People’s love of pasta frequently gets put on the back burner. However, experts believe pasta can be added back to the menu of a healthy, balanced diet and is also a meal that is conducive to weight reduction.
Pasta contains a lot of carbohydrates, which might be harmful if you eat them in significant quantities. Additionally, it includes gluten, a protein that creates problems for people who are sensitive to it. Pasta carbohydrates have a terrible reputation when it comes to weight reduction. Did you know that some varieties of pasta undergo refinement during manufacturing, which removes the bran and germ from the wheat kernel and many of the nutrients? Refined pasta has less fibre and more calories. As a result, compared to eating high-fibre, whole-grain pasta, you could feel less satisfied after eating it.
Ayurveda and Gut Health Coach Dr Dimple Jangda says, “Did you know that the recommended serving size for pasta is just 2 ounces? But we quite often end up eating almost 9 ounces of pasta a day. Which makes this an unhealthy habit.” The health expert further shares three ways to keep that pasta healthy and delicious.
3 MINDFUL PRACTICES FOR EATING PASTA
- Load up on Veggies: Ensure to order a side salad, preferably steamed or sautéed with olive oil and herbs. This helps curb the hunger pangs. And we often tend to go overboard with carbs, dues to their delicious taste. So ensure to balance your pasta serving with an equal amount of vegetables for fibre.
- Use Whole Wheat Pasta: Replace refined flour pasta with whole grains or even millet-based pasta. This helps prevent leaky gut syndrome associated with refined flour, as it’s stripped of its nutritional value and is not easy to digest. This type of pasta is almost completely void of fibre and protein, two vital nutrients for weight loss. So replace this instead with whole grains and millet pasta which satiates your craving and keeps you from gaining excess weight.
- Don’t Mix Red & White Sauce Pasta: Red sauce is made from tomato which is a rich source of vitamin C and citric acid, whereas white sauce is made of dairy product which has lactic acid. When these two acids meet, they cause undigested metabolic waste that lies in the stomach and gut for hours together as the body is unable to absorb nutrients from it or eliminate it. Choose one sauce at a time and relish it thoroughly.
Additionally, if you’re going to eat Italian food, do so the Italian way. Use enough of cold-pressed olive oil to lubricate your digestive tract and move digested food along, preventing the pasta from spending hours in your stomach. With the olive oil, the Italians really outdid themselves!
