Health Hotline Magazine | June 2024

FO THE LOVE OF O GANICS: YOUR O GANIC PRODUCE HEADQUA TE S ® It was August 2015; the leafy red romaine glistened under magenta light. This was the first time a vegetable was successfully grown in outer space and enjoyed by astronauts on the International Space Station. Fresh and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil, this “home-grown” lettuce gave astronauts a dose of much needed vitamins and minerals while orbiting the Earth—and perhaps a taste of home. With a nutrient density profile that’s out of this world, lettuces are a great choice to incorporate into our diets, whether we’re on Earth-ground or space-bound. Just be sure to make them organic! By Morgaine Lee LETTUCE Eat Your Organic Greens It’s no wonder astronauts chose to grow lettuce in space first. There’s just something about a salad that with every bite you can feel your body come alive with nourishment. Lettuce is rich in vitamins A, C, K, and folate, and minerals like iron. Organic lettuce boasts all these benefits and contains higher amounts of vitamin C. Sweet Dreams are Made of Greens The National Council on Aging reports that more than a third of Americans get less than seven hours of the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep and 30 percent show signs of insomnia. Poor sleep quality is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Studies show that lettuce helps promote a longer sleep duration. The milky white liquid you

sometimes see cutting lettuce is lactucarium, a compound with sedative e ects responsible for lettuce’s sleep inducing properties. The studies are recent but the practice of eating lettuce to promote sleep dates back to the Roman empire when people would have a salad before bed. Now that’s a sweet-dreams veggie! Uptake Nutrients, Not Pesticides

Romaine, green or red leaf, butter, arugula, iceberg, you name it—there are many crisp and delicious varieties to bite into! Generally speaking, the darker colored lettuces contain higher concentrations of nutrients, particularly antioxidants. With such a nourishing food, you want to get the most out of every bite and

that means choosing organic for any variety of leafy green that speaks to you. Conventionally grown lettuces are sprayed with a wide array of toxic insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides. These sprays include a number of neonicotinoids, such as dinotefuran and imidacloprid, that pose a serious threat to bees and other pollinators. A recent study investigating how lettuces uptake dinotefuran found that lettuce absorbed 20 percent of the toxic spray. When a pesticide is absorbed into the plant, this means you can’t wash it o ! Additionally, residues of the insecticide can be found in subsequent crops grown in the same soil. Choosing organic lettuce ensures a healthier soil for generations to come, and a healthier you!

For references, please visit: naturalgrocers.com/issue-83

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