According to a new study pasta can actually help you lose weight. Researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, undertook a systematic review and meat-analysis of 30 randomised controlled trials involving nearly 2,500 participants who ate pasta instead of other carbohydrates in a healthy low-glycemic index diet.
Unlike most refined carbohydrates think cake, white bread, biscuits which are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, pasta has a low glycemic index, meaning it causes smaller increases in blood sugar levels than those caused by eating foods with a high glycemic index.
“The study found that pasta didn’t contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat,” said lead author John Sievenpiper, a St. Michael’s nutrition scientist. “In fact analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So contrary to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet such as a low GI diet.”
“These results are important given the negative messages with which the public has been inundated regarding carbohydrates, messages which appear to be influencing their food choices, as evidenced by recent reductions in carbohydrate intake, especially in pasta intake.”
