Dietitian shares the healthiest and worst salad dressings

Summer is the peak season for healthy salads. But the vinaigrette you choose can make all the difference.

From classic Caesar to fat free balsamic, we asked dietitian Helen Bond to evaluate the benefits of ten supermarket salad dressings. We then noted them.

MARY BERRY CLASSIC SALAD CLOTHES

235 ml, £ 4, ocado.com

Per serving (30 ml): Calories, 120; saturated fat, 0.72 g; sugar, 6g; salt, 0.36g

WHAT IS: Canola oil, water, sugar, white wine vinegar, seasonings, including mustard seeds, basil, parsley.

VERDICT EXPERT: On the plus side, rapeseed oil is rich in healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, which helps control cholesterol levels. Mustard seeds provide selenium, important for thyroid and immune function and for healthy hair and skin.

A homemade version made of oil and vinegar would be healthier – avoiding 1.5 teaspoons of sugar per serving (a fifth of the daily limit; for 100 ml, there is 20g of sugar, which makes it richer in sugar than a digestive (biscuit).

And at 120 calories per serving, it's also not good for waist circumference. 2/10

HELLMANN'S SESAME AND SOYA DRESS

210 ml, £ 1.65, sainsburys.com

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 77; saturated fat, 0.66g; sugar, 2g; salt, 0.44g

WHAT IS: Water, apple cider vinegar, rapeseed oil, soy sauce, honey, seeds and sesame oil, seasonings and spices.

VERDICT EXPERT: Sesame seeds are rich in iron but there is less than 1 g per serving.

Sprinkling a few extra teaspoons would provide 7% of your daily iron needs (try a Chinese-style Roman salad, green onions, peanuts, coriander, as well as this vinaigrette and sesame seeds).

The vinaigrette is moderately calorie but a serving contains about 1 / 14th of your daily salt, which is quite high for a tiny portion of your overall diet. It also has half a teaspoon of added sugar.

On the positive side, it is less caloric than the others here. 6/10

WAITROSE Blue Cheese Dressing

235 ml, 1.86 pounds.

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 180; saturated fat, 1.6 g; sugar, 2g; salt, 1.11g

What's in it?: Canola oil, white wine vinegar, water, sugar, blue cheese powder, egg yolk, salt.

VERDICT EXPERT: Adding 180 calories of vinaigrette to your salad is like adding a chocolate bar. This also has a huge amount of salt – one serving contains about one-fifth of the recommended daily maximum of 6 g.

4% Blue Cheese Powder is not enough to add calcium to your diet, but increases the fat content: there is 8% of your recommended limit for saturated fat per serving. Better to avoid.1/10

MUSTARD BANDING WITH HONEY

240 ml, £ 3.29, ocado.com

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 164; saturated fat, 1.95 g; sugar, 3.6 g; salt, 0.42g

WHAT IS: Sunflower oil, cider vinegar, honey, mustard, water, sugar, salt.

VERDICT EXPERT: This one contains only ingredients that you will find at home, that is nothing artificial, which is an advantage, but a serving contains 164 calories (about the same as a packet of chips ) and almost a teaspoon of added sugar.

There is also close to one-tenth of your daily limit of saturated fats per serving, but this is offset by a much higher level of unsaturated fats (sunflower oil provides both types); which is healthier and helps control cholesterol levels.

Sunflower is also a good source of vitamin E, which protects our cell DNA from damage – a serving can provide more than your daily vitamin E needs.

Vitamins E and C act together to protect cells from damage. Make sure that the salad contains ingredients rich in vitamin C such as red pepper or spinach. 4/10

TASSES OF SALAD OF CUPS MANGO AND CHILLI

250 ml, 85%

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 66; saturated fat, 0.6 g; sugar, 3g; salt, 0.4g

WHAT IS: Water, rapeseed oil, mango purée, red pepper puree.

VERDICT EXPERT: Mango puree is enough to add flavor but not nutritional benefits. But take it with pieces of fruit, watercress and shrimp for a healthy salad that contains a lot of vitamin C, fiber and protein.

The sugar content per serving (8 to 9% of your daily limit) is not healthy, but this vinaigrette may still be a good option for slimming, with its acceptable level of 66 calories per serving.

