ISU Research Says Fat Good With Veggies

July 27, 2004

July 26, 2004

AMES, Iowa (AP) -- Don't use a fat-free dressing on your salad, an Iowa

State University researcher says. A bit of fat added to fresh vegetables

helps bodies absorb cancer-fighting lycopene and alpha- and beta-carotenes,

said White, an ISU associate professor of nutrition.

If vegetables remain free of fat, the body won't consume the essential

nutrients that can help prevent cancer and heart disease, White's research

shows.

About 2 fluid ounces, or four tablespoons, of salad dressing would be an

adequate amount of dressing for a large salad, White said. Fans of add-ons

such as cheese, bacon bits, fried chicken, egg yolk and avocados should opt

for a fat-free dressing, she said.

" If a person is going to eat a brownie anyway with the meal, that's fine as

long as it's done in moderation, " White said. " In that case, I would go with

fat-free dressing on the salad. "

" That's good news for us, " said Boelling, who on Thursday was munching

on a garden salad with a healthy dose of Parmesan dressing at Big Leagues

Skybox Grill & Deli in downtown Des Moines. " I like the salad dressing. It

makes it worth eating. "

The results of the study, paid for by Procter and Gamble's Nutrition Science

Institute, surprised Wells Fargo employee Bock, who was eating a salad

during lunch break Thursday.

" You always think of salad dressing as fattening and bad, " she said.

White cautioned that too much dressing can lead to health problems.

" In the absence of fat, people are probably not deriving the benefits from

the beta-carotenes and other carotenoids, " White said. " They have to balance

that knowledge, along with the knowledge that fat is excess calories, and

excess body weight is a huge problem in America. "

Nearly one-third of U.S. adults are obese, and 300,000 deaths each year can

be linked to unhealthy eating and exercising habits, according to the

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the

National Institutes of Health.

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