The type of lettuce commercially grown in Michigan is Iceberg lettuce.

The general rule nutritionally is that the darker the leaves the more nutritious the lettuce. Most people throw away the outer leaves but these actually contain more Vitamin A than the pale inner leaves. Lettuce is mercifully low in calories, a mere 10 per cup. Just don't dump gobs of high-fat salad dressing all over your lettuce. That sort of defeats the purpose of eating something so low-cal.

Selecting the right lettuce is important. Good-quality iceberg lettuce will have fairly large, moderately firm heads that give to gentle pressure, and thick leaves. The leaves will be medium to light green in color blending to nearly white ribs or veins. Scratch the stalk and smell. A sweet or bitter smell means sweet or bitter flavor.