Is pizza unhealthy or healthy? Pizza is good for your health

Undoubtedly pizza is a very popular product, loved by a huge number of people. Today it enjoys well-deserved popularity not only in its homeland - Italy, but also in the USA, where its own version of pizza was once invented, and all over the world. And yet, even the most passionate fans of this dish, from time to time the question arises, is it for the figure and health. Scientists from different countries have been studying this issue for many years. Here are the results of their research.

The filling of almost any high-quality pizza contains tomato paste, which is made from tomatoes, and sometimes contains tomatoes themselves. Tomatoes contain the substance lipoline, to which they owe their color. In addition, lipoline is a very strong antioxidant that can resist the development of many diseases. This is especially true for oncological and cardiovascular diseases. Italian scientists believe that with regular consumption of pizza, the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases is reduced by almost half. First of all, we're talking about on the prevention of myocardial infarction. With regular consumption pizza The risk of a heart attack is reduced by about 40%, and if you eat a treat twice a week - by as much as 60%. Also, according to research, people who frequently eat pizza have a 59% reduced risk of developing esophageal cancer.

Pizza dough is most often made from wheat. Wheat contains “bran” and a substance called “endosperm”, which are rich in antioxidants and have antioxidant properties. They are very useful for the gastrointestinal tract, because they cleanse it, helping the human body get rid of toxins and other harmful products exchange. To ensure that antioxidants not only do not lose activity, but also show themselves fully, pizza must be cooked at a temperature of about three hundred degrees Celsius and kept in the oven longer than usual (10 minutes).

Scientists believe that eating pizza, like eating chocolate, helps improve mood and reduce the production of the stress hormone, cortisol. Considering that in most cases the stress hormone leads to a heart attack, if eating pizza brings you pleasure, eat it for your health.

However, frequent consumption of pizza rich in fats, calories (up to 700 in one standard serving piece) and smoked foods, even in normal proportions, and even more so in proportions exceeding reasonable limits, will cause more harm to health than good. The number of calories that are so harmful to our figure can be reduced by using low-calorie cheese, low-fat sausage, dietary meat (chicken, turkey), as well as adding spinach, herbs and more vegetables (sweet peppers, tomatoes, green beans), olives . Such a filling can confidently be considered a healthy food, so it is absolutely not terrible in moderation.

And so, from all of the above it follows that consuming pizza can bring both benefit, so harm, and the benefits are much greater. Of course, this is true if high-quality, natural products are used for its preparation: flour, tomatoes, oil, spices and other ingredients. Therefore, if you want pizza to really bring only benefits to your body, cook it yourself or don’t be afraid to ask waiters in pizzerias about its composition and quality.

Probably only infants do not yet fully understand that pizza has nothing to do with healthy food. Loaded with layers of cheese, sausage and drowning in a sauce of unknown content. What is really its harm?

Although Italy is considered the birthplace of pizza, the dish spread throughout the world from the USA. No, they did not want to reward the whole world (and especially their fellow citizens) with obesity. It’s just that pizza is delicious and very profitable for pizzeria owners, but harm comes second.

Today we’ll take a look at where this hitherto unprecedented dish came from, look at the statistics... And stop eating pizza? Probably not. But let's think about something. Parents will especially think about the dangers of pizza. And here's why.

1. Pizza is high in calories

The weight of one piece of pizza is approximately 100-125 g, caloric content per 100 g is 290-300 kcal. If a piece of pizza weighs 125 g, then its calorie content can be up to 375 calories. Most often, orders contain two or more slices of pizza. That is, without drinks, sauces and potatoes, just one pizza is at least 750 kcal (2 slices). This is almost half of the entire daily diet (on average, of course). Plus add accompanying sweet drinks, potatoes...

It has been proven that some calories lead to weight gain faster than others. So, in pizza, due to the content of unhealthy foods, these kilocalories will actually be harmful. It turns out that on the days of “indulging” in pizza, a person eats many more calories than he needs. What if you eat unhealthy pizza regularly?

