Love to eat salads? Adding a spoonful or two of soybean oil as dressing may help you derive the optimal nutritional benefit from your veggies, suggests a research.
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Findings:
- The findings showed that eating salad with added fat in the form of soybean oil.
- Promotes the absorption of seven different micronutrients that promote human health including cancer prevention and eyesight preservation.
- These nutrients include four carotenoids — alpha and beta carotene, lutein and lycopene — two forms of vitamin E and vitamin K.
- The oil also promoted the absorption of vitamin A, which formed in the intestine from the alpha and beta carotene.
- “The best way to explain it would be to say that adding twice the amount of salad dressing leads to twice the nutrient absorption.
- The study also found that the amount of oil added to the vegetables had a proportional relationship with the amount of nutrient absorption.
- That is, more oil means more absorption.
- Conversely, eating the same salad without the added oil lessens the likelihood that the body will absorb the nutrients.
- The study showed that the results may ease the guilt of countless dieters who fret about adding dressing to their salads.
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Experiment:
- For the study the team included college-age women who consumed salads with various levels of soybean oil.
- The results showed maximal nutrient absorption occurred at around 32 grams of oil, which was the highest amount studied, or a little more than two tablespoons.
- However, some variability was observed among the subjects.