Pastas are often considered taboo food in the weight loss community, due to its high-carb content. But you need to get the right kinds of carbs, at the right times. It’s important to know the difference between good carbs and bad carbs.
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Whole Grain vs. White
Carbohydrates, often referred to as “carbs,” are your body’s primary energy source, and they’re a crucial part of any healthy diet. Carbs should never be avoided completely, but it is important to understand that not all carbs are alike.
Simple carbohydrates are composed of simple-to-digest, basic sugars with little real nutritional value for your body. The higher in sugar and lower in fiber, the worse the carbohydrate is for you. White pasta is an example of simple carbs.
Whole-what pasta contains complex carbs. Complex carbohydrates are considered “good” because they consist of longer series of sugar chains which metabolize much more slowly than would simple carbs. They generally have a lower glycemic load, which means that you will also get smaller amounts of sugars released at a more consistent rate.
Many people view carbohydrates as weight-gain enemies, but choosing the right type of carbohydrates may help you lose weight, by filling you up and preventing hunger. The National Pasta Association reports that pasta is a good source of complex carbohydrates, which release energy slowly, so you may eat less in the long run.
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Whole-grain pastas will provide more of these benefits than pastas made with white flour.
One cup of cooked spaghetti has approximately 220 calories, 1 gram of fat and no cholesterol.
Whole grain pastas contain about the same calories as regular pasta but have more protein, fiber and vitamins. As an added bonus, all that protein and fiber means that you’ll feel more satisfied by eating less.
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Portion Control
Each year, the average American eats 20 pounds of pasta, according to the National Pasta Association. Additionally, Americans are responsible for about a quarter of the world’s total pasta consumption, that amounts to six billion pounds every year!
Eating too much of any type of food can lead to weight gain. As with everything, enjoy pasta in moderation — be mindful of portion sizes and experiment with all the glorious varieties.
Keep portions to 1 to 1 1/2 cups per person and add vegetables and lean meats, beans or fish to balance out the meal.
BMI
The research, published in Nutrition and Diabetes, indicates that pasta consumption doesn’t contribute to obesity, and was actually linked to a lower body mass index. BMI is used to determine how much fat a person has based on his or her age, sex, height and weight.
While surveying the eating habits of 23,000 Italians, researchers found that pasta – a staple of the U.S. News-top-ranked Mediterranean diet – did not correlate to waist size or BMI among those studied.
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Bottom Line
Being healthy does not mean going to extremes and completely depend on, or avoiding, any type of food in your diet.
Eating a balanced meal with grains, meat, vegetables, and fruits is the healthiest way of living.
We don’t make food healthier, we’re going back to when food was more complete and healthier by nature because it had to be.
-Pazzi Pasta
