NorthSide Reaction

Posted May 12, 2011 - 2:01pm by Tracy

What does "low-fat" salad dressing mean, anyway?

The Well Community team came across this Chicago Tribune report on the unhealthiness of salads, thanks to salad dressing, and we started to wonder:

What exactly do food companies do to naturally fatty foods, like dressing, to make them low-fat?  And how do we make salads the healthy lunch we want them to be?

So we asked Jenny Schwartz, a registered dietitian at Galter LifeCenter, for her take:

“Dressings that are low fat often use sugars, thickening agents, additives and partially hydrogenated oils — which are unsaturated fats — to replace natural fats,” Schwartz said.

Turns out, some pretty hefty chemistry comes into play when you take a naturally fat-based product and remove the saturated fats so the nutrition labels can reflect low-fat numbers. And many food additives should be limited or avoided, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

But hey, at least low-fat dressings avoid some of the negative aspects of true fats — right? Not really. According to Schwartz, your body will essentially store unsaturated fats just like saturated fats, making the nutritional benefits of eating a low-fat dressing nil. Additionally, the low-fat labeling might encourage eaters to have more of it, thinking it is healthier.

For this reason, Schwartz advises her clients to avoid dressing (especially creamy ones) entirely if possible, and not to bother with low-fat versions. 

“It’s best to replace dressing altogether with good fats like nuts, seeds and avocados, but if you are going to eat salad dressing, go for olive oil or vinegar-based dressings, and have it on the side,” Schwartz said. “If you indulge in creamy dressings on occasion, in many cases you are better off eating versions that are high-fat with real ingredients that are less processed and still may have some nutritional benefits.”

For example, a salad dressing with an olive oil base is high-fat, but also contains high levels of vitamin A, vitamin E, and good cholesterol.

So how can we make salad truly healthy?

“Salad is tricky because you often end up with too many calories from fat, or too few calories which could lead to overeating later,” Schwartz said. “Finding the right mix of veggies, carbohydrates and proteins — and observing proper portion control — are keys to a healthy salad.”

She recommends mixing in a combination of the following ingredients (keeping portion control in mind):

- Dark, leafy greens (Ice berg lettuce has few true benefits)
- A variety of veggies like onions, peppers, carrots, radishes and tomatoes
- Avocado
- Nuts and seeds
- Beans for protein
- Dried fruit for carbs
- A splash of vinegar
- Salt and pepper

Easy fixes at the salad bar:

- Lay off the mayo-based salads like tuna salad
- Skip the cheese

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