Study: pasta does not threaten the diet and can even help you lose weight

If it depends on a review of the study on pasta published this Tuesday (3) in the scientific journal British Medical Journal, it will be removed from the list of villainous obesity foods. The trump card: having a low glycemic index (GI) – that is, a good pasta dish does not cause blood sugar spikes like other carbohydrate foods.

The GI has the power to identify the enemy, that food that favors fat stores. If it has a high GI, it means that it is digested in the blink of an eye and quickly increases the concentration of glucose (sugar) in the blood and the production of insulin – a hormone that, circulating in excess, makes the body accumulate more fat. Another complicating factor is that sugar levels tend to plummet as quickly as they rise. Conclusion: foods with a high GI make you feel hungry again quickly and eat more than you should.

But, according to the main author of the study, John Sievenpiper, pasta has a low glycemic index and, therefore, does not favor weight gain or increase in body fat. The low GI news is not exactly new, but some studies have shown information contrary to this mass characteristic.

What changed: The meta-analysis conducted by researchers at St. Michael in Canada brought a scientific consensus. They scrutinized research in which participants were given about 3.3 servings of pasta (approximately 1 ½ cups) a week – all along with a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. And, usually after three months, none of them gained weight – on the contrary, some even lost weight (about half a kilo), to the surprise of the researchers.

There are two reasons why pasta has a lower GI than bread and other refined carbohydrate sources. “The protein (gluten) naturally present in durum wheat, used in Italian pasta, binds to the starch due to overheating in the manufacturing process. And this guarantees a longer digestion of the pasta”, explains Alessandra Luglio, nutrition consultant at Barilla in Brazil. In national versions, the heat binds the egg protein – used to give elasticity to the product – to the starch, which reduces the speed with which it turns into blood sugar.

If you choose a whole-grain version, the better, as the fibers further reduce the digestion time of the pasta. “One cup (180 g) of cooked spaghetti has a GI of 41. The same amount of whole grain spaghetti has a GI of 37”, comments nutritionist Vanderli Marchiori, from São Paulo. Depending on how you cook it and the side dishes, you “thinner” the pasta even more. Here are some suggestions:

Accompany the vegetable pasta. The fibers in greens and vegetables help prolong satiety, putting an end to that story of you feeling hungry half an hour after eating a plate of spaghetti. Decrease the portion and, of course, forget the four cheese sauce. Prefer the whole pasta. Because it is rich in fiber, it has a lower GI than the refined version. There are several options on the market. Another good option is the grano dura pasta (hard grain, in Portuguese). Read the label: Italian pasta is traditional in grano dura, but there are national versions. Cook the pasta al dente. For this, remove it from the fire still firm. The softer the dough, the less resistant the starch becomes, which is transformed into blood sugar in the blink of an eye.