Pasta on the Rise

Once a staple of the American diet—and still a staple of the Italian diet—pasta’s popularity has been on the decline in this country due to growing concerns about carbohydrate consumption and weight gain. While excess consumption of pasta may have negative consequences for your body, moderate pasta consumption should not pose any issues, especially if you are active.

pasta

There are so many great benefits to pasta, including many different varieties and a list of inexhaustible recipes. From pasta salads to casserole, hot pasta dishes with vegetables or meat and chicken or fish, as valuable additions to soups and as tasty sides, pasta must be one of the most elastic foods around.

Growing Interest in Pasta

I was happy to read that pasta has recently been making a comeback. Google’s 2016 Food Trends Report featured “The Pasta Comeback” among its top five trending food searches. Interestingly, while the category of pasta proved to be popular, the pasta type with the highest search volume was “rigatoni,” which accounted for more than a quarter of the search growth.

Also interesting was the time window when people were searching for pasta. Those were much more likely to occur on the weekends, possibly because people have more time to experiment with new recipes. Whatever the reason, we should be grateful that interest in pasta is again on the upswing.

Health Advantages of Pasta

Italians may have been most concerned about pasta’s decline, inspiring Italian researchers to investigate the impact of pasta consumption on our bodies. A recent Italian study of the eating habits of Italians found that pasta consumption does not contribute to obesity, and is, in fact, associated with a lower body mass index.

Of course, that finding is no reason to overconsume pasta. That same study also found that obese men and women tend to consume more pasta per day than normal or overweight participants.

Pasta also has numerous health benefits, among them:

  • Both white and wheat pasta provide beneficial carbohydrates and dietary fiber, which are critical sources of body fuel and guard against such chronic conditions as obesity and type 2 diabetes.
  • White and wheat pasta are also good sources for selenium, which stimulates antioxidant enzymes that help protect your cells from molecular damage.
  • White pasta is a source of folate (Vitamin B9), while whole wheat pasta is a source of carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. Folate supports healthy red blood cell development and cell growth, while carotenoids may reduce the risk of lung cancer.

With so many possibilities, pasta is a great dish for any occasion. And whatever the occasion, you would want to have Jerry’s Kitchen on your menu too, and we offer catering in Doylestown, Malvern, and other places across the Philadelphia region.

Source

US News
Pasta Fits
Livestrong

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