The next time you have a salad, pour some oil-based salad dressing on it. Researchers say regular consumption of salad dressing actually may be good for your heart. A new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that oil and vinegar
salad dressing is an important source of alpha-linolenic acid, a polyunsaturated fat shown to have heart-healthy benefits.
Researchers at Harvard University in Boston followed 76,283 women over a 10-year period. The study participants had never been diagnosed with heart disease or cancer.
When the study began in 1984, women were asked how often they consumed 116 foods. During the study, 232 women died and 597 women developed heart disease.
Mayonnaise, creamy salad dressings and oil and vinegar dressings were the most common source of alpha-linolenic acid in the study, researchers say.
"A higher intake of oil and vinegar salad dressing, an important source of alpha-linolenic acid, was associated with a reduced risk of fatal ischemic heart disease when women who consumed this food five to six or more times a week were compared with those who rarely consumed this
food," researchers write.
There also was a slightly lower risk of fatal heart disease
associated with a higher consumption of creamy salad dressings and mayonnaise, study results showed.
Fat-free salad dressings, very popular among women, may not
provide the healthy types of fat the body needs.
Researchers say the study raises "concern about widespread use of fat-free salad dressings, which has eliminated an important source of alpha-linolenic acid ... in the U.S. diet."