The sun bangs, the temperatures go up … and the desires of freshness on the plate too. In summer, green salads become the queens of our lunches: easy to prepare, light, and often considered healthy. But beware, not all each other, and some are even strongly advised if you are looking to do good to your body.
Why some green salads are not very interesting for health
They are practical, inexpensive, available everywhere, and their gentle taste even appeals to the most reluctant. However, the Sucrine and the iceberg, both classified among the called “Pommées” salads, are not the health allies that one might think. The reason? Their growth mode.
Nathalie Majcher, dietician-nutritionist, in the columns of female practical life, underlines a major defect: “The problem with the iceberg and the sugar is their low exposure to light due to their tight leaves. This characteristic limits the development of nutrients and antioxidants essential to our health“.
Result: these salads contain fewer vitamins (especially A, C and K) and minerals than other varieties with more airy leaves. A disappointment for those who thought they were making the right health choice by integrating them into their summer dishes.
A nuanced opinion: they are not “bad”, but poor
Should we then completely banish the sugar and the iceberg of our plates? Not so fast. Alexandra Murcier, also dietician, calls for nuance: “They remain a source of vegetables, therefore of fibers, which limit the glycemic index of meals and to improve intestinal transit“.
In short, these salads do not harm health, but their nutritional contribution is very limited. “”They do not bring many vitamins and minerals“, She adds. It is therefore better not to make it the unique base of his diet, especially if the objective is to strengthen his immune system or to fill certain deficiencies.
Salads to favor to fill up with nutrients
To vary the pleasures without sacrificing nutritional quality, several alternatives are recommended by experts. They are distinguished by their richness in vitamins, antioxidants and trace elements. Here are the ones that the dietician Alexandra Murcier recommends:
- Line: “Rich in vitamin A, excellent for sight, it also contains vitamin C and vitamin B6 useful for energy metabolism“;
- La Roquette: “Source of vitamin K essential for coagulation, it is also very rich in flavonoids, which reduce the risk of cancer, and in lutein, a powerful antioxidant“;
- Spinach shoots: “Rich in vitamin B9, essential to fertility, they also contain magnesium, beneficial against stress, and vitamin a“.
The key, as often in nutrition, remains in diversity: “The more we vary our food intake, the more we cover our vitamin and mineral needs“Concludes the expert.