It’s been a long day already, and it’s only lunchtime. You’re exhausted, hungry, and in desperate need of a good sandwich. Ham, cheese, lettuce, bread, and it’s almost ready. You decide to be a bit adventurous today and try a new spread you’ve never tasted before: mayonnaise. Slathering it all over the inside ingredients of your creation, you are blissfully unaware of what concoction of disgust you’re soiling it with. Little did you know, you’ve just covered the otherwise tasty ham sandwich in a revolting, watery mixture of vinegar, egg, and bland spices. And whether you actually enjoy the stuff or not, science has some things to criticize about mayo.

Nutritionally, most mayonnaise would at least seem to be pretty healthy, if not very good: eggs, vinegar, and vegetable oil are staple ingredients. However, there is so much oil in most mayonnaise that its fat content becomes astronomical. Nike LIVESTRONG reports that the average tablespoon of mayo can have up to 15.4% of your daily total fat intake, and up to 7.5% of your daily saturated fat intake. The website also reports that the same scoop of mayonnaise can hold 1.7% of your recommended cholesterol consumption and 3.8% of your sodium consumption. Pair all this with an appalling 90 calories per single tablespoon (LIVESTRONG), and you have a condiment fit to stop your heart.

It doesn’t end there, though. When you consider that mayonnaise is comprised almost entirely of egg, vinegar, and oil, the mixture begins to look a lot less appealing. Even less appealing is the potential of salmonella poisoning, which causes terrible nausea, vomiting, and other health issues that can easily turn critical. That’s right  — if the eggs in your mayo aren’t pasteurized, there’s a chance that you can contract the dreaded salmonella bacteria from the spread (CureJoy). Now, your cold, vinegar-soaked eggs are deadly, cold, vinegar-soaked eggs.

Credits:

Editorial, CureJoy. “Why Mayonnaise Is Bad For You.” – CureJoy, CureJoy, 13 Feb. 2018,

www.curejoy.com/content/is-mayonnaise-bad-for-your-health/amp/.

Fetters, K. Aleisha. “Why You Need to Eat Fat to Burn Fat.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group,

3 Oct. 2017, www.livestrong.com/article/557726-eat-fat-to-burn-fat/.