Optimal Pasta Cooking Methods for Healthy Eating: Al Dente vs Well-Cooked

2023-09-30 04:15:00

Lise Heuven and her colleagues from the nutrition and health department of Wageningen University (Netherlands) have, in a way, analyzed the quantity of pasta consumed in relation to its cooking and its accompaniments. Their work focused on 54 healthy participants, asked to consume al dente or well-cooked pasta, with or without accompaniment.

One main element emerges: the softer the texture of the whole dish, the greater the quantities ingested, increasing the energy intake.

Rather soft foods such as tender or “well-cooked” pasta are thus chewed less or less and are ingested more quickly. And in higher quantities than pasta cooked al dente: harder and in theory more chewy.

Bigger bites…

A similar observation was established regarding side dishes: the addition of a sauce – tomatoes for example – tends to increase this same energy intake and would even be correlated with taking larger bites.

Conclusion: for your health: rather cook your pasta al dente, so as to reduce the size of the bites and to chew well. They will be assimilated more slowly by the body. And vary the textures, adding something to chew on.

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