There’s No Better Time to Jump-start Healthy Eating Habits

“There’s no better time than National Nutrition Month® to implement a healthy eating regimen with the great taste of salads with salad dressing,” says The Association for Dressings and Sauces (ADS). The Atlanta-based trade association of salad dressing and sauce manufacturers and suppliers to the industry prides itself on sharing the many health benefits that salads with dressings provide.

The Association for Dressings and Sauces (ADS) joins ADA this month in recommending practical solutions for healthy living throughout the entire year. National Nutrition Month®, created in 1973 by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), is a nutrition education and information campaign designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. With nearly 65,000 members, ADA is the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals committed to promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being.

Salads with dressing offer numerous health benefits and are a must-have for anyone committed to eating healthy and maintaining a nutritionally-balanced life. The vegetables and fruits that are standard residents in any tossed salad are an excellent source of fiber, which has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer. But there’s even more benefits to delicious salads then most people realize.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles and Louisiana State University published a study in the September 2006 Journal of the American Dietetic Association that found that those who eat salads, raw vegetables and salad dressing have considerably higher levels of vitamins C, E, B6 and folic acid, all key nutrients in promoting a healthy immune system.

In addition, researchers from Iowa State University and Ohio State University published a study in the August 2004 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that showed eating salad vegetables with some added fat, such as full-fat salad dressings, promotes the absorption of lycopene, alpha- and beta-carotenes, all of which aid in the fight against cancer and heart disease. Some salad dressings also contain alpha-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid that may protect against fatal heart attacks, and Vitamin E, which has been shown to be beneficial for the heart health of women. So do your body good - grab your greens and veggies, and top with your favorite, most flavorful dressing!

The Association for Dressings and Sauces is an international trade association representing the manufacturers of salad dressings and condiment sauces and the suppliers to the industry. Visit us on the web at http://www.dressings-sauces.org to learn more about the nutritional benefits of salads and salad dressings, and to obtain tasty recipes as well as a copy of the brochure, “The Good News About Salad Dressings and Sauces.” For more information about the health aspects of fresh vegetable and salad dressing consumption, visit http://www.saladaday.org.

Source: www.newswise.com