Mamma mia! Pasta doesn’t make you pile on pounds

DITCH the spiraliser, step away from the courgetti – and book a table at your local Italian. Pasta does not make us fat, researchers have found.

In recent years, pasta has been labelled a stodgy, calorie-laden evil by proponents of low-carbohydrate diets. We have even been told to replace spaghetti with spiralised vegetables.

But it is perfectly fine in moderation, according to Canadian researchers. They looked at 30 studies involving a total of almost 2,500 people who ate an average of 3.3 portions of pasta a week. A portion was half a cup of pasta.

The participants did not gain weight after three months of eating pasta, instead losing more than a pound each.

They were all following a ‘low-glycaemic’ diet – eating foods that release energy slowly. These foods, which include lentils, beans, oats and nuts, help keep blood sugar levels stable and make people feel fuller for longer. They are often labelled ‘low-GI’, which stands for low glycaemic index.

The researchers said pasta may also be low-GI, which is why eating it did not lead to participants putting on weight.

Lead author Dr John Sievenpiper, from St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, said: ‘The study found that pasta didn’t contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat.

‘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.’

Pasta has previously been lumped in with other high-carbohydrate foods such as white bread. But its structure and nutritional composition is different, meaning its sugars are broken down more slowly.

Jodie Relf, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association, said: ‘People demonise pasta along with bread as they believe these are stodgy foods that cause you to gain weight. This can force them into restrictive low-carb diets which they then fail to stick to. In fact pasta can be a nutritious part of a balanced diet, as the energy from it is slow-release.

‘The gluten in it is a protein, so it acts to slow down the normal spike and fall in blood sugar. It means pasta helps people stay full for longer so that they are less likely to snack between meals.’

Most of the people involved in the studies on pasta were middle-aged and overweight. One study showed a group of participants lost almost five pounds each. On average, those involved in the studies lost over two inches from their waistlines.