Study puts pasta on weight-loss menu
Sarah Knapton
Pasta is no longer off the menu, after a new review of studies suggested that the carbohydrate can form part of a healthy diet, and even help people lose weight.
For years, nutritionists have recommended that pasta be kept to a minimum, to cut calories, prevent fat buildup and stop blood sugar spiking.
The low-carb food movement spawned such diets as the Atkins, Paleo and Keto, which advised swapping foods like bread, pasta and potatoes for vegetables, fish and meat. More recently the fad of swapping spaghetti for spiralised vegetables has been championed by clean-eating gurus.
But now a meta-analysis of 30 studies by Canadian researchers found that not only does pasta not cause weight gain, but three meals a week can help people drop more than 450 grams over four months.
The reviewers found that pasta had been unfairly demonised because it had been lumped in with other, more fat-promoting carbs.
“The study found that pasta didn’t contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat,” said lead author Dr John Sievenpiper, a scientist with the St Michael’s Hospital’s Clinical Nutrition and Risk Modification Centre in Toronto.
“In weighing the evidence, 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. In fact, analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So contrary to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet.”
The new review reassessed evidence from 30 randomised controlled trials involving nearly 2500 people who ate on average 3.3 servings of pasta each week, alongside a low glycaemic diet — a food plan which prevents the blood sugar from spiking.