Though most people think of salad when they think of lettuce, this is also a good juicing ingredient to have around because it is easy to prepare and juice. There are no seeds, rinds or other items to remove, and lettuce is generally inexpensive (depending on location, though).

There are many different types of lettuce, a large majority of which are grown in the United States, particulalry in the Salinas Valley in Central California. Arizona also produces a lot of lettuce. People most commonly recognize the heads of “Iceberg” lettuce in their salads and while they certainly are the most crunchy they actually have the least flavor and nutrients of all varieties of lettuce.

In fact, the general rule is that the darker in color that a variety of lettuce is, the more nutritious it tends to be. As such, Romaine and Boston Leaf lettuce (also called Bibb and Butterhead) are good sources of vitamins. They are also much stronger in flavor, so care is needed when adding their juice to other vegetables.

Since lettuce is a very soft juicing ingredient, it’s often a good idea to juice it along with harder vegetables like carrots. Some people wrap the harder items in lettuce and feed that into the juicer to produce more consistent juice.

Lettuce is said to be good for the skin, hair and a good cleanser of the liver. Interestingly, many varieties of lettuce actually contain a substance which is a mild natural opiate which can have a calming effect. This includes the popular Iceberg lettuce that everyone eats. This fact was known by civilizations long ago, such as the Romans and Greeks, who used it as an aid for sleeping.

Juicing Buddies: goes with Parsnips, Carrots, Spinach, Sprouts
Vitamins and minerals: Vitamin A, B1, C, K, Potassium, Folates