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DON’T MIND THOSE low-carb diets, pasta is not fattening and can actually reduce the likelihood of obesity, according to two new studies by Italian scientists.
The research published in the journal Nutrition and Diabetes, examining the diets of over 23,000 adults, found that eating pasta was associated with a lower obesity and a healthier body mass index (BMI).
The research also found that pasta consumption went hand in hand with a healthy Mediterranean diet – one rich in vegetables, fruit, fish, olive oil and whole grains.
Lead author George Pounis of the researchers at Neuromed (Istituto Neurologico Mediterraneo) in Italy said:
We have seen that consumption of pasta, contrary to what many think, is not associated with an increase in body weight, rather the opposite.
Our data shows that enjoying pasta according to individuals’ needs contributes to a healthy body mass index, lower waist circumference and better waist-hip ratio.
Dr Gunter Kuhnle, associate professor in nutrition and health at the University of Reading, said:
[T]hese results clearly show that it is wrong to demonise carbohydrates, as the data clearly show that consumption of a carbohydrate-rich food such as pasta does not have to have an adverse effect on body weight.
Licia Iacoviello, head of the laboratory of molecular and nutritional epidemiology at Neuromed Institute which conducted the study, added:
In popular views pasta is often considered not adequate when you want to lose weight. And some people completely ban it from their meals.
In light of this research, we can say that this is not a correct attitude. We’re talking about a fundamental component of Italian Mediterranean tradition, and there is no reason to do without it.
The message emerging from this study, as from other scientific analyses conducted in the context of the Moli-sani Project and INHES, is that Mediterranean diet, consumed in moderation and respecting the variety of all its elements (pasta in the first place), is good to your health.
Before you start heading down the shops to stack up on the Roma, though, the scientists have a word of warning.
Dr Gunter Kuhnle warned that pasta intake was part of a dietary pattern:
In this study, people who consumed a lot of pasta also followed a traditional Mediterranean diet, which is not surprising as the study was conducted in a Mediterranean population. Pasta intake could therefore be mainly a marker for adherence to this kind of diet.
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I think this was pretty obvious. Eating pasta is not fattening. Eating too much pasta is fattening.
tutto pazzo
Well the article is supported by Cheerios so the truth will always be mothballed into something that sounds like a breakthrough but in reality is actually understood by most and need not actually be discussed .
everything in moderation
Including moderation itself
Life is all about good and bad experience
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@mark, piss off
My GP told me not to anything fatty. Like what? Burgers and chips I asked. No Fatty, don’t eat anything he replied.
What a stupid headline. The article is saying a Mediterranean diet is healthy. Pasta on its own is fattening but like virtually anything it can be enjoyed in moderation
Exactly. Go to Italy: childhood obesity is virtually non existent
Well I’m speaking anecdotally from trips to the more southern parts of the country. but even still the article says obesity is increasing due to moving away from the traditional diet which would,of course, include pasta.
Cyanide is low fat. Let’s gobble loads of that up
Whatever happened to everything in moderation??
It die of overindulgence!
Certainly looks that way Les!!
I lost 7 stone by giving up carbs. I have maintained my healthy weight now for 2 years by cutting out pasta, rice, bread etc and I have no intention of going back on them!
Congrats, keep it up!
Fair play! But just to be clear you lost the weight by creating a caloric deficit, nothing more, nothing less.
Jonny not necessarily.He is clearly stating he gave up simple carbohydrates like white bread rice and pasta- that’s nothing to do with caloric deficit,it’s about cutting type of food from which our bodies have no benefits or use.Simple sugars have no benefits at all not even one (apart from nice taste) and our bodies store them right away as fat
Angelic that’s great – just tell me where to rush my $200 for the programme!
Rein unfortunately you are misinformed, carbohydrates from pasta can be broken down to simple sugars which have the function of providing energy to every cell in your body. This is not to say carbohydrate is the only macronutrients which can provide energy, but to say it has no function is grossly incorrect.
If my diet was 40% (calorically speaking) consisting of pasta, rice, bread etc and all of a sudden cut that food out, then I have by default lowered my calorie intake by 40%.
Old Gabby – you can send it to me if you like;-) I didn’t pay a bit to do mine.
Johnny- it really isn’t as simple as that. I cut out carbs and sugar. Therefore my body burnt energy (and fat stores) that had been taken up with burning carbs and sugar. I now eat a protein heavy, (healthy) fats heavy and vegetable rich diet and have not put back on the weight.
It isn’t as simple as “eat less, exercise more” unfortunately, as the previous 10 years of dieting proves to me!
Many people consume all sorts of cr@p to excess, and they don’t exercise. Then they blame things like pasta for the fact that they’re heavier than they should be.. ‘Mon ourrah thah.
Angelic you don’t realise it but you’re actually agreeing with me. You cut out the carbs and then your body started to burn fat to make up for the calorie deficit that you created by cutting out carbs.
