Vegetable
Romaine Lettuce
A crisp, hydrating green rich in folate and vitamin K, with a long, gentle link to restful sleep.
⤢📊 How it ranks (our editor score) — 92/100Tap to see the breakdown
🌱 What it is
Romaine is a crisp, elongated lettuce with sturdy leaves and a mild, slightly bitter edge. It has long been valued not only as a salad staple but, especially in its milky sap, as a traditional calming food.
📜 Where it comes from
Lettuce has been cultivated since ancient Egypt, where it was linked to fertility and offered to the gods, and the Greeks and Romans grew varieties much like romaine, often serving it at the end of a meal because it was thought to encourage sleep. Its milky sap, called lactucarium, earned it a folk reputation as a gentle sedative in medieval and later herbals. Romaine itself takes its name from Rome, where it was long cultivated, and the sleepy reputation of lettuce persisted into modern folk remedies for restlessness.
✨ Why it's good for you
- may help support healthy hydration due to its high water content
- may help support bone health through its vitamin K
- may help support cell health and healthy pregnancy through folate
- may help support a calm evening wind-down as a traditional, gentle food
🥗 Nutrition
Per 1 cup, shredded (47g) · about 8 calories
- Vitamin K 48mcg
- Folate 64mcg
- Vitamin A 205mcg
- Fiber 1g
- Vitamin C 4mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
🥄 How to use it
Eat romaine fresh in salads and wraps, or simmer the outer leaves briefly into a light soup.
How much: A couple of cups of leaves in a daily salad, or a warm lettuce broth in the evening.
Why it works: Herbalists have traditionally pointed to the mild sedative compounds in lettuce sap as the reason for its calming reputation, though modern nutrition science credits romaine's benefits mainly to its folate, vitamin K, and high water content supporting overall health and relaxation.
Show full details & how to prepare it
Romaine is mostly water, which makes it wonderfully hydrating and light, yet its sturdy leaves carry real nourishment: folate for healthy cells, vitamin K and a little calcium for bones, vitamin A for the eyes, and gentle fiber for digestionHow your body breaks food down into pieces small enough to use for energy. More →. Lettuce also has an old, gentle reputation as a calming food; the milky sap of the lettuce family contains mild sleep-friendly compounds, and a warm lettuce broth before bed is a folk remedy in many lands.
Raw, it is the backbone of a good salad and a crisp wrap for other foods; the tougher outer leaves are lovely simmered briefly into a delicate green soup. A simple wash before eating is all the care it needs.
Ways to prepare it
⚠️ Cautions
- Wash leaves well, as leafy greens can carry soil or, rarely, bacteria.
- Those on blood-thinning medicine should keep their vitamin-K intake from greens steady rather than suddenly large.
📚 Learn more
🌿 Deeper natural detail
🩺 The conventional view
💬 Ask Remy about Romaine Lettuce
📚 Resource confidence
Based on mentions in health references
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