Healthy fats help you absorb nutrients from fruits and veggies

Fruit? Check. Vegetables? Check. A fat-rich dressing? Check!

Fact: The healthy fat in salad dressing helps your body get the good stuff out of all those veggies, says a new study in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. It found that people absorb more of the heart-healthy carotenoids in fruit and vegetables when they toss their salads with dressings high in nutritious monounsaturated fats.

Bottom line: Enjoy the right kind of fats. A glug of canola or olive oil is good for your health.

French vinaigrette: Whisk up this easy dressing in a flash!

1 tbsp Dijon mustard
4 tsp white-wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1/2 salt
1 cup olive oil

Get six healthy reasons to make your own salad dressing and a recipe here.