This reduced dressing is a processed product first, a dressing second. An umbrella review of 45 meta-analyses in 9.88 million people (Lane et al., BMJ 2024) found ultra-processed food intake raised cardiovascular mortality by 50% (RR 1.50). Label claims of "light" or "fat-free" do not remove it from the UPF class.
How should I track Salad Dressing, ranch dressing, reduced fat?
With calorie-dense foods like Salad Dressing, ranch dressing, reduced fat, a kitchen scale is your best friend. Research shows that portion estimation errors reach 50–200% for fats and oils (Almiron-Roig et al., Appetite 2013) — even a tablespoon off can mean 40–120 extra calories. Weigh on a scale rather than eyeballing — this applies to both liquid oils and solid fats like butter. If you use cooking sprays, note that "0 calorie" labels are per fraction-of-a-second spray — a realistic burst is closer to 5–10 calories, and multiple sprays add up.