What your missing is not what the name of the macronutrients is but the energy that it contains. If you take your current diet and remove the protein you WILL also lose weight. If you remove the fat you WILL also lose weight. It’s nice to have a villain called “carbs” but the reality is if energy consumed is less than energy spent you lose weight.
Insulin Sensitivity needs a mention too. Carbs produce a spike in your insulin levels, and in that environment the body finds it more difficult to burn fat as a fuel.
I am very tired of being told what food is or isn’t healthy, fattening, whatever. Would you ever just shut the feck up.
Unfortunately they have to keep putting out the message as one look around will show that many people clearly don’t know what is bad for them.
Have you seen how many people are overweight in this country? It looks like they need to be educated more on the subject, not less. Not that stupid articles like this one are teaching them anything though.
Reading a good book called “bad science”. It has a chapter about these science articles. If there is a new report that goes against everything we already know then maybe the report is more likely to be wrong rather than everything else.
Sounds like a fascinating read; so what your saying is that if say 10 reports say something is unhealthy and one says its healthy – we should believe the 10? Wow – who would have thought.. the things you learn from books.
You mean to tell me that that book i was reading saying climate change was nonsense might i say MIGHT be wrong? Wowsers -mind officially blown.
There’s also a good book about how not to be a sarcastic dick. I’m assuming you haven’t read it.
No no Peter i have – i really really have, and it was the best read ever- Oh it was a really really great read alright. Thanks Peter you’re terrific and smart.
The sarcasm detector? That’s a really useful invention…
Peter wins Gabby. That was a woeful comeback.
The story above,about the traveller hide and seek champion is very funny…
All I have to say on that article above which we can’t comment on is ‘muscle vest’.
He sounds like a very smart lad and an absolute credit to the Travelling Community alright….
Next week we will have a German study declaring that daily consumption of schnitzel will decrease the likelihood coronary heart disease…..
@Oroku exactly my point
Nothing is fattening… If you eat more of anything than energy you expend you will get fat.
This idea that certain things are fattening and others are not is just delusional thinking.
DIETS DIETS DON’T EAT THIS ONLY EAT THAT BLAH BLAH BLACK SHEEP . DRINK LESS ALCOHOL EAT LESS CRAP AND THE OCCASIONAL WALK OR SWIM AND EAT WHAT YOU WANT IN MODERATION . EVERY DAY THESE EXPERTS CHANGE THEIR OPINIONS ON WHAT’S GOOD WHAT’S NOT .
You sound like an expert on all of this – especially with the caps lock. What should we do?
Hear hear, Kittieboom. My ears are ringing, but I agree.
Your obviously an idiot of sorts . Go over what i just wrote in previous comment it’s simple really . Just not for you . No cap lock this time now why don’t you go back to reading your Anne and Barry books untill you have something that makes sense to say .
@old gabby
Yeah Italian scientists inventing new science :)
So from now on simple carbohydrates (sugars)
do not convert into fats but rather promote fat lose yay :)
World is going nowhere
Pasta has almost no simple sugars in it even after cooking.
And if you’re going to say the complex carbs in pasta are broken down into simple sugars well that is true of every source of carbohydrates. It does not equate to a “bad” thing.
Even the fat and protein you eat must first be converted to glucose in order for your brain to utilise the energy, shocking I know!
Rein your 100% correct but unfortunately your wasting your time explaining logic to some of these fools
Oh Jonny please do some research on this subject please read a bit about the difference simple vs complex carbs before you speak
White flour is D grade food which means simple carbohydrates which are sugars not as you claim turn into sugars ( check their chemical structure ),are with no use for our bodies at all but turning into fat.Our bodies using complex carbohydrates for fuel not simple ones.
Thank you Sarah yes I realised commentators here are specialists on every subject even if they not
Rein I’m well aware of the structure and science behind it and I’ve more than a “little research” done but anyway.
Let’s suppose if what you say is true, no use for simple sugars in the body and they just get stored as fat. If I eat a diet of entirely pasta for 6 weeks and a total of 1000 calories per day and maintain my same activity level are you trying to tell me I will get fatter (or heavier)? And that my body somehow won’t use the “simple sugars” for energy?
Jonny please I beg you
1 tablespoon of Cider Apple Vinegar (from the mother) with 1 teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water x3 times a day, and you can almost eat anything you want and still keep the weight off …
My mother used to swear by that. Plus a spoon of liquid paraffin. Tried it, just couldn’t down it.
Nonsense
@Marg, yer sposed to ignite that paraffin beforehand. That will burn the fat right off you.
If it’s on the internet – it’s real. That’s the rule.
More bullshit from the bullshitters. What makes you feel good AFTER you eat it? Eat that shit and maybe you’ll eat less.
Italian diet is fantastic – childhood obesity is very low compared to here – pity we couldn’t go the same way as a nation
If you eat lots if pasta and don’t use the significant amount of carbohydrates you get from eating pasta you will get fat. It will be stored in the body as glycogen which in turn if not used will be stored as fat.
Sure my local chipper says his food is healthy for me. Italian scientists defending their food
have your say