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- The Impact of the Benefits of Eating Salads
Relevance – Salads are usually composed from only a few ingredients and taste great and very nutritious for everyone. Salads contain calcium, iron, fiber, antioxidants, protein, potassium and vitamin B. When tomatoes and peppers, then the antioxidants and fiber are added for even more nutrition. We know that eating lots of fiber early in our adolescent and early adult life can lower our risk of developing heart disease. Greens keep our digestive system flowing regular. Adding other ingredients to the salad such as nuts, beans, carrots or spinach can also help lower cholesterol and balance blood sugar.
Green leafy lettuce has 88% of recommended vitamin A
Response – Taught 12 Behavioral Health adults the benefits of eating salads during their monthly nutrition class. A salad was prepared for the audience and they were given the chance to add what they wanted to their salad. Because most of the audience was not familiar with different ingredients on their salads, they were asked to try each ingredient and if they didn’t like it they didn’t have to eat it. The ingredients were: red, yellow and green peppers, tomatoes, carrots, bean sprout, cheese and croutons. Each person prepared their own salad for tasting to their liking.
Results – The audience expressed their excitement about tasting a salad with ingredients that they don’t normally eat or buy. For some it was a treat to taste something different on their salad. Some did not like the bean sprouts or the red and yellow peppers or the carrots, but others like every ingredient that was on the table. 5% of the audience enjoyed the salad and asked for a second helping, while the rest ate most or very little of their salad.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture