contrary to popular belief is about as healthy as eating jelly, because it is not a natural wholefood and only high-level atheletes should bother with it for energy.
2007-04-26 10:38:01 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diet & Fitness
I've come to agree with her. Pasta is actually fairly low in nutritional value, unless you are comparing it with something like potato chips.
Pasta is usually classified as a "good" carb, because it is considered to be a complex carbohydrate. (Simple carbohydrates are sugars.) Your body breaks down complex carbohydrates into sugars.
Pasta is basically flour and water. It has little fat, some protein, and is usually enriched with B vitamins. However, you don't get any of the benefits of the whole grain, unless you are eating whole wheat pasta.
Then there's the issue of what you put on the pasta. Many sauces are made with butter, cream, or cheese, all sources of saturated fat.
Background:
About 20 years ago nutritionists started touting the benefits of complex carbs because the American diet was (and is) too high in fat and sugar. The USDA's 1992 Food Guide Pyramid recommended that people eat lots of complex carbs in order to reduce the consumption of saturated fat.
The 2005 Pyramid places more emphasis on whole grains. Nutritionists are now proposing a new food pyramid that encourages the consumption of healthy fats and whole grain foods but recommends minimizing refined carbohydrates. The American Heart Association recommends that at least half of your grain intake come from whole grains.
It takes a while for these recommendations to become common knowledge. As for me, I rarely make pasta anymore, and I'm switching from white rice to brown rice. I always buy whole grain bread. I'm a medical librarian and I try to stay up to date on these issues.
2007-04-26 11:22:36 · answer #1 · answered by Irene F 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think what they meant to say is that the effect that pasta has on blood sugar is the same as jelly. which isn't too far from the truth. processed carbohydrates are digested very rapidly so they indeed have a more drastic increase on blood sugar then whole food carbohydrate sources. when blood sugar rises rapidly there is a corresponding increase in insulin secretion. when insulin levels rise too high then fat storage occurs and fat burning stops.
can you eat pasta? sure...but you would want to eat a sensible portion and have some protein and other nutrients in the meal which will help to slow digestion, slightly reducing glucose levels. for those dieting for fast loss it would be best to not consume much pasta at all until the body fat is under control. and it would be better to consume it a lunch then for diner, unless you exercise later in the evening which would decrease the odds of a late pasta meal contributing to fat gains or impeding fat loss.
a lot of dieting for fat loss it about nutrient timing and not just the nutritional value of those nutrients. the earlier in the day that "bad" foods are consumed the less of an impact they may have when consumed in sensible portions. as the day progresses any food items consumed should definetly be of high quality (whole foods) and the carbohydrate intake should taper down. meals later in the day and night should be mainly protein based with veggies and some healthy fats.
2007-04-26 11:00:59 · answer #2 · answered by lv_consultant 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, no, no! Brown pasta is really good. It IS a natural wholefood. Every day (it seems to me) someone comes along and tells you that something is bad for you (or good for you) and you just have to find out what exactly helps you, and makes you feel well, and what helps you get rid of specific diet problems. I took wholefood, macrobiotic cooking seriously several years ago, and have never felt so well (I'm 56).
2007-04-26 11:00:07 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pasta is very high in carbs and low in fibre, it is high in energy but as far as the body feels, is relativly unfilling.
This is ok, if eaten with other foods, whch will bulk out the fibre and protien contents (but with a light sauce), and eaten 'untill you are full' it can be fattening.
2007-04-26 10:46:45 · answer #4 · answered by HP 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unless the pasta is wholemeal then it's pretty useless from a nutrition point of view.
2007-04-26 10:41:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's an ok carb but just don't eat nothing but pasta. You need other healthier food.
2007-04-26 10:50:55 · answer #6 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember my professor stating in our Food Technology class in college that instead of making a cheat sheet for all foods you can generally use this statement for a guideline. "if it taste to good to be true then it is really not that healthy for you"
2007-04-26 10:54:50 · answer #7 · answered by majesty 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One minute it is a superfood, the next minute you would be better eating cyanide. Eat what you want, do what you want, you're going to choke eventually anyway, might as well enjoy the ride.
Yeeeeeeehhhhhhaaaawwwwww!!!!
2007-04-26 10:42:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
white pasta is not good for you - you might as well eat jelly
2007-04-26 10:42:19 · answer #9 · answered by bertram baines 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
aww, but i like pasta! its tasty! why do they have to ruin everything? i only eat the wholewheat one tho, less carbs or summat apparently.
2007-04-26 10:42:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