With about 100 calories per tablespoon, mayonnaise can hardly be considered good for health, however if you’re on a high-fat diet, you’ll definitely want to include it in your meal plans as often as possible.
There are actual health benefits to eating mayonnaise, which include:
- The absorption of minerals and vitamins
Essential minerals and vitamins like vitamin A, vitamin D, E and K are fat-soluble, meaning the body needs fat to be able to absorb them.
- Lowering the cholesterol
Mayonnaise contains healthy fats and is mostly made up of unsaturated fat – up to 85% of all the fat in mayonnaise is the good fat, which means that along with helping the body absorb nutrients more efficiently, mayonnaise can help lower the cholesterol and reduce the risk of high blood cholesterol.
- Preventing heart issues
Mayonnaise contains vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, so it has a decent level of antioxidants that can help prevent strokes and keep heart attacks at bay.
- Fighting the aging process
Containing selenium and potassium, choline, vitamin E and vitamin K, mayonnaise helps fight aging, boosts the metabolism and reduces free radical damage.
While you definitely shouldn’t be eating mayonnaise in large amounts, adding it in moderate quantities to your regular diet will bring health benefits, not to mention great taste to food.
But it’s a whole different thing when you consume mayonnaise made with highly processed and chemical ingredients. People who’ve consumed highly processed mayonnaise regularly say they’ve experienced side effects such as headaches and nausea.
One of the most consumed mayonnaises in the country is Hellmann’s mayonnaise made from soybean oil, eggs, vinegar and lemon juice as main ingredients.
Other ingredients include water, sugar, natural flavors and calcium disodium edta. However, Hellmann’s mayonnaise is not the richest in nutrients, nor are many of the other mayonnaises commonly found in stores today. These include Kraft brand, Miracle Whip, Duke’s, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
If you really want to get the most out of mayonnaise, the homemade one is the best. And it’s super easy to make.
You can use the blender or the food processor to get a foolproof result or the classic technique where you simply whisk the egg yolks with thin stream of oils.
To a homemade recipe, you can add mustard, lemon juice or vinegar, a few drops of water and salt to taste. Once you’ve made your first mayonnaise at home, you’ll never buy the cheap stuff again.
The trick with making mayonnaise at home is to add the oil little by little while stirring consistently. If you add the oil too fast or you add too much of it at once, you may end up with broken mayonnaise.
If that happens, know that you can fix your split mayonnaise with adding two teaspoons of boiling water or another egg yolk.
Use the first method if you want to achieve a thinner mixture or the second for thick mayonnaise.