Is pasta fattening? Here’s what the experts say
Pasta is sometimes cited as a fattening food. False. Disproving this claim and highlighting the valuable role of this food as part of a balanced diet is theInternational Carbohydrate Quality Consortium(ICQC), an association that promotes the consumption of ‘quality’ carbohydrates.
5 information about pasta
ICQC members developed 5 insights into the nutritional properties of pasta. Distinctive elements compared to other sources of carbohydrates and sugars, including within cereals and their derivatives.
- Carbohydrates are not all the same
Carbohydrate-rich foods represent a heterogeneous category. A plate of pasta and beans and a cream croissant cannot be considered nutritionally and health-wise equivalent, despite containing roughly the same amount of carbohydrates. Simple and complex sugars. Different types of carbohydrates indeed trigger different metabolic responses. And different grains, in turn, have different glycemic indexes.
- Using whole wheat pasta, and whole grains, benefits cardio-metabolic health
The following are recommended whole foods – such as whole-wheat pasta, which has a lower glycemic index than conventional pasta – and fiber-rich foods such as vegetables, the legumes and fruit, beneficial with already two servings a day (including the dried fruit, healthy in a dose of just 20 grams a day). Expectedly, their habitual consumption is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
- Pasta is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates (and is not fattening)
Pasta is a diet ally. The complex carbohydrates it contains differ from simple sugars in their ability to provide slow-release energy. A false myth must be dispelled; it is not carbohydrates per se that lead to increased body mass index. Numerous scientific studies point out that it is instead excess calories, and the imbalance therefore between energy intake and energy consumed, that affect weight gain andobesity (which is linked to, among other things, the risk of developing 11 types of cancer).
- Carbohydrates to be limited are those with high glycemic response
Therefore, health problems can be traced to the excesses of other sources of carbohydrates, sugars in particular. See, in this regard, the previous article on the amount of added sugar in popular soft drinks. And it is the consumption of such beverages, as well as other sugar-rich foods, that should be kept under particular scrutiny. As in fact also recommended by the WHO.
- Nutritional guidelines recommend carbohydrate intake between 40 and 60 percent of daily calories
In seeking a balance among the various nutrients that make up the diet, nutritional guidelines recommend a daily carbohydrate intake of 45-64 percent of total energy. That is, the calories contributed each day by the various nutrients (carbohydrates and fiber, fat, protein), totaling 1,800-2,000 kcal, taking into account requirements that vary according to age and sex, as well as lifestyle (sedentary or athletic). The guidelines also recommend the consumption of cereals in every meal, subject to the criteria mentioned above.
