more expensive, romaine hearts are more nutritious  than iceberg lettuce. 3 oz of romaine hearts yields 15 kcal, 2 g of fiber, 1 g of protein and 20 mg of calcium.

Baby spinach is fantastic, I absolutely love it. Becoming more popular, baby spinach can be found at your local grocery store and is excellent to use as your salad base. 3 oz of baby spinach yields 20 kcal, 2 g of fiber, 2 g of protein and 80 mg of calcium. That's 4 times more calcium that romaine hearts and 5 times more than iceberg lettuce! 

I prefer baby spinach over both iceberg lettuce and romaine hearts. Now you can be informed the next time you want to pack a salad for work...go with baby spinach and load up with veggies to go with it! The RDI (recommended daily intake) of calcium for men & women 19-50 is 1000-1300 mg daily, so baby spinach is a great choice!

Sunscreen...is it important?

Today tanning has become increasing popular, especially no thanks to shows that promote it, such as Jersey Shore, Because of thus, sunscreen is tossed by the way side and what are we left with? Sunburns and skin cancer.

I'm 22 years old and battling basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Yesterday I had surgery to remove the initial tumor and will have to see if and when more tissue needs to be removed.

You can see progress here: BCC Journey

That being said, is sunscreen important? Absolutely YES . Hats are also particularly important concerning the scalp where most of us can't feasibly wear sunscreen. UV protection is extremely important.

Rules to live by:

1. Always apply sunscreen approximately an hour before going out in the sun.
2. Wear a hat! It protects your scalp, a very vulnerable part of the skin.
3. Monitor changes in the skin. Do you have moles? Have they grown, gotten darker, become asymmetrical, raised, etc?
4. Drink lots of water, because our bodies can't live without it. By the time you're thirsty, dehydration has already started.
5. Easy on the Gatorade. While the electrolytes in it are awesome to aid in bouncing back from dehydration, drinking it willy Billy throws off your electrolyte balance and has cause a whole slew of problems.

Protect yourselves friends. If you do end up with a sunburn, aloe works best and lots of water.

Take care,

Crystal