# What on Earth is healthy about this salad dressing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315 "2012-05-08T19:45:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/41 "2012-05-09T19:43:12Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Of course, you’d need to know what ‘evoo’ is. 😉 Which I do not. Extra virgin olive oil, as described by [del]a screeching harpy[/del] celebrity “cook” Rachel Ray. > [@](#): > > 3 tbs of evoo, 2 tbs red wine vinegar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp dijon, and one pressed garlic clove? One visits a free calorie counting website which draws it’s data from FDA analysis. [Nutritiondata.com](http://Nutritiondata.com) is but one from among many, but it’s the one I used, below: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 TBSP: 357 Vinegar, 2 TBSP: 0 Lemon Juice, 1 TBSP: 5 Garlic, 1 clove: 4 Mustard, 1 TBSP: 3 Total calories: 369 Divide by servings. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/42 "2012-05-09T20:22:45Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > No but it insinuates it. Like I said, for a salad dressing, it is _relatively_ heathful. I really don’t see the problem with the labeling or marketing of the product. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/43 "2012-05-09T20:23:46Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Extra virgin olive oil, as described by [del]a screeching harpy[/del] celebrity “cook” Rachel Ray. > One visits a free calorie counting website which draws it’s data from FDA analysis. [Nutritiondata.com](http://Nutritiondata.com) is but one from among many, but it’s the one I used, below: > > Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 3 TBSP: 357 > Vinegar, 2 TBSP: 0 > Lemon Juice, 1 TBSP: 5 > Garlic, 1 clove: 4 > Mustard, 1 TBSP: 3 > > Total calories: 369 > Divide by servings. Oh noes! 97% of calories from fat. Must be bad!!! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/44 "2012-05-09T20:48:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And even diets aren’t necessarily health or unhealthy: It’s lifestyles as a whole that matter. The typical Olympic athlete eats more than any of us folks, and yet remains healthy, because they’re getting a ton more exercise and burning all those extra Calories. Good point, people are getting hung up on details and missing the goals. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/45 "2012-05-09T20:50:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh noes! 97% of calories from fat. Must be bad!!! I get that you divided the total calories by four servings (388/4= 97) but I don’t buy the fat part. Olive oil doesn’t equal fat… like bacon fat or cheeseburger fat does it? Gracious I hope not as I use it for many things, including dipping bread in it. (Parenthetically I would also say that quite a bit of that dressing doesn’t get consumed as it stays in the salad bowl or on the plate.) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/46 "2012-05-09T20:53:20Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > The statement, and I quote (again), was “Not all calories are equal.” which is just as scientifically illiterate as saying “Not all grams are equal.” Not really. All calories are equal in the amount of energy they provide, certainly, so if you’re interpreting “calorie” strictly to mean “a unit of energy”, then they’re all the same. But not all foods with equal amounts of caloric content are nutritionally similar, which was very obviously what **pkbites** was getting at: > [@pkbites](#): > > Eating 1200 calories a day of fat laced Little Lardies Snack Cakes is not better for you than eating 1500 calories worth of fresh fruits and vegetables. Not all calories are equal. “Not all calories are equal” is an easily understood shorthand expression for the concept “It’s the nutritional value of what you eat that matters, not just its total caloric content”. I don’t think anybody else in this thread was confused or mislead by the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/47 "2012-05-09T20:59:49Z")
> [@](#): > > I get that you divided the total calories by four servings (388/4= 97) but I don’t buy the fat part. Olive oil doesn’t equal fat… like bacon fat or cheeseburger fat does it? Gracious I hope not as I use it for many things, including dipping bread in it. (Parenthetically I would also say that quite a bit of that dressing doesn’t get consumed as it stays in the salad bowl or on the plate.) No, it’s 97% Calories from fat because 357 divided by 369 is 97%. Olive oil is pure fat. Most experts agree that it’s better for you than bacon or cheeseburger grease, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fat, it just means that not all fat is the same, and “fat” does not necessarily mean “unhealthy”. ---
