Salad days
Salad isn't normally something I get overly excited about. It's a staple in my diet, sure, but I never really gave it much thought. Until the other day when I came across some research showing that my daily side of leafy greens may be doing a lot more for me than rounding out my dinner. According to a study published in the journal Nutrition, lettuce and other greens may cut the risk of lung cancer as much as 50 percent. Researchers from the Galician Public Foundation for Health Emergencies analyzed the diets of more than 600 people, 295 of whom had lung cancer, while the other 322 were disease-free. The found that consumption of just one portion of leafy green vegetables a day had a dramatic effect on lung cancer -- slashing risk of the disease in half. In an interesting twist, they found that fruit didn't offer any protection at all, regardless of intake levels. The researcher attributed this apparent contradiction to the fact that vitamin A is the most important nutrient in warding off lung cancer, and vegetables contain anywhere from 10 to 100 times more of the vitamin than fruits. Now, over the years I've found that variety is a critical part of avoiding salad burnout (there's only so many times you can eat the same romaine-carrot-cucumber combo before you never want to look at it again). Mixing up your salad components is a great way to experiment and keep the flavors interesting -- not to mention add another layer of nutrition and protection to your plate. Besides lettuce, the researchers also noted protective effects from cabbage, turnip greens, potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes. They also think that the combined effect of the vegetables may be the key, so consider tossing some -- or all -- of these ingredients into your next side salad. Source:
"Green leafy vegetables may halve lung cancer risk," NutraIngredients (www.nutraingredients.com), 3/11/08 | 
