On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Dustin Nye stops at The Underground in Wescoe Hall for lunch. About a month ago, his regular lunch, a Chick-fil-A sandwich, was replaced with salad.

“I started to work out, but I also try to eat better,” says Nye, Lawrence senior, while eating lettuce salad topped with chicken, hard-boiled eggs and light Italian dressing. He also makes salad at his fraternity house when possible. He says he lost 20 pounds after starting to work out and changing his diet.

Losing weight is among health benefits that eating salad can offer. Vegetables contain various nutrients, and eating raw vegetables in salads is one of the most efficient ways to consume the nutrients.

Why eating salad keeps you healthy

Vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins A and C, folic acid, lycopene and carotene, says Rachel Barkley, associate professor of allied health and a registered dietician. The health benefits of those nutrients include an improved immune system, and healthier skin and eyes. Barkley says fiber found in vegetables helps weight control because it prevents constipation and high-fiber diet can keep you feel fulling for a longer time. Fiber has become more popular because of its possible ability to lower blood pressure and prevent cancer.

Barkley says people can consume vitamins more efficiently from salad, because some vitamins are water soluble, and they can leach out of the food through cooking.

Eating salad can be also more effective for the human body to absorb nutrients and vitamins than taking nutrient supplements separately, says Joseph Su, associate professor of epidemiology at the Louisiana State University School of Public Health. He says some nutrients in raw vegetables are absorbed better when consumed with other vegetables and salad dressing.

How to make salad more appealing and healthy

Michael Kim cooks often, but he usually doesn’t make salad for himself. “Salad is dull. I’m tired of regular dressing like ranch,” says Kim, Topeka senior. He bought lettuce several times, but it always went bad before he finished it, he says.

Whether you eat at home or at a salad bar, variety is the key to enjoying your healthy diet. If you are bored with regular salad, or don’t like vegetables, adding slices of apples or oranges to salad will make your salad more tasty, says Stephanie Cundith, media representative of the Kansas Dietetic Association and registered dietician. She also recommends using low-fat yogurt or sour cream as an alternative to dressing. Salsa mixed with yogurt or sour cream can go with salad, too, she says.

Nye, the Lawrence senior, says when making salad, he often adds grilled chicken to make it more appetizing and filling.

Salad has numerous health benefits, but it can be unhealthy without moderation. Cundith recommends using olive oil or vinegar based dressing instead of cream based products that are high in calories, such as ranch dressing. Two tablespoons of regular ranch dressing contain 148 calories and 15 grams of fat, which is more than 20 percent of the daily fat value for the recommended diet, according to The Calorie Counter.

If you pick up vegetables at a salad bar, you should also pay attention to the colors of the vegetables. Cundith says the more colorful and vivid the vegetables are, the more nutritious they are. For example, lettuce that is darker green is higher in vitamins than iceberg lettuce. Cundith says eating three to five cups of vegetables daily would be ideal, but if that’s not possible, you should try at least two cups of vegetables a day.