Pasta: good or bad?

There are so many seemingly conflicting opinions out there about the best and worst ways to eat that is indeed very confusing. It would seem to me from personal experience and from anecdotal evidence culled from conversations with friends that different approaches work better for some than for others. The best way to keep your weight in check and stay healthy depends on your lifestyle, your taste, and your personal weaknesses.

So we would now like to take a look at pasta. Many people swear by low carb diets, and of course pasta is a food that is high in carbs. So it must be bad, right? Well, I once lost forty pounds using pasta as the basis for my entire diet. But, I was also running 30-50 miles per week during that period, and pasta was part of a low fat, high carb approach to keeping my energy level up while exerting myself to that extreme.

On the other hand, I have lost thirty pounds at a different point in my life by eating zero pasta while engaging in a low carb approach to eating while exercising more moderately. So in the end, there is no definite right or wrong. Whole wheat pasta is definitely better for your health than pasta made with refined flour if you are going to eat it. One can eat a whole wheat pasta dish that is prepared with a light marinara sauce and lightly sautéed vegetables and enjoy a truly healthy meal. There are other approaches that are full of saturated fat and are off-the-charts in terms of calories and sodium.

I came upon this article in Men’s Health that breaks down seven of the least healthy pasta dishes that are on the menu at some of the most popular chain restaurants in the country, and it suggests more healthy alternatives. I’m linking to it below, and in closing, like most things, the answer to the pasta question is one of common sense. Pasta can be healthy if it is the right pasta prepared the right way, and it can be quite the opposite if the recipe was not conceived with healthy nutrition in mind.

Worst Pasta Dishes