Importance of Salad

           (By Lisa Sarah John, Courtesy Bangalore Times, Sep 24, 2007)

Salads should be an important part of a person’s daily diet. They are high in their fibre content, and a rich source of your daily vitamin and mineral requirement. The fibre in the salad helps raise your metabolism, as the body has to work harder to digest and break down these raw vegetables. It is been observed that eating 1-2 cups of salad everyday both at lunch and dinner can bring down cholesterol, triglyceride and blood sugar levels.

Regular salad consumption also helps raise the production of good cholesterol (HDL) in the body. It also helps to keep constipation away. Today, with the occurrence of cancer very high, research shows we should eat salads twice a day. It may not be possible to provide any great variety in the salads we prepare in our homes. The main point is to accept it as a routine part of our meals and to keep the preparations simple and easy.

The simplest salad is tomato, cucumber and onion, sliced and garnished with minimum salt, pepper and lemon juice or vinegar. The same vegetables may be finely chopped, garnished with green chilly, coriander leaves and lime or made into a pachadi by adding curds (from skimmed milk). Olive oil or coconut should not be added to the salad as it adds to the fat.

Another good salad combination is shredded cabbage, very finely chopped onion and half a grated carrot. Squeeze lemon juice on this, add a pinch of salt and crush the cabbage a little. The bitter taste is extracted, then you may add pepper or green chilli and your salad is ready.

To these vegetables you can also add capsicum, radish, spring onions and lettuce to add variety. Avoid addition of non-veg foods or corn to the salad. Also avoid adding boiled potato, pasta or beetroot, as these are high in calories. Do not cook any of the salad vegetables — raw is ideal. The fibre, vitamin and mineral content is lost if cooked.

Sprouts may be added in small quantities (two tablespoons at a time), provided the person does not suffer from gout. Remember, all vegetables are sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers and soil with many microorganisms could be present. Vegetables must be thoroughly washed before even placing them on a kitchen board and the preparation must be very clean as attacks of diarrhea may otherwise occur.
If you are eating out, the safest thing to do is to ask for just plain slices of tomato and cucumber and a slice of lime to garnish it. Avoid eating carrots outside, as they are usually not cleaned properly.

 

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