Zinc oxide in ranch dressing is as normal as eggs in you omelette— but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for you to eat it.
If there is one staple of American condiment cuisine that is nearly as popular as ketchup, it’s ranch dressing. It is the hallmark white glop that douses salad bars, gets pizza crusts dipped in it, and flavors countless snack foods. Unfortunately, much of the commercially produced ranch dressing that you’ll find on supermarket shelves doesn’t get its bright white color from the buttermilk found in the recipe. The nearly neon white coloring is thanks in part to a chemical called ‘zinc oxide’ that is also a main ingredient player in yes, you guessed it, sunscreen.
Typical ranch dressing with zinc oxide
Problem:
“Zinc oxide is a chemical compound used to fortify food, or specifically add nutrients to less nutrient rich foods,” explains nutritionist, Elissa Goodman. “While zinc is naturally found within the Earth’s crust, the food grade zinc used to fortify products is synthetic. You may find it in nutritionally sparse breakfast cereals, sports drinks and bars. Read your food labels, you may be surprised where it pops up.”
There are also medicinal complications when ingesting zinc oxide, according to LiveStrong.com.
“Avoid taking this supplement if you’re also on cisplatin for chemotherapy, since a high intake of zinc may help cancer cells become resistant to that drug. With other medicines like penicillamine, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones, zinc oxide can prevent them from being absorbed into the bloodstream, so you should avoid taking them two hours before or four to six hours after zinc.”
Solution:
So what’s a flavor lover to do? Steer clear of zinc oxide in ranch dressing found on supermarket shelves, that’s for sure.
“You shouldn’t be eating foods that need to be fortified with nutrients,” suggests Goodman. “Secondly, I’m not a fan of anything synthetic in my foods. If a client is low in zinc and this will present a problem, I would suggest cashews, chickpeas or hummus, organic poultry, certain types of seafood, yogurt, and even lean, grassfed beef. Ranch dressing is also ingrained in our culture. It’s often one of those non-negotiable foods for my clients to give up. You would be surprised at how easy and delicious homemade ranch dressing is.”
The solution is picking from one of three options, really. Either quit your ranch habit, make your own at home with ingredients you can personally oversee, or switch to something with a more natural recipe. There is a big movement to make salad dressings healthier, with national brands like Sabra introducing lines of natural, not-loaded-with-chemical junk that is made to be refrigerated versus thrown in the back of a pantry for months or possibly years.
“We are passionate about wellness and nutrition and enjoy bringing the goodness of delicious, minimally processed dips and spreads to as many people as possible,” shares Tracy Lukow, Director of Marketing for Sabra. “Our Greek Yogurt Dips blend the delicious taste of small batch Greek yogurt with all natural ingredients, like our farm market fresh chopped vegetables.”
If you’re even more motivated to cut back on chemicals and calories, you can change your ranch-loving game plan to seasoning mixes designed to replicate all the ranch flavor, without the dairy element. Try experimenting with your own blend of dried parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, onion flakes, black pepper, dried chives, salt, and a small amount of powdered sugar (which will lend slight sweetness and the coveted white color). These dry seasoning rubs give everything from veggies to chicken a distinct ranch flavor without weird chemicals.