2. Pizza is a source of bad fats

To be more precise, these are trans fats that we get from sauces. Trans fats are carcinogenic and, according to cardiologists, are a “bomb for blood vessels.” Normal sunflower oil can be converted into trans fat when heated to high temperatures; Pizza already contains an excess of trans fats, which are also cooked in the oven. One can only guess what happens in them chemically.

3. Sodium - few people know about its dangers

Some people may not know, but they’ve definitely heard somewhere about the dangers of salt. Salt - sodium chloride - is precisely the source of sodium. Now let's remember the most common pizza ingredients - these are the saltiest foods - cheese, sausage, pickles, sauces, olives... But salt is part of the problem. Each of these products has added chemical components (also sodium compounds). Well, take, for example, monosodium glutamate - it is now added to almost any industrial product to enhance the taste. And also dyes and other preservatives. So it turns out that pizza is a sodium storehouse, only in a negative sense.

Why is sodium bad? In fact, this is a necessary element for us, but when it becomes too much, it leads to terrible disruptions in the functioning of the cardiovascular system, bone destruction, changes in the functions of the adrenal glands and, in general, the entire urinary system. Sodium retains water, which leads to swelling. In view of this overweight It is even more kept at the same level, because a good part of it is simply water. Now let’s imagine that all this happens in a child’s body.

Yes, this is a real problem for Americans - childhood obesity. Just don’t think that things are different with us. We are actively catching up with our American brother. In America, children consume pizza (along with other fast food) on a regular basis. To make matters worse, American experts have found that pizza consumption occurs between meals in children. That is, they just snack.

The researchers studied data from people ages 2 to 19 for more than five years. On days when children ate pizza, they took in an additional 84 calories, 3 grams of saturated fat and 134 milligrams of sodium than on days without pizza, according to the University of Illinois. Teens took in an additional 230 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat and 484 milligrams of sodium.

Back in 2015, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that pizza consumption was a major contributor to calorie intake among American children and adolescents. Scientists urge parents to curb their children's pizza cravings and improve their diet.

Lisa Powell, associate director of the Center for Health Policy at the Institute for Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says:

“Limiting pizza consumption alone is not enough to significantly reduce the adverse dietary effects of pizza,” she says. “It is a very common and convenient food, so improving the nutritional content of pizza, in addition to reducing the amount of pizza eaten, may help reduce its negative nutritional impact.”

Since the aspirations of Russians have turned strongly towards the “American Dream”, all necessary measures to prevent childhood obesity and related diseases must be taken in advance. This is also very important because depression and low self-esteem are associated with obesity. If your child has already gotten used to pizza, cook it yourself and go through this difficult but rewarding path of changing eating habits together with your child. Prepare healthy pizzas, offer your child bright scrambled eggs. And most importantly, talk and talk about the dangers of such food in clear language and set an example of healthy eating.

Be healthy!

Pizza (Italian: pizza) is an Italian national dish, in the form of a round open pie.

We can say that pizza has become the most famous dish of Italian cuisine.

Its prototypes appeared among the ancient Greeks and Romans. They served some dishes on the table on slices of bread.

The Italian city of Naples is considered to be the birthplace of pizza. In 1552, tomatoes were first brought to Europe from Peru. Classic Italian pizza appeared in the 15th-17th centuries. In Naples there were even special people called “pizzaioli”. They were preparing pizza for Italian peasants.

Its classic ingredients are: special dough, cheese, tomatoes, as well as meat, seafood, vegetables and mushrooms.

Pizza was then exclusively the food of the poor. But Maria Caroline of Habsburg-Lorraine, the wife of the Neapolitan king Ferdinand IV, liked her.

Somewhat later, the Italian king Umberto I and his wife Margherita of Savoy fell in love with pizza. In 1889, Neapolitan chef Raffaele Esposito was asked to prepare pizza for the queen herself. She wanted to share his favorite dish with her people. By the way, it was in her honor that one of the most popular types of pizza was named.

Pizza in those days was baked in an oven and sold right on the street. Then special establishments appeared in Naples, which today are called “pizzeria”. In 1957, the first semi-finished pizzas went on sale.

