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Pasta Doesn't Make You Fat. True or False?
Nutrition | August 07, 2016
Someone posted an article on Facebook the other day. The article was from Real Simple magazine and the title read, ‘Science Says: Pasta Won’t Make You Fat‘. intrigued, I clicked on the link and discovered the information as based on a recent Italian study published in the Nutrition and Diabetes journal.
The study focused on the correlation between regular pasta intake and body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio. BMI is is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by his or her height in meters squared. (If you’d like to find out your own BMI, here’s a calculator so you don’t have to do any horrible math 😉 Waist-to-hip ratio is a measurement tool that looks at the proportion of fat stored on your waist, hips and rear end.
So basically, the researchers tried to find out if people who ate a lot of pasta were overweight or not.
Real Simple says, “The researchers found that pasta consumption was associated with a lower BMI and is not linked to a person being obese or overweight.”
Secondly, after reading through the actual study, it looks like all of the people in the study submitted the information over the phone. Meaning that no one measured or weighed these people. Instead they were trusted to be honest with the reporting of their weight and relative health to the researchers. Now, I’m not calling all those lovely people liars. I’m just wondering how factual all that information is. Often we tend to name our weight or measurements as slightly lower than they are. But that’s all just an assumption on my part.
Finally (and most importantly in my opinion) dried, boxed pasta is made from semolina flour. That’s just your basic white flour. Harvard Health Publications tells us that, “The bolus of blood sugar that accompanies a meal or snack of highly refined carbohydrates increases levels of inflammatory messengers called cytokines.” The publication goes on to say, “Inflammation doesn’t happen on its own. It is the body’s response to a host of modern irritations like smoking, lack of exercise, high-fat and high-calorie meals, and highly processed foods.”
Chronic inflammation can lead to illnesses, fatigue, even heart attacks and strokes.
So, Real Simple, maybe pasta doesn’t make Italians following a basic Mediterranean diet “fat”. But I plan on avoiding it or earning it with my workouts for far more important reasons.
What are your feelings about pasta? Is it a regular part of your diet? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Private Member |
I believe its all about portion control don’t eat 4 plates of it, I’m still working on that. I have to have my carbs if I don’t I feel sick. I get light headed and feel weak.- enjoy your day
Private Member |
zurich, switzerland
I can only speak from my own experience. I had been working out for 25+ years, and, even though I ate low-fat and moderate protein and carbs, I never looked as lean as I should, especially given my discipline with diet and exercise. I had low body fat, but no matter – I always had this little bloaty belly pouch. One day, I happened upon a post by a woman my age – 50 – who gave a testimonial about the Paleo/Primal diet: low carb, no grains, high fat (including animal fat), and moderate to high protein. When I took grains and high-glycemic carbs out of my diet, my body responded immediately with positive results. I was burning fat for fuel in no time and all of that inflammation and puffiness disappeared. Not to mention, my skin loved the oils I was taking in! One of my friends asked if I had a facelift!
Now, to further question the validity of this study – if you scroll down to the bottom, you’ll see who funded it (one of the first things I look up when I read any study: Cui Bono?/Who benefits?): The Barilla Group, along with the Italian Ministry of Food and Economics. Leaving out my conspiratorial leanings on big Corporations and Government cuddling up together – I will say the Barilla group is a company that produces those very boxes of pasta Zuzka wrote about – to the tune of 3.8 billion € in revenue per year. Perhaps they are a bit biased?
Private Member |
nevada, usa
Yeah, the Italians don’t eat as much pasta as Americans. It’s a side dish, not the main course. They also eat a lot of fish, olive oil, and fresh veggies. The French eat “a lot” of bread, too, but it still pales in comparison to how much Americans eat. I think the key to these countries’ low obesity numbers is not what they eat, but their attitude toward food. They associate food with good company, family, and relaxation, not stress, “fatness,” or guilt. This reflects on both their physical and psychological health. We could all learn a lot from the Italians and the French.