Is your salad dressing hurting your healthy diet?

Source：Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School /Pic: VeselovaElena/Thinkstock / Author：Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School

Bottled dressings are often rich sources of saturated fat, calories, sodium, and added sugar.

You're eating more salad for good health. But you may be undoing the benefits when you use a store-bought salad dressing.

"I have some clients who say they'll only eat salad if they can use dressing. That can add a lot of calories, sodium, sugar, and saturated fat," says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

What's in the dressing?

Most store-bought salad dressings are made with soybean or canola oils, which are mainly unsaturated "good" fats. But many dressings are also packed with artificial flavors and colors and sodium-rich preservatives. They may contain full-fat cheese, added sugars like high-fructose corn syrup, and even unhealthy trans fat (which McManus says is unacceptable in any amount).

This is true about salad dressing whether it comes from shelf-stable bottle or a refrigerated jar, although refrigerated salad dressings tend to have fewer preservatives.

How bad is it?

The standard serving size for salad dressing is 2 tablespoons, which can contain huge amounts of unhealthy ingredients. Watch for these:

Saturated fat. For example, Marie's Caesar Dressing has 3.5 grams per serving; Ken's Chef's Reserve Creamy Caesar with Roasted Garlic dressing has 2.5 grams.

Sodium. For example, Soy Vay Citrus 'N Ginger dressing has 450 milligrams (mg) per serving; Olive Garden Signature Italian dressing has 520 mg.

Sugar. For example, Ken's Steak House Fat-Free Raspberry Pecan dressing has 10 grams of sugar per serving; Ken's Light Options Honey Dijon dressing has 7 grams.

Why it matters

Many people use much more than a standard serving of dressing when eating salad. The calories, added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat add up.

Too much saturated fat in your diet may drive up your cholesterol and lead to blockages in arteries. "If you are limiting your calories to help you lose weight, limit saturated fat to less than 12 grams per day. If not, limit saturated fat to less than 16 grams per day," says McManus.

Eating too much sodium on a regular basis can increase the risk of a heart attack or a stroke in some people and negate the effects of many medications to treat high blood pressure, such as diuretics. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 mg per day, with an ideal limit of 1,500 mg per day for most adults.

Flooding your body with sugar can spike your blood sugar, make you hungrier later, and add inches to your waistline. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 24 grams of added sugar per day for women and 36 grams for men.

Find a better dressing

Start reading food labels. McManus recommends a salad dressing serving with no more than 120 calories, 200 mg of sodium, 2 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of saturated fat per serving (see "Three salad dressings that fill the bill").

If one of your favorites exceeds those guidelines, McManus suggests using only half a serving (1 tablespoon) and mixing it with red or white wine vinegar.

Even better, make your own dressing at home. Experiment using olive or canola oil; wine, cider, balsamic, and other vinegars; chopped garlic; mustard; spices; and lemon or lime juice.

For a nice mustard vinaigrette, mix a little Dijon with sherry vinegar, lemon juice, pepper, and garlic plus olive or canola oil. For a simple Mediterranean dressing, add a little red wine vinegar, oregano, and lemon juice to olive oil. Salsa also is a healthy dressing alternative.