Is Pasta Good For You?

Pasta has gotten some bad press in recent years. In the age of the "fad diets," pasta contains an awkward amount of that evil archnemesis, "the carb." Or worse, carb's ugly cousin, gluten.

Well, populations who follow the Mediterranean Diet have been eating carbs and gluten for centuries with no ill effects. Indeed, these are the healthiest, longest-living people on the planet. Which begs the question: Is there such a thing as too much pasta?

So what gives? Why are some people so eager to embrace misinformation?

No surprise, it's fed by a combination of factors:

• Intuition: It just "seems" like a good idea.

• Logic: If gluten is bad for people with celiac disease, maybe it's bad for me, too.

• Celebrity endorsement: If eliminating gluten is encouraged by someone I admire, maybe I should give it a try.

• Anecdote: Hearing about someone with bothersome symptoms that "magically disappeared" after eliminating gluten is difficult to ignore.

• Marketing: Those selling gluten-free products or books about gluten-free diets can be convincing, even if there's little science to back it up.

Before you buy into the gluten-free lifestyle, be aware: It likely won't help, it may actually cause trouble, and it’s going to cost you more at the supermarket.

The simple truth can be so boring sometimes. Pasta dishes created from whole ingredients and in proper proportions can be extremely healthy and do not cause weight gain.

Do you want actual scientific proof that pasta does not make you fat? Glad you asked, and here it is from The Journal of Nutrition and Diabetes: Association of pasta consumption with body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio