This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

We often think of mayonnaise as one of the least healthy foods on the planet, but it actually isn’t as bad as you may think it is – and we actually have plenty of “LOVE IT” and “LIKE IT” options for it in today’s Get the Skinny with Molly.

Mayo 101:

  • Main ingredients: Oil (soybean, canola, and/or olive oil), eggs and vinegar
  • Low in saturated fat (regular mayo has just 1 to 2 grams per tablespoon)
  • Very low in cholesterol (5 to 10 mg cholesterol per serving)
  • But it’s high in calories, with 100 calories per tablespoon

What’s the difference in types of mayo?

  • Most light mayo made with oil, eggs, & vinegar {like regular mayo} + corn starch or modified food starch
  • Most “olive oil” mayo has soybean/canola oil, often listed before olive oil on label
  • Vegan mayo uses binders like xanthan gum and soy protein isolate in place of eggs

 

LOVE IT!

Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Mayo

  • 100 calories, 12 grams fat, 125 mg sodium, 0 carbohydrate
  • Avocado oil, eggs, egg yolks, vinegar

 

Spectrum Canola Mayo

  • 100 calories – 11 grams fat – 95 mg sodium – 0 carbohydrate
  • Canola oil, eggs, vinegar

 

Chosen Foods Vegan Mayo

  • 90 calories – 10 grams fat – 1 gram carbohydrate
  • Avocado oil, chickpea broth, vinegar, sugar, faba bean protein powder

 

LIKE IT!

Most light mayonnaise: Half the calories of regular mayo, but most contain modified food starch, sugar, gums and other additives not found in regular mayo

  • Hellmann’s Light – Blue Plate Light – Kraft Reduced Fat Mayo with Olive Oil – Spectrum Light Canola Mayo –– Kraft Flavored Mayo (e.g. Chipotle) – The Ojai Cook Lemonaise Light

 

 

HATE IT!

Walden Farm’s Amazin’ Mayo: Zero calories, sugar, or fat, but made with the artificial sweetener sucralose (Splenda)

Kraft Fat Free Mayo – only 10 calories per tablespoon, but has more sugar and high fructose corn syrup than soybean oil, plus contains artificial colors, yellow 6 and Blue 1.

 

##

Want more from Molly?  Click here to sign up for Nutrition Bites, her weekly e-newsletter with links to her Get the Skinny TV segments here on WGNO, and her weekly column in NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune!   Follow Molly on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram:  @MollyKimballRD – and check out her weekly podcast; just search ‘Molly Kimball’ on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.