Serves: 5

First we hear how good pasta is for you then, headlines and television news stories tell us that pasta makes you fat. The claim is that pasta boosts insulin levels and causes weight gain. So what is the truth about pasta? The truth is, there’s no need to avoid eating pasta.

After eating, blood sugar (glucose) levels rise in our bodies, causing insulin, a component necessary to break down carbohydrates, to be released into the bloodstream. Insulin helps body cells take in and store glucose as energy. In insulin-resistant people, the cells are not as sensitive to insulin, so the body continues to make more, which eventually can result in diabetes. It isn’t the insulin resistance that causes weight gain, but rather, obesity causes insulin resistance, which may increase risk for other diseases, such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Pasta is not a big problem for people who are insulin resistant, since it raises blood sugar only moderately. Experts in nutrition still recommend a diet low in fat and rich in carbohydrates. Your best bet is to eat less fat, count calories (any extra calories are stored as fat), choose foods high in fiber, such as whole grains, legumes and vegetables, and stay active, as exercise tones muscles and balances calorie intake.

From "Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking." Text Copyright 1998 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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