Recent ADA statement confirms mayo isn’t as healthful as advertised

Incredible! As soon as I published by previous post Calling Mayonnaise “Healthy” Is Quite A Stretch these automatically generated links showed up below the article:

So I clicked on the second one and found a rather recent take on the health pitch made by mayonnaise makers saying their products are made with healthy oils so they must be good for you. The article is entitled A more healthful mayonnaise? Maybe from The Washington Post dated July 15, 2010, written by columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget for the Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy column.

Published a little more than two weeks ago, the article mentions spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association Marisa Moore making a very good point regarding the supposed healthfulness of mayonnaise made with “healthy” oils:

As for mayonnaises that boast that they’re excellent sources of those heart-healthy omega fats, Moore notes, “You don’t want to look to mayonnaise as a prime source of omegas.”

“They might provide some benefit,” Moore says of those mayos. But you’d have to eat an outrageous amount, the equivalent of 20 eggs’ worth of mayo, to get the same amount of omega fats as an eight-ounce serving of fish provides, she says.

See? Finally the truth is revealed no thanks to advertising. I think by now you understand why that Lady’s Choice “I Choose Real” campaign is suspect (Click HERE to view one of the campaign’s TV commercials pitching mayonnaise as source of Omega-3); they try to persuade us to consume mayonnaise under the false impression that it’s a significant move towards health. Nothing is ever said about using mayonnaise sparingly for the high saturated fat content.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t like my sandwiches dry without dressing or mayo, so I use it in moderation. As far as feeding the family is concerned, I believe moderation is applicable to the kids as well.

Just thinking out loud, by why are local experts silent on this? Mabuti pa ang palpak na pag-awit ng Lupang Hinirang sa mga laban ni Pacquiao pinupuna agad ng eksperto, but what about how (less than honest) advertising affects consumers’ decision-making? Tsk, tsk.