An Iowa State University study finds eating salads sans fat might keep you from getting some of the important cancer-fighting nutrients in vegetables. I-S-U nutrition professor Wendy White says her study finds fat’s important in helping your body use things like lycopene and beta-carotenes.She says these are fat-soluable components that dissolve in fat and require some fat to be absorbed. She says vitamin E is also fat soluble and requires some fat for absorption. Fat-free salad dressings have become popular in the craze to cut calories, but White says they may cut out helpful things as well.She says the environment in the intestine is a water-based environment, so the availability of fat facilitates the absorption of the fat-soluble food components that are believed to be health protective in protecting against major forms of cancer and heart disease. White says you should be sure your veggie salad has at least a small amount of fat.She says avocados are a reasonably healthy source of fat, and she says a small amount of cheese does too and cheese has other important nutrients. She says a small amount of egg yolk is also good, just don’t go overboard with the egg yolks. White says you just need to be aware of the importance of having a little fat in the salad.She says she’s not advocating that people switch to a full-fat salad dressing. She says it’s a trade off as we get a daily allowance of fat in a healthy diet, and she says it’s better investment to use that fat allowance promote absorption of beta-carotene from vegetables instead of wasting it all on a high-fat junk food choice. White says about two ounces of salade dressing — or four tablespoons would be enough for a large salad.
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