If you enjoy a big salad, or lettuce on your sandwiches, you should know that not all lettuce offers the same health benefits. Some lettuce offers very little in nutritional content, but Romaine lettuce is packed with nutrients that contribute to overall health. Romaine, also known as Cos lettuce, contains very few calories, with only eight calories in one cup, but its benefits do not stop at your waistline. Nutrition Data, which reports nutritional information from the United States Department of Agriculture, notes that Romaine is packed full of essential vitamins that offer numerous benefits to the body.
Vitamin A
One cup of shredded Romaine lettuce contains 4094 IUs of Vitamin A. That is 82 percent of the DV (Daily Value) that we should be getting, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. Vitamin A is important to the health of your teeth, bones, tissues, skin, membranes, eyesight and even your respiratory system. The February 2010 issue of "World Journal of Pediatrics" reports that a deficiency of Vitamin A contributes to respiratory wheezing and an increased risk of respiratory infections, especially in infants and children. Add more Vitamin A to your diet, and your children's diet, by serving Romaine lettuce in your salads or on sandwiches, as opposed to Iceberg lettuce.
Vitamin K
We don't hear as much about Vitamin K as we do other vitamins, but it plays a vital role in the health of our bodies. Known as a coagulant, vitamin K helps the blood clot properly, and without it we could hemorrhage to death. According to the Linus Pauling Institute, along with its role as a blood clotting agent, vitamin K is important to the production of healthy bones as well as the proper growth and protection of cells within the body. One cup of Romaine lettuce contains 48.2 mcg, or 60 percent of the DV.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the most popular vitamins, and for good reason. Almost every day there is a new report being released on the benefits of Vitamin C intake to our health. Some of these benefits, according to the National Institutes of Health, are immune system protection, growth and repair of cells in the body's skin and tissues, maintaining healthy bones and teeth and even wound healing. Vitamin C is also known as a powerful antioxidant, which fights damage that is done to cells by free radicals. A free radical is a cell that malfunctions, and factors that influence the malfunction are often outside factors such as pollution, toxins and even stress. Vitamin C helps kill off free radicals and fights free radical damage within the body, which can include the development of various diseases and cancer. The same cup of shredded Romain lettuce that offers you vitamin A and vitamin K also contains 11.3 mg of Vitamin C, or 19 percent of the DV.
B Vitamins
Romaine lettuce contains several B vitamins as well, although they are in a lesser amount than the ones mentioned above. The most prominent B vitamin in Romaine is folate, which the Mayo Clinic explains is necessary for the prevention of certain types of anemia as well as a healthy pregnancy and fetal development. One cup of Romaine provides 63.9 mcg of folate, or 16 percent of the DV. Other B vitamins, in trace amounts, include thiamine, riboflavin and vitamin B6, all at two percent of the DV; and pantothenic acid and niacin, both at one percent of the DV.
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