Saying hello again (or ciao!) to the Mediterranean diet, particularly Italian, may be your mantra from now on as a new study points out that eating pasta won’t make you fat.
And with Thanksgiving around the corner—not to mention the numerous food spots offering delicious to-go meals—you can pasta all the way into the holidays without gaining weight.
Scientists Lisa Sanders and Joanne Slavin have gone through 38 studies to reveal an important food verdict: Pasta is not the carb enemy you often thought it to be.
They discovered that amid the perception that “pasta is a fattening food, current observational studies generally report no association or an inverse association of pasta intake with body weight/body composition outcomes,” the scientists said.
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Turns out, this Italian staple is a low-glycemic carb powerhouse, setting itself apart from other carbs like potatoes, bread, and rice. Noodles however are still out of the question as it wasn’t included in the study.
Back in 2016, Italy confirmed a study revealing that pasta eaters actually have smaller BMI than those who don’t eat it. However, this doesn’t include carbonara sauce or extra Parmesan toppings.
But here’s the catch—portion control is also key, with 75 grams of dried pasta as your safest bet to avoid weight gain. You may also want to keep an eye on it while cooking to get that al dente texture.
Why? Cooking it al dente allows some of the resistant starch to remain, which makes its composition similar to brown rice or buckwheat. It’s the same scenario when you’re reheating it or letting it cool before consuming it.
Research Check: is it true pasta doesn’t make you gain weight, and could even help you lose it?https://t.co/BZf4bhCv6G
— World and Science (@WorldAndScience) November 21, 2023
Thus, if your noodles is harder to digest and transforms into glucose, it reduces its ability to increase sugar. Not only can you enjoy your noodles, the resistant starch from al dente noodles is also good for gut bacteria.
You may also like: 10 Low Carb Noodles You Will Love
Healthiest type of pasta for weight loss
So if you’re already planning your feast these upcoming holidays, here are your best bets to keep those waistlines in shape, according to WebMD.
- Whole wheat pasta
- Chickpea pasta
- Quinoa pasta
- White pasta
