It's spring and I'm excited about the shift in available vegetables. Making a salad the other night got me thinking about salad dressing.
A couple of years ago I was telling a neighbor about my"S and C" rule--that is, stay away from oils, except for canola, that begin with the letters"S" and"C". I say that because these oils are all predominantly from the omega-6 family, and the problem with our diet is that we get way too much omega-6 fat in proportion to omega-3 fats.
This neighbor is diabetic and was asking me for some help with his food choices. So on my next trip to the grocery store, I stopped by the salad dressing aisle to make a list of available brands that followed my rule. I found about 2.
It occurred to me that this could be a really important piece of the puzzle for people who don't really eat much fat, and who think they're eating healthy foods, but still have trouble losing weight or getting relief from inflammatory symptoms.
The key is the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. That means the less fat you eat, the less deviation from the"S" and"C" rule it takes to push you in the wrong direction. In other words, restrict your fat all day long then have a salad with the wrong oil, and you've overdone it for the day.
You have to be really careful with labels. A few weeks ago I was pulling samples off the shelves at Whole Foods for a class, and I stopped at the salad dressing section to get some examples. I couldn't believe it--Paul Newman's olive oil dressing listed soybean oil as the primary ingredient. I have no idea how he gets away with that…but I'm guessing that most people who he's branded his products with assume that since he's doing good works with his profits, that the foods are also healthy. We tend to make huge leaps of logic like that.
A few years ago I stopped buying salad dressings altogether. I make my own vinaigrettes. They're really quite simple, you need only a few basic ingredients, and you take the power back. Google"vinaigrette recipe" and you'll find a gazillion options. Yup. A gazillion. I counted each and every one.
If you really aren't into kitchen chemistry, please do read labels. If what is in your hand is not primarily olive oil or canola based…it's not something that should go into your grocery basket, your kitchen cabinet…or YOU.