We all know that there are many foods that are given a bad name, but pasta is definitely among the most common examples of a food like this. However, it seems that people are wrong. A recent scientific study has shown that pasta doesn’t make people fat, at least not under certain circumstances.
As a matter of fact, pasta can help people keep their healthy weight, according to a group of Italian scientists which conducted a scientific study in which more than 20.000 individuals participated. There are many people who are not aware of this fact, but in the last five years, we have witnessed a lot of changes in diet and nutrition.
The well-known “bad foods” like eggs, salt and butter, are becoming good foods thanks to the latest scientific studies. The results of these studies are not matching the recommendation and explanation of the authorities. The latest news is that pasta should not be avoided in case you are worried about your weight.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should start eating every food covered in butter or that you should consume very salty eggs or creamy pasta. Moderation is the key. The scientists who work at the Neuromed Institute have Science Alert that pasta is good for keeping healthy weight when it is part of the popular Mediterranean Diet.
Licia Iacoviello, a member of the team of scientists, points out that many people are led to believe that pasta should be avoided in case someone is trying to drop those extra pounds. There are people who have excluded this meal from their diet completely.
Thanks to this latest study, we can freely say that these people are wrong. Pasta has been part of the Italian cuisine for hundreds of years and part of the Mediterranean diet too and it should stay in the future.
So, the Italian scientists have selected nearly 14.500 people that were at least 35 years old. All of them lived in Molise, a region located in Southern Italy. In addition, they have selected another group of people (9.000 people) that were at least 18 years old and they lived all over Italy.
Scientists have used a questionnaire to learn more about the things their participants consumed in the last 24 hours. They have also tried to get a better picture about the time when they ate these things, where did they eat them, the brand of food and few other things.
Of course, the sizes of the portions were considered too and people has to answer whether they are practicing some specific diet and whether they have consumed different foods than their standard diet in the last 24 hours.
Obviously, they have measured the hip, waist, height and weight of each participant. In the end, the scientific study has proven that there is no direct link between pasta consumption and improper weight. On the contrary, eating pasta was helping people reach their ideal weight.
Science Alert that they were encouraged to perform this study by the reports that pasta, as one of the crucial parts of the Italian Mediterranean diet, was linked to overweight and obesity. However, according to Iacoviello, the study has confirmed that when pasta is part of the Mediterranean diet these fears are unreasonable.
Of course, the results should not be taken for granted. We should not forget that the connection between eating pasta and following a healthy diet was focused only on individuals who are practicing the Mediterranean diet and this diet includes consumption of food rich in carbs and fiber like rice, legumes, cereals, olive oil, cheese, garlic, tomatoes and fish.
In other words, the individual who were able to maintain their body weight and eat pasta from time to time were already following a balanced, natural and healthy diet and they were consuming pasta together with veggies and fish instead of eating it with meat and creams.
In addition, the sizes of the portions were relatively small which means that in most cases pasta is consumed only in small amount as part of some other meal, not as a whole meal.
According to the experts, the survey has shown that when it comes to portion size, most Italians confirmed that a 86-gram portion of pasta is the biggest portion and as we all know, this amount of pasta is relatively small to be a whole meal.
Once we analyze these interesting results, we will realize that they are not shocking. Namely, every man or woman can consume pasta regularly, but only if they have a balanced, natural and healthy diet. The good complex carbohydrates found in pasta can provide a feeling of satiety and this great for those who want to maintain their health.
Via Science Alert