With low-carb diets stalking the land, a distrust of all carbohydrates — especially bread, potatoes, rice and pasta — has taken hold.
Now pasta is fighting back.
And nutritionally it has every right to, according to a consensus of scientists at a conference held in Rome in March.
Organized by the Boston food think tank the Oldways Preservation Trust and funded by both Italian and U.S. pasta manufacturers as well as the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium, the conference attracted scientists, physicians, chefs and other pasta experts from North America, Europe and Australia.
The conference’s declaration was simple: Pasta is digested more slowly than those other starches. It shouldn’t be grouped with other starchy carbohydrates that dieters fear.
The shadow over the three-day conference was the Atkins Diet. Participants often felt obliged to refer to that extremely low-carbohydrate approach as a point of comparison.
"Atkins has traditionally treated all carbohydrates alike," said David Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston. "But there are more healthy carbohydrates and less healthy carbohydrates. We don’t have to throw out the baby with the bath water."
One after another, scientists and doctors acknowledged that the currently fashionable low-carb diets can result in quick weight loss but that a significant amount of that loss is water and therefore presents a short-term solution.
Moreover, they stressed that the long-term safety of extreme low-carb eating has not been determined, that the diets tend to be high in saturated fat and deprive the body of important nutrients found in fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, lentils, seeds, nuts and cereal grains — such as the ones used to make pasta.
Not platters full of pasta but pasta eaten in appropriate portion sizes. And it’s even better, they said, if the pasta is eaten with some of its traditional accompaniments such as olive oil, tomatoes and other vegetables, moderate amounts of protein, beans, legumes and nuts.
The conference’s focus on pasta is in line with the eating patterns of the Mediterranean Diet, which Oldways espouses. That diet is not a restrictive plan but rather a way of eating characterized by the consumption of olive oil; fruits and vegetables; legumes, nuts and seeds; grains, especially whole grains; moderate amounts of dairy and fish; little meat; a daily glass of wine with meals; and daily exercise.
It’s an approach to food — and, for that matter, to life — that’s hard to fault.
Even so, it’s been hard to shake off the seductive impact of the low-carb way of eating. The diets are easy to understand, they promise quick results and they’re marketed as science: Eliminate as many carbs as possible, its proponents say, your body will metabolize more efficiently, and you’ll lose weight.
Could it be that pasta was really a healthful food choice, that it breaks down and enters the bloodstream differently from other starchy carbohydrates and can therefore be included regularly in a sensible diet?
Absolutely, said the 34 scientists worldwide.
And what about weight control? That, after all, is what many people on extremely low-carbohydrate diets are primarily in search of.
"Low-carb dieting does not achieve its stated goals," said Ed Blonz, a California-based syndicated columnist who has written many books on nutritional issues. "There’s a national passion for slimness coupled with overconsumption and underactivity. But pasta is not part of the problem."
In the end, the conference consensus was about eating healthfully, and how pasta — in contrast to its starchy relatives like most bread, rice and potatoes — can be part of that picture.
"With that, we’re drawing a line in the sand," he said. "Hopefully it won’t get washed out with the tide."
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