What’s the unhealthiest part of dinnertime: the salad, or your glass of vino on the side?

The calorie-packed culprit might just be… your salad!

A glass of wine contains, on average, 0.8g of sugar per 100 mL, with sweet wines containing more than dry. Overall, your glass of wine has less than a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar all up.

Compare that to salads – or more specifically, salad dressings. Pre-packaged salad dressings are often packed with sugar, especially low-fat varieties which use sugar (and salt) to compensate for flavour. Some varieties can have up to two teaspoons of sugar in just a two tablespoon serving! It doesn’t take long for all that sugar to start to add up.

Sugar’s been linked to a number of health risks, including everything from diabetes to acne. With recent WHO guidelines recommending only 6 teaspoons of sugar a day, it’s easy to see how sneaky hidden sugars like those in salad dressings are hurting us.

A small glass (125mL) of red wine not only has significantly less sugar than a dressing-coated salad, but could also provide additional health benefits. Antioxidants in red wine, it’s been suggested, can help reduce the risk of heart disease. It may also reduce your risk of developing certain cancers and dementias.

Of course, with both wine and salad dressing, moderation is key. Doctors and researchers make it very clear that any more than one or two glasses of wine a day will be worse, not better for your health. And you can avoid the nasties in your salad by making your own sugar free salad dressings.