Do you avoid pasta when attempting to drop pounds? Don’t do away with the dish just yet, because it has been linked to weight loss, according to a new report.
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Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Canada recently conducted a study, published in the BMJ Open journal, to determine how the Italian staple affects our health.
To do so, they took a look at 30 trials that examined about 2,500 people who ate pasta instead of other carbohydrates as a part of a healthy low-glycemic index diet.
“Unlike most ‘refined’ carbohydrates, 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 authors wrote.
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After analyzing the results, they found that those who ate 3.3 servings of pasta per week, where one serving size was one-half cup of cooked pasta, lost about one-half kilogram over a 12-year period.
"The study found that pasta didn't contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat," lead author John Sievenpiper said in a statement. "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."
The scientists did note that their investigation only focused on low-glycemic index foods and that more research is needed to determine if weight loss is possible for other healthy diets that include pasta. However, they believe their findings are strong.
“In weighing the evidence,” Sievenpiper said, “we can now say with some confidence that pasta does not have an adverse effect on body weight outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern.”
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