Ketchup is the undisputed champion of condiments, but is it any good for you? The sad answer is: ‘no’. Most of us don’t dole out a single tablespoon of ketchup onto our chips or fries - it’s much more like two (or more!). Unfortunately, an amount like this contains 8g of sugar. And it’s not proper table sugar, but the cheaper and less healthy fructose corn syrup that’s generally used.
For a healthier alternative why not try organic syrup made with real sugar? Furthermore, it would be even better to forget all about ketchup. Have you ever considered buying sun-dried tomatoes? They make a wonderful, healthy and refreshing alternative.
Typical store-bought barbecue sauce probably contains even more harmful fructose corn syrup than ketchup, at around 12 g per serving. Yet the situation here is even worse because of the potentially carcinogenic artificial coloring frequently used to give the sauce a lovely mahogany hue.
Instead, try your hand at some home-made sauces, or go for a barbecue sauce which comes from a ‘small-batch producer’ that’s probably free of additives.
The problem with opting for lighter dressings in order to reduce your fat intake is that these ‘light’ options make up for a lack of fat with an increase in sugar. This may make them taste more palatable, but what about your health? You always need to be aware of how much sugar you are consuming, but we usually don’t realize when it comes to items like this.
The truth is that you needn’t worry about proper Mediterranean-style olive oil and vinegar. The fat is actually needed for your body to absorb the essential vitamins waiting for you in your salad.
Unfortunately, most of the honey mustard on the market today is nothing of the kind. Loaded with sugary fructose corn syrup, there is often not much in the way of honey contained here. So, although it’s low in fat, the sugar levels make this moreish sauce far too dangerous for you to be buying.
The best thing to do instead would be to make your own. It’s really very easy. Just mix some honey with mustard and there you have it!
Tartar sauce is generally eaten with greasy, fried seafood, which you need to be wary of anyway. Plus, this sauce suffers from the same soybean-oil related health problems of mayonnaise, since mayonnaise is the main ingredient of tartar.
To make your own tartar simple mix some crushed pickles with your canola/avocado oil-based mayonnaise.
H/T: prevention.com