Find out the health benefits of wheat pasta

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New Delhi: With more gluten-free diets becoming fashionable, together with a lack of genuine understanding of the subject, many people have started to question how healthy wheat pasta really is.

The only secret to healthy and awesome food combination is a balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat and fibre!

One such meal from the Mediterranean diet is Pasta – which is delicious and fairly easy to prepare.

Rajneesh Bhasin, MD, Borges India says, pasta provides energy and essential nutrients in the form of fiber, vitamins and minerals. What better than filling your tummy with a platter of mouth watering pasta!

While we are frequently burdened with health advice that pastas aren`t healthy, one single meal of pasta (100g) is loaded with 12.5 g protein and 2.5 g fibre while whole wheat pastas are loaded with 3.5 to 4 times the fibre of regular durum wheat pastas.

The research, published in Nutrition and Diabetes, indicates that pasta consumption doesn`t contribute to obesity, and was actually linked to a lower body mass index (BMI) because it known to be a part of a healthy Mediterranean diet people across the globe aspire to adopt.

Well, it is important to know that own it doesn`t raise cholesterol, it contains no unhealthy fats and it is good source of the carbohydrates and nutrients we need for our body to work properly. Your aim should be to increase your energy expenditure while cutting down the amount of fat you eat, which will come from the accompanying ingredients rather than the pasta itself.

Bhasin further stated, wheat has been a staple foodstuff for humans for centuries, but of late refined wheat flour (maida) has taken up dominant position in our daily diets in the form of bread, noodles and other products.

It is mostly due to its ease in conversion to different shapes, better shelf life and reduced price even though we know that refined flour (maida) is difficult to digest and is known to increase insulin levels in blood over a period of time.

With this growing awareness and health concern with respect to refined flours, we are seeing a switch to whole wheat products. These health concerns coupled with good taste are easily addressed with nutritious products like whole wheat pasta.

Whole wheat pasta is made up from whole durum wheat semolina which contains all the parts of a wheat grain i.e bran, germ, endosperm unlike refined flours which contains only endosperm which erodes major fibre and protein boosters in the form of bran and germ.

In fact, most Indians are aware of the fact that it is the bran which has the major portion of fiber and protein due to the lineage and knowledge about wheat farming and grounding process. And cooking pasta al dente reduces its glycemic index, which cuts out any sugar rush.

Several studies have also shown that ½ cup serving of whole wheat pasta can reduce the risk of chronic health conditions like cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, cancer, digestive issues.

Even though many of us are already aware about the health benefits of whole wheat pasta, we are apprehensive about introducing it in our daily lives due to the inhibition about its taste and pasta experience it is meant to deliver.

But in the case of whole wheat pasta, even though the taste is little different from durum wheat pasta it is nuttier goes well with the Indian palate while delivering an authentic Italian gourmet pasta experience.

It is time we Indians switch to healthier products which win on the grounds of taste without compromising on the health benefits, concludes Bhasin.