Authentic Italian Food - Debunking The Myth That It Is Fattening

Italian food has got a bad credit among the condition conscious because it is belief to be fattening. In reality Italian food can be the basis of a salutary diet. Italian food is the part of what is often referred to as the Mediterranean diet that has been shown to be good for weight control and heart health.

The food pyramid that is now recommended by doctors is based on carbohydrate food. It contains fullness of fruit and vegetables, oily fish and only small amounts of dairy foods and red meat. That could be a narrative of the Italian diet.

The Food Pyramid

We often think of pizzas dripping in cheese and loaded with meat, or pasta served in rich cheese sauces when we think of Italian food. But real Italian food is not like that. If we move away from this commercial variations on Italian food and get back to real thing then we have a salutary diet.

Italian food is not just about pasta and it is admittedly not just about pizza. It is rich in all those things that are lacking in the diet that most of us eat.

The modern Western diet is typically low in the salutary omega oils that are contained in oily fish such as sardines and anchovies that make up an foremost part of Italian cooking. Doctors advise that we eat oily fish at least once a week. There are any number of yummy Italian dishes that call for oily fish.

Fresh vegetables are an primary part of any Italian meal. They are eaten raw in salads and cooked in a variety of flavor filled ways. The coarse complaint that vegetables are boring does not apply to Italian food.

Fruit is practically always served at Italian meals. It is an primary part of the sweet course.

Research has shown that eating soup is a good way of controlling weight. There are a wide range of Italian soups that will all make a good first policy of uncomplicated meal in themselves.

Olive oil and garlic which are primary to Italian food have been shown to have a good ensue on the heart. The same is true of red wine.

The carbohydrates in Italian food such as pasta, rice, polenta and bread, have become unpopular as population have turned to the Atkins Diet which avoids all carbohydrates. But the Atkins Diet is far from salutary in the long term. A salutary diet must include some carbohydrates.

Italian food is not just about pasta. Italians love bread, polenta and rice too. Polenta is especially good in weight control because it has a low glycemic index. That is to say it releases sugar into the blood slowly. It leaves us feeling fuller for longer. A first policy of polenta and tomato sauce is a good way to start a meal.

Rice has a slightly higher glycemic index but eaten in small portions is a salutary food.
Pasta need not be fattening.

Italian bread is typically lower in salt than other bread. The texture of breads such as foccaccia and ciabatta is much denser than most commercial bread so that a small number will satisfy the appetite. Nor do Italians usually eat butter with their bread.

If you avoid smothering your pasta, rice or polenta in rich sauces and avoid butter on your bread then they are salutary foods that are salutary foods that are low in fat.

Authentic Italian Food - Debunking The Myth That It Is Fattening