Everybody knows that a diet filled with fresh, raw vegetables and greens are essential to vibrant health and prevention of chronic diseases, but few understand how the fats they consume along with these foods help to unlock the nutrient store provided by a healthy diet. At the ill-advised advice of many dieticians and medical professionals, people are encouraged to follow a low fat diet that includes fat-free salad dressings laden with added sugars for flavoring.
Researchers from Purdue University have published the result of a study in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research that demonstrates how the type and quantity of salad dressing determines the bioavailability of fat soluble carotenoids (including lutein, lycopene, beta-carotene and zeaxanthin) in vegetables and fruits. Carotenoids are associated with reduced risk of several chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and macular degeneration. (more…)