**Author:** ![Crab\_Rangoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Crab\_Rangoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crab_Rangoon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/48 "2012-05-09T21:05:53Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > I get that you divided the total calories by four servings (388/4= 97) but I don’t buy the fat part. Olive oil doesn’t equal fat… like bacon fat or cheeseburger fat does it? Gracious I hope not as I use it for many things, including dipping bread in it. (Parenthetically I would also say that quite a bit of that dressing doesn’t get consumed as it stays in the salad bowl or on the plate.) Olive oil = fat Not all fat is bad - vegetable oils are good for you. Lard may not be so good for you. There is a spectrum of fats - from fully saturated animal fats to polyunsaturated vegetable fats (oils). Also the unnatural trans-fats which are probably the worst of the lot. It pays to learn about nutrition and choose how you want to “spend” your fat calories - I always have olive oil around to cook with - and I cut back on things like butter. Seems to work for me. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/49 "2012-05-09T21:14:49Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > I get that you divided the total calories by four servings (388/4= 97) but I don’t buy the fat part. Olive oil doesn’t equal fat… like bacon fat or cheeseburger fat does it? Gracious I hope not as I use it for many things, including dipping bread in it. (Parenthetically I would also say that quite a bit of that dressing doesn’t get consumed as it stays in the salad bowl or on the plate.) In everyday language, “fat” is often used only for lipids that are solid at room temperature or only for animal fats, while “oil” is often used for lipids that are liquid at room temperature or only for vegetable fats. However, the nutritional labeling calls all lipids “fat” and your body processes it all pretty much the same way. Calorie-wise, there’s no difference between olive oil and bacon or cheeseburger fat. In fact… it surprises a lot of people that butter has fewer calories per unit of volume than olive oil (100 calories/tbsp compared to 120) because butter has some water and protein. It’s the olive oil that’s pure fat. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/50 "2012-05-09T23:06:19Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > How is the dressing in the OP low fat? 87.5% of all the calories come from fat. I never said it was. I contrasted it with many other “diet” dressings which promote how low in fat they are, but have a ton of calories due to all the sugary stuff they add to make it tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/51 "2012-05-10T05:55:23Z")
**pkbites** , if I took a gallon of water and added a single drop of oil, would you call that low-fat? Because that would have 100% of its Calories from fat. It’s just that, in that case, 100% of its Calories still isn’t very much. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/52 "2012-05-10T14:17:31Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > **pkbites** , if I took a gallon of water and added a single drop of oil, would you call that low-fat? It wouldn’t mix. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/53 "2012-05-10T17:12:54Z")
OK, sure, it won’t mix (or at least, won’t stay mixed), but I’ve still got a big jug with a gallon of water and a drop of oil in it, and a label on the side that says “Shake well before using”. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/54 "2012-05-10T17:28:34Z")
Do what most salad dressings do and add some xanthan gum or something similar as an emulsifier. 🙂 (Or mustard if you’re being more “natural” about it.) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/55 "2012-05-10T19:03:27Z")
Side note: we have some xanthan gum powder in our pantry. If you want to play with it, start with _small_ quantities. Like, way less than you think you’ll need. I accidentally made an almost-solid dressing/marinade once. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/56 "2012-05-10T19:59:28Z")
Are there any calories in xanthan gum? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/57 "2012-05-10T20:41:47Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Are there any calories in xanthan gum? Maybe 10 calories per teaspoon, but a teaspoon is a lot. A quarter teaspoon would thicken a lot of sald dressing. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315/58 "2012-05-10T20:46:22Z")
Yup. I also own xanthan gum. You’d probably add more salt or pepper or other seasonings to salad dressing than you’d add xanthan gum, lest (as mentioned above) your salad dressing turn out to be vinaigrette jello. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-on-earth-is-healthy-about-this-salad-dressing/621315.md?page=2)