PHIL’S FOOD FORUM
Pizza- The New Health Food
Some of you might think the old guy at Pepperoni’s has finally lost his marbles when I suggest to you that eating more pizza is actually good for you! Just as the French can eat buttery croissants in the morning, yet stay enviably slim, so too is there an Italian paradox that comes with a diet that includes pizza. In a study that was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers observed the health and lifestyle habits of 1,000 people in Milan, Italy. They discovered that those that ate pizza more than twice a week were 50% less likely to have heart issues than the people who ate as little as a couple of slices a month.
Even after adjusting for lifestyle habits such as smoking, exercise, and alcohol consumption, the study was not skewed. Though researchers could not point to a single miracle ingredient, the cumulative effect of pizza—the tomato sauce (full of the antioxidant lycopene), the dough (healthy grains), and the olive oil (monosaturated fatty acids) seem to protect the heart. Both tomatoes and olive oil have properties that also help the body get rid of free radicals. Free radicals can cause severe cellular damage.
Pizza, of course, is just one piece of the quest for great heart health. The implication is not “eat pizza and you will be protected from heart issues”. Italians also tend to follow a typical Mediterranean diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, with small amounts of red meat, fish and seafood, lots of olive oil, and moderate consumption of wine and alcohol.
So the next time you are shopping for a healthy meal for the family, let yourself go when you have a craving for a Pepperoni’s pizza. You just might be helping yourself to a more healthy diet and lifestyle!
Phil Brown
Owner
PEPPERONI’S—SERVING A BETTER SLICE OF LIFE™
Previous Phil's Food Forums
1. Benefits of Eating Pepperoni's Food
2. Olive Oil: A Start to Eating Healthy
3. PÂTÉ of the South
4. Types of Pasta
5. A Better Slice of Life by Gregory Watkins
6. The Benefits of Culinary Herbs and Spices
7. Top Ten Reasons to Eat at Pepperoni’s in the Summer of 2012
8. History and Legends of Pizza