Take your lettuce even further with these healthy salad dressing tips.
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Salads are the perfect way to include more veggies into your day.
So whats the all-time healthiest salad dressing to drizzle over your greens?
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It all comes down to the ingredients (and what works for you personally!).
Typically, the mostbasic salad dressing formulacombines a source of fat and an acid.
Heres what to look for within each category to make the healthiest salad dressing choices.
Fats
Green Flag Fats
Choose the healthiest fat sources to get the healthiest salad dressing.
These fats can help reduce inflammation, improve cholesterol levels, and support heart health.
These are sources of trans fats, which are really not good for your heart health.
Trans fats both decreasegood cholesterol levelsand increasebad cholesterol levelsin the body.
These include balsamic (especially balsamic glaze), flavored vinegars, and certain varieties of apple cider vinegar.
Dijon mustard is low in calories and adds a tangy kick to dressings, Carli says.
), but they are higher in dietary cholesterol and saturated fats.
Nutritional yeast is high in B vitamins, but the sodium content can add up quickly as well.
Choose a green-flag ingredient from each categorya fat, acid, emulsifier, and flavoring agent.
Combine them in a bowl and whisk together vigorously.
Often its just easier to grab a ready-made option at the supermarket.
The Bottom Line?
After all is said and done, produce-forward salads are healthyfull stop.
and a natural, uncomplicated acid source (like citrus juice or vinegar!
), and then build from there with flavors low in sodium and added sugars.
2020;2020(8):CD011737.
Grundy SM.Does dietary cholesterol matter?Curr Atheroscler Rep. 2016;18(11):68.
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2021;21(1):179.
Generally recognized as safe (GRAS).
US Food and Drug Administration.
