Here's our guide to the best salad superfoods. You'll soon be throwing pomegranate seeds and red cabbage in with your lettuce leaves for those extra health-boosting goodies.
1 CHERRY TOMATOES
These juicy bites will do much more than refresh your taste buds. Tomatoes are packed with a red substance called lycopene, which can reduce the risk of prostate cancer by up to 35 per cent. Further studies suggest that they also help prevent breast, bowel and pancreatic cancer as well as heart disease.
Try... eating with heart-healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil or nuts, which aid absorption of lycopene.
You may have hated the soggy spinach your mum, but served raw it's fresh and tasty. Plus it's packed with folate, a B vitamin that helps keep body cells healthy, prevents anaemia and breaks down homocysteine, an amino acid that increases risk of heart disease.
Spinach also contains disease-fighting substances which protect your eyes from age-related macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.
Try... adding a few basil leaves. This herb has anti-inflammatory properties and can help relieve wind and stomach cramps. If you're eating in the evening, include a good portion of lettuce, which contains sleep-inducing lactucin.
3 CUCUMBER
Wonderfully low in calories, cucumber is high in water, vital for stopping you wilting in the heat. It also contains silica and vitamin C, essential for glowing, healthy skin, plus potassium, which can help control blood pressure, and magnesium for healthy bones.
Try... cutting it into strips or slices, but don't peel. The skin contains most of the nutrients, plus fibre to keep you regular.
4 ONIONS
Raw onions may not do much for your breath, but they have loads of health benefits. Great for diabetics, they contain high levels of chromium, which helps cells respond to insulin, the hormone controlling blood sugar.
Regularly eating them can reduce your risk of heart disease by 20 per cent because they lower cholesterol and blood pressure. And people who eat onions twice a week will significantly reduce their risk of colon cancer, thanks to a flavonoid (disease-fighting compound) called quercetin. This has been found to halt the growth of tumours in animals and protect colon cells. It can also reduce inflammation, easing osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.
Try... chopped-up spring onions or red onions, which look pretty and taste milder.
5 PEPPERS
The secret is to include a mix of red, yellow, orange and green peppers in your salads. The brighter the contents of your salad bowl the better. An Italian study found peppers can cut the risk of cataracts, probably owing to their vitamin C and beta carotene. These anti-ageing nutrients also help combat the build-up of cholesterol in the arteries and keep your skin in condition.
Red peppers contain cancer-fighting lycopene as well as a chemical that can reduce the risk of lung cancer in smokers by up to 37 per cent, according to a large Chinese study.
Try... grilling peppers, then drizzling with olive oil. You can also microwave them with olive oil for two minutes.
6 AVOCADO
It's no coincidence this is used in beauty products. It's a good source of vitamin E, which helps to regenerate the skin, speeding up healing and preventing scarring. It also contains oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, which helps reduce cholesterol, improves circulation and has been found to protect nst breast cancer.
Try... a lemon juice dressing to stop them turning brown.
7 NUTS AND SEEDS
Nuts are a good source of unsaturated fats and a wide range of minerals. Cashews are especially high in copper and magnesium, necessary for bones, the immune system and a healthy thyroid gland, which controls most bodily functions. Sprinkle over a few sesame seeds and besides getting a deliciously nutty flavour you'll benefit from a substance called samin, which protects the liver. The seeds are also high in manganese, a mineral which promotes fertility.
Try... sprinkling them over any salad - it's an instant way to make it healthy.
8 RED CABBAGE
If you want enhance your mental health, add red cabbage to your salad. It contains anthocyanins - red and blue pigments that protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease. Red cabbage contains seven to eight times more anti-ageing nutrients than white - and it makes your salad look much prettier.
Try... slicing the cabbage very finely as it can be chewy when eaten raw. Better still, use a food processor.
9 POMEGRANATES
These red fruits have multiple health and beauty benefits. They contain anthocyanins, which can help to avoid spider veins.
They could significantly slow the development of prostate cancer in mice, and another study found that pomegranate extract can protect cartilage from deterioration so could slow down osteoarthritis. Simply cut the pomegranate in half, scoop out the flesh then mix it in.
Try... adding some olive oil to pomegranate juice to make a tangy salad dressing.
