Pasta is good for you: is this the death of 'carbphobia'?

Get the spag bol on the boil: a major new study has contradicted years of nutritional advice by revealing that pasta can actually help you lose weight.

A meta-analysis of 30 studies by Canadian researchers found that three portions a week can help people drop more than 1lb over four months. Probably not enough to completely transform your figure, but still, the picture is a far cry from the carb-panic that has gripped dieters in recent years.

From the Atkins to the Paleo and the Keto, various 'fad' regimes have seen people give up pasta and potato in favour of spiralised courgetti and cauliflower "rice".

If pasta can actually help you lose weight, could it mean that the so-called low-carb food movement has eaten its last protein-heavy meal?

"Carbphobia is one of many challenges I have with clients, who have this idea that carbohydrates are bad and will be their undoing", says Laura Thomas PhD, a registered nutritionist who hosts the myth-busting podcast, Don't Salt My Game.

"If we take a step back, we can see that nutrition fads come in waves. In the Nineties, there was a low-fat craze and the addition of too much sugar to our diets. Now, we’ve flipped things around and people are going nuts about having lots of protein and good fats in their diet."

"But what I tend to see is that what I call the 'worried well' – people who are generally eating well, getting their five-a-day, eating whole grains and a couple of portions of oily fish each week – are taking it to the extreme. Being mindful of sugar [carbohydrates typically comprise of one or more sugars] doesn’t mean you should cut out sugars entirely."

"Clients come to me with no energy, and with digestive discomfort. They’re also experiencing anxiety around eating carbohydrates. A lot of that is due to the fact that they’re being very restrictive."

The problem, says Thomas, is that the historic messaging around carbs has reduced them to black and white rules. We've been told that carbs lead to weight gain, but one of the three macronutrients, they're basically crucial for life.

Hence, she stresses the importance of carbohydrates such as pasta for fibre intake, energy and digestive health. Rather than ban them, you're better served to think about how they fit into your lifestyle.
While white pasta contains less fibre than wholegrain pasta (which means it spikes your insulin levels higher and can therefore lead to fat storage), if you're eating it with a bunch of fibre-rich vegetables and pulses, it probably won't matter.

Equally, Thomas notes that although the white flour in fortified bread and pasta gets a "bad rep", it is fortified with calcium, iron and B-vitamins such as niacin and folates. "I’m not saying you should only eat white bread, but if you do, it’s not the end of the world. Beans on toast with cheese is a relatively balanced meal, even though it’s processed," she adds.

"I view all foods as neutral: there’s no hierarchy of foods. We can’t put certain foods on a pedestal and banish others completely. That creates fear and food anxiety. While all foods aren’t equal in terms of nutritional value, an individual food can never be judged in isolation. Look at your diet as a whole."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/pasta-good-death-carbphobia/

Isn’t pasta an Italian dish?

This article is racist.

eddie wrote:Isn’t pasta an Italian dish?

This article is racist.

+1

Didge wrote:

eddie wrote:Isn’t pasta an Italian dish?

This article is racist.

+1

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