The heat of the chili pepper can also mean that you use less dressing for the same flavor effect.5/10

SWEET BALSAMIC OF SAINSBURY

260 ml, 85%

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 18; saturated fat, trace; sugar, 1.74 g; salt, 0.23g

WHAT IS: Water, balsamic vinegar and red wine, concentrated grape juice, sugar, corn flour, seasonings.

VERDICT EXPERT: Despite the word "sweet", it does not contain as much sugar as many salad dressings, at just under half a teaspoon in a 30-ml serving.

It is incredibly low in calories and gets brownie dots to be one of the low salt dressings.

As it does not contain fat, it is helpful to add healthy sources of fat to your salad, such as seeds or avocado, to better absorb fat-soluble antioxidants, such as beta-carotene in the leaves. and tomatoes.9/10

LIGHT SALAD AT HOME PIZZA EXPRESS

235 ml, £ 1.50, most supermarkets.

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 89; saturated fat, 1.26 g; sugar, 1.38 g; salt; 0.66 g

WHAT IS: Water, olive oil, vinegar, egg, salt, other seasonings.

VERDICT EXPERT: A creamy ranch style dressing with some of the oil replaced with water.

"Light" means only 30% less fat or calories – in this case, fat – than an original version of the product. If you were hoping for a low-calorie dressing, you'd be disappointed with the calories that a chocolate digestive.

The sugar is low and the saturated fat content is good.

Regarding salt content – a serving provides more than one-tenth of your recommended limit. 2.5 / 10

MORRISONS CAESAR DRESSING

175 ml, 1.10 lbs.

Per serving (30ml): Cal, 120; saturated fat, 1.2 g; sugar, 0.8 g; salt, 0.36g

WHAT IS: Canola oil, water, egg, Parmigiano Reggiano, vinegar sugar, garlic, Worcester sauce and other seasonings.

VERDICT EXPERT: It's often thought that Caesar vinaigrette is one of the worst vinaigrettes because of its creaminess, but this version is not so bad.

Unlike homemade Caesar salad dressing that can be stuffed with cheese, it does not contain a lot of saturated fats or sugar and 120 calories per serving are not terrific.

Parmigiano Reggiano, 7%, gives only 2.5% of your daily calcium intake per serving.

Use this vinaigrette to tie a salad of cabbage, apple, carrot and red onion that would contain more antioxidants than traditional iceberg lettuce. 6/10

VINAIGRETTE FRENCH EXTRA SPECIAL ASDA

255 ml, 1.29%.

Per serving (30ml): Cal, 102; saturated fat, 0.6 g; sugar, 3.8 g; salt, 0.32g

What's in it?: Water, vinegar, rapeseed oil, sugar, mustard and seasonings.

VERDICT EXPERT: Made of Chardonnay vinegar and a combination of ordinary rapeseed oil and cold pressed.

While this may affect the flavor, it does not make any nutritional difference. There is still almost a teaspoon of sugar added per serving, although the levels of salt and saturated fat are not bad.

Make a sugar free version by mixing the oil and vinegar in a ratio of 2: 1, then add the mustard. 3/10

Bright, raw lemon, ginger, organic apple cider vinegar

500 ml, £ 4.29, ocado.com

Per serving (30 ml): Cal, 2; saturated fat, 0g; sugar, 0.2 g; salt trace

WHAT IS: Apple cider vinegar, water, ginger, turmeric, pepper.

VERDICT EXPERT: A popular alternative to traditional dressings because it contains few calories and people believe that it reduces the levels of fat in the blood.

There is a perception that vinegar contributes to weight loss, perhaps by stimulating the burning of fat.

A 2009 study in the journal Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry found that people consuming 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar had modest weight loss (2 lb to 4 lb) and lower triglyceride levels than did not drink it.

But this study did not specifically use apple cider vinegar and, overall, evidence that it 's an aid to weight loss does not have any effect. is not convincing.

This product contains curcumin (the active ingredient in turmeric) and ginger, which have anti-inflammatory effects, but the amounts per serving are low and I doubt that they have had a lot of pain. effect.

A vinegar vinaigrette is perfect for potato salads: acid slows the release of sugar in potatoes, reducing blood sugar levels and insulin spikes that can increase the risk of diabetes .

You will need to add oil to turn this into a proper dressing.

If mixed half-and-half with olive oil, this would increase to 130 calories per serving of two tablespoonful. 7/10