Just Eggs? What You Need to Know About Your Mayonnaise

My sainted father’s uncle, Mac, and my sainted father’s dad, Pops, were trained chefs.

Uncle Mac never married. He traveled, chef-ing it up in Boston, New York, and points south when the winter hit. When not with the family, he made boarding houses his home.

Pops married and had six boys. He could not travel to chase jobs and warm weather. Times were tough. He settled in Charlestown, taking a steady job driving for the MBTA. Even though the fumes made him queasy. But that’s another story.

Pops didn’t do the cooking— that was the mother’s job. Then the mother’s sister’s job. But that’s another story as well.

So as young Joe never witnessed Pops cook, he once questioned what Pops actually knew about a kitchen.

In reply, Pops, so the story goes, broke an egg into a bowl and began whisking. He slowly added a stream of oil and continued whisking.

Et voila.

Mayonnaise.

Young Joe, gob-smacked by this sorcery, never questioned Pops’ culinary prowess again.

Yes, mayonnaise is made with eggs.

And, yes, eggs are a beautiful source of nutrition, equal parts protein and healthy fat. Nary a carb.

But Mayonnaise is also made with oil.

When you make it at home, as Pops demonstrated, be sure to use Avocado Oil or maybe a very light and 100% pure Olive Oil (never a blend).

Sure, finish it off by adding a splash of vinegar or lemon, a pinch of mustard, and a dash of salt.

Trust Wholesum Yum for a quick and easy recipe.

What’s that, you say? You buy your mayonnaise from the Piggly Wiggly? Well, of course you do. Most of us do.

Do me a favor. Check that ingredient label.

First ingredient? Maybe soybean oil? canola oil? vegetable oil?

That’s bad. These are all seed oils, and seed oils make us fat and sick.

• Seed oils cause inflammation, which leads to chronic diseases. This happens slowly, over time.
• What you might notice right away, though, is that you are still hungry. When we eat foods that include seed oil, instead of feeling full, we want more food.

Notice anything else in the ingredient list?

Sugar? What’s that doing in there?

Causing cravings.

We know that too much sugar also makes us fat and sick. But — there isn’t very much sugar in that mayonnaise.

Wonder why it’s there?

Wonder if it is because sugar itself is addicting. Wonder if adding a stray addictive ingredient to the mayonnaise might make you crave more of it?

No offense intended. I don’t make homemade mayonnaise, either.

Instead, I simply changed brands.

It is possible to purchase mayonnaise made with avocado oil instead of seed oil, and with no added sugar. And you don’t even need the fancy store.

Here are two good options:

• Classic Avocado Oil Mayo by Chosen Foods
• Sir Kensington’s Avocado Oil Mayonnaise

I have one here made “with” avocado oil.

• Marketing is catching on. They add a splash of avocado oil so they can zhuzh up the label, but the bulk is still seed oil. Rubbish. Sorry.

My fancy pants brand is made with Organic Expeller Pressed Canola Oil.

• Still canola oil. Still rubbish. Sorry.

But the kinds with avocado oil have more fat.

• There is bad fat and there is good fat. You didn’t know there was good fat? We have been lied to for so long! Listen, we need the good fat, the natural fat, for our hormones and for mood regulation. Fat is our friend.

• Bad fat: unnatural highly processed, highly inflammatory, dirt-cheap, and highly addicting seed oils: canola/rapeseed, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soybean, sunflower, vegetable, anything hydrogenated.

• Good fat: natural fat from animals (dairy, eggs, fish, meat) and fruits (avocadoes, coconut, olives), nuts.

But it’s only a wee bit.

• Added to the wee bit of in your bread. And to the more-than-a-wee bit in your chips, fries, cookie. It adds up. Why not clean up this one condiment?

But I just don’t like the taste as much.

• You might be missing that addictive sugar. Sorry. Can you cowboy up and retrain your taste buds? Pretty please? Like a big girl?

Most of us know we can be eating better. Some changes are hard, like giving up Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Some are easy, like buying butter instead of margarine. This one? Much closer to the butter swap than the latte drop.

You can do it. Take one step toward healthier eating.

And stay strong, wise, kind, and good.

Note: This story was first published August 29, 2024 in Long. Sweet. Valuable. on Medium: https://medium.com/@strongwisegood

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, not a scientist, not a nutritionist. I am just a late boomer sharing what I’ve learned on my journey to good health through good food.