Ever wonder how your favorite foods stack up against each other in terms of nutrition?
We compared the nutritional contents of
cilantro
versus
romaine lettuce
(100g each)
below using 2020 USDA and NIH data[1].
For a quick recap of significant nutrients and differences in cilantro and romaine lettuce:
Romaine lettuce and cilantro contain similar amounts of calories - romaine lettuce has 17 calories per 100 grams and cilantro has 23 calories.
For macronutrient ratios, cilantro is lighter in carbs, heavier in fat and similar to romaine lettuce for protein. Cilantro has a macronutrient ratio of 27:53:20 and for romaine lettuce, 26:65:10 for protein, carbohydrates and fat from calories.
Macro Ratios from Calories:
Cilantro | Romaine Lettuce | |
---|---|---|
Protein | 27% | 26% |
Carbohydrates | 53% | 65% |
Fat | 20% | 10% |
Alcohol | ~ | ~ |
Both romaine lettuce and cilantro are low in carbohydrates - romaine lettuce has 3.3g of total carbs per 100 grams and cilantro has 3.7g of carbohydrates.
The carbs in romaine lettuce are made of 64% dietary fiber and 36% sugar, whereas the carbs in cilantro comprise of 76% dietary fiber and 24% sugar.
Both romaine lettuce and cilantro are high in dietary fiber. Cilantro has 33% more dietary fiber than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 2.1g of dietary fiber per 100 grams and cilantro has 2.8g of dietary fiber.
Romaine lettuce and cilantro contain similar amounts of sugar - romaine lettuce has 1.2g of sugar per 100 grams and cilantro has 0.87g of sugar.
Romaine lettuce and cilantro contain similar amounts of protein - romaine lettuce has 1.2g of protein per 100 grams and cilantro has 2.1g of protein.
Both romaine lettuce and cilantro are low in saturated fat - romaine lettuce has 0.04g of saturated fat per 100 grams and cilantro has 0.01g of saturated fat.
Cilantro is an excellent source of Vitamin C and it has 575% more Vitamin C than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 4mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams and cilantro has 27mg of Vitamin C.
Both romaine lettuce and cilantro are high in Vitamin A. Romaine lettuce has 29% more Vitamin A than cilantro - romaine lettuce has 436ug of Vitamin A per 100 grams and cilantro has 337ug of Vitamin A.
Cilantro has 18 times more Vitamin E than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 0.13mg of Vitamin E per 100 grams and cilantro has 2.5mg of Vitamin E.
Both romaine lettuce and cilantro are high in Vitamin K. Cilantro has 202% more Vitamin K than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 102.5ug of Vitamin K per 100 grams and cilantro has 310ug of Vitamin K.
Cilantro has more riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid, however, romaine lettuce contains more folate. Both cilantro and romaine lettuce contain significant amounts of thiamin and Vitamin B6.
Cilantro | Romaine Lettuce | |
---|---|---|
Thiamin | 0.067 MG | 0.072 MG |
Riboflavin | 0.162 MG | 0.067 MG |
Niacin | 1.114 MG | 0.313 MG |
Pantothenic acid | 0.57 MG | 0.142 MG |
Vitamin B6 | 0.149 MG | 0.074 MG |
Folate | 62 UG | 136 UG |
Cilantro is an excellent source of calcium and it has 103% more calcium than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 33mg of calcium per 100 grams and cilantro has 67mg of calcium.
Cilantro has 82% more iron than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 0.97mg of iron per 100 grams and cilantro has 1.8mg of iron.
Both romaine lettuce and cilantro are high in potassium. Cilantro has 111% more potassium than romaine lettuce - romaine lettuce has 247mg of potassium per 100 grams and cilantro has 521mg of potassium.
Naturally occuring in fruits and vegetables, flavonoids are associated with many health benefits and used in a variety of medicinal and pharmaceutical applications. [2][3]
For specific flavonoid compounds,
Cilantro | Romaine Lettuce | |
---|---|---|
Quercetin | 52.9 mg | 2.2 mg |
luteolin | ~ | 0.05 mg |
kaempferol | ~ | 0.02 mg |
Carotenoids are micronutrients commonly found in plants and some animal products. An example is beta-carotene, the notable carotenoid which is a popular source of Vitamin A.[4][5]
For specific types of carotenoids, cilantro has more alpha-carotene than romaine lettuce per 100 grams, however, romaine lettuce contains more lutein + zeaxanthin than cilantro per 100 grams. Both cilantro and romaine lettuce contain significant amounts of beta-carotene.
Cilantro | Romaine Lettuce | |
---|---|---|
beta-carotene | 3930 UG | 5226 UG |
alpha-carotene | 36 UG | ~ |
lutein + zeaxanthin | 865 UG | 2312 UG |
Comparing omega-6 fatty acids, both cilantro and romaine lettuce contain small amounts of linoleic acid.
Cilantro | Romaine Lettuce | |
---|---|---|
linoleic acid | 0.04 G | 0.047 G |
Total | 0.04 G | 0.047 G |
The comparison below is by common portions, e.g. cups, packages. You can also see a more concrete comparison by weight at equal weight (by grams) comparison.
Note: The specific food items compared are: Cilantro (Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw) and Romaine Lettuce (Lettuce, cos or romaine, raw) .
Cilantro g
()
|
Daily Values (%) |
Romaine Lettuce g
()
|
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KCAL % |
|
5% | calories | 5% |
|
KCAL % | |
G % |
|
5% | carbohydrates | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | dietary fiber | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | sugar | 5% | G | |||
G % |
|
5% | total fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G % |
|
5% | saturated fat | 5% |
|
G % | |
G | 5% | monounsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | polyunsaturated fat | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | trans fat | 5% | G | |||
MG | 5% | cholesterol | 5% | MG | |||
MG % |
|
5% | sodium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
5% | Vitamins and Minerals | 5% | |||||
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin A | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin C | 5% |
|
MG % | |
IU % |
|
5% | Vitamin D | 5% |
|
IU % | |
MG % |
|
5% | calcium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | iron | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | magnesium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
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5% | potassium | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | thiamin (Vit B1) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | riboflavin (Vit B2) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | niacin (Vit B3) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B6 | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | pantothenic acid (Vit B5) | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | folate (Vit B9) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin B12 | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | Vitamin E | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | Vitamin K | 5% |
|
UG % | |
G % |
|
5% | protein | 5% |
|
G % | |
UG % |
|
5% | biotin (Vit B7) | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | choline | 5% |
|
MG % | |
MG % |
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5% | chlorine | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
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5% | chromium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
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5% | copper | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
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5% | fluoride | 5% |
|
UG % | |
UG % |
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5% | iodine | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
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5% | manganese | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | molybdenum | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
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5% | phosphorus | 5% |
|
MG % | |
UG % |
|
5% | selenium | 5% |
|
UG % | |
MG % |
|
5% | zinc | 5% |
|
MG % | |
G | 5% | Water | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Starch | 5% | G | |||
G | 5% | Alcohol | 5% | G | |||