Salads composed from even a few ingredients make a nutrient-rich meal. The greens alone have calcium, iron, potassium and B vitamins. Many salad basics, including tomatoes, sweet peppers and the greens, are chock-full of antioxidants. Add high fiber and low calories into the mix and you can't go wrong including a salad in your daily diet.
Fiber
Eating enough fiber earlier in life lowers the risk of developing heart disease later in life, according to researchers at Northwestern University. Vegetables in salads are good sources of insoluble fiber, which keeps your digestive tract healthy. If you add nuts, seeds or beans to the salad, you’ll get a boost of soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol and keeps blood sugar balanced. Men should get 38 grams and women need 25 grams of fiber in their daily diet. One cup of iceberg lettuce with one-half carrot and one-quarter of a red pepper provides 7 percent of men’s and 10 percent of women’s daily fiber intake.
Antioxidants
Many salad ingredients contain vitamin C and vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoids. In addition to 7 milligrams of vitamin C, 1 cup of spinach has 93 percent and green leaf lettuce has 88 percent of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A. Add half of a medium-sized carrot and you'll gain more than 100 percent of your daily vitamin A. Vegetables that have a better mix of both antioxidants include sweet red peppers, tomatoes and broccoli. Sweet red peppers are an especially good choice. One-half cup provides 77 percent of the daily intake of vitamin A and 158 percent of vitamin C.
Protein
Getting a regular supply of protein is essential because your body doesn’t store it. Leafy greens make the perfect platform for ingredients that turn a salad into a rich source of protein. Choose low-fat cheese and lean meat such as chicken or turkey, but watch the portion sizes so the calories don't add up. You can count on an average of 20 grams of protein in a 3-ounce serving of meat or poultry. One-half cup of beans or a 1-ounce serving of nuts or seeds adds about 5 to 10 grams of protein.
Dressings
One tablespoon of vegetable oil has about 120 calories, but as long as you watch the serving size, salad dressings have nutritional benefits. Your body needs some dietary fat to properly absorb vitamins A, E and K, so vegetable oil helps you get the most nutrients from your salad. One tablespoon of vegetable oil has about 14 grams of fat, but it has little saturated fat and no cholesterol. Instead, vegetable oil provides healthy unsaturated fats that lower cholesterol. If you use canola, olive, soybean, flaxseed or walnut oil, you'll also gain omega-3 fatty acids.
Source : healthyeating.sfgate.com
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