World recognition

Got pizza widespread all over the world, it is especially popular in America and European countries. The secret of its attractiveness lies in the ease of preparation, as well as the nutritional value of this dish and the wide variety of recipes.

Various varieties of pizza exist in other countries, but they differ in some national characteristics. For example, partially kosher pizza is sold in Israel; it was first produced by the Pizza Maitre chain of pizzerias. Japanese pizza (“okonomiyaki”) is a fried flatbread with seafood and vegetables. It is well lubricated with a special sauce and sprinkled with dried tuna shavings on top. When serving, such pizza is divided with a flat spatula called “kote”.

In our country, pizza has also enjoyed well-deserved love for a long time. In Russia today there is huge amount pizzerias where you can try a wide variety of pizzas. Many Russians also like to make homemade pizza.

A survey was conducted on the Internet that showed that 78% of its users consider pizza to be their favorite dish.

According to another study, the average European consumes 300 kg of pizza every year. At the same time, only data on pizza that was ordered at home was taken into account.

In Italy, pizza even had a special quality mark - D.O.C. Only pizza that has been prepared in a certain way can receive it.

The harm and benefits of pizza

many lovers delicious dish I'm interested in the question of how pizza is good and bad for your health. We can say that pizza has both harmful and beneficial properties for health.

As for the benefits of pizza: the pizza filling includes tomatoes, which contain lipoline. This substance, which gives tomatoes their color, is rich in antioxidants, which help prevent many cardiovascular diseases and cancer. At frequent use Eating pizza reduces the risk of esophageal cancer by 59%. Cheese on pizza is a source of calcium.

Another argument in favor of pizza is that pizza dough is most often made from wheat. Wheat contains "bran" and "endosperm" which are rich in antioxidants that have antioxidant properties. They help our body defend itself effectively.

About the dangers of pizza. Eating pizza, rich in fats, smoked meats and calories, in a proportion that exceeds reasonable limits, will not help you get more benefit from it than harm to your health. Their numbers can be reduced by using low-calorie cheese, spinach, sausage and low-fat turkey. This topping is considered a healthy food, so pizza in moderation is not harmful.

The stress hormone in most cases leads to a heart attack, so if eating pizza gives you pleasure, then eat it for your health.

Making pizza

Making pizza is very simple. You can use yeast or unleavened dough for it. It is kneaded and rolled out by hand. The first is used more often, but it takes longer to prepare. Unleavened dough is considered less tasty, but it can be stored longer.

The pizza filling can be almost anything. It is also necessary to use the sauce that is used to coat the dough, and the spices that make the pizza so aromatic. Most often used to make sauce provencal herbs, olive or vegetable oil, as well as sour cream, tomato paste and eggs.

For the filling they use meat, meat products, fish and seafood, vegetables, mushrooms and even fruits and nuts. The required ingredients are cheese and tomatoes. Pizza is baked in a special oven at high temperatures.

American pizza

Pizza came to America at the end of the second half of the 19th century. Most likely, they first started cooking it there in Chicago.

American pizza differs from Italian pizza in that it is baked on a fluffy dough.

The dough for this type of pizza usually contains vegetable oil rather than olive oil.

In addition, American pizza often uses flour with high content gluten This dough stretches well without breaking.

Some recipes don't tomato sauce – white pizza. There is also upside down pizza in the USA. Cheese is placed on the bottom, and the pizza is covered with sauce on top.

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Many people love pizza so much that they are willing to eat it day and night, seven days a week. For example, in America, pizza is considered a vegetable product and is offered to children in almost all schools. Pizza can be ordered to your home from Pizzaclub to reduce the time spent preparing dinner, because pizza delivery is available and relatively inexpensive.

Calorie content of pizza

But is pizza really that healthy from a nutritional point of view? Of course, the ingredients that form the basis pizzas are high in calories. It depends on the composition of the test. Sometimes the pizza base is prepared with yeast, and fats, flour, and eggs are added. As you know, flour is not at all indifferent to your figure. Therefore, eating pizza too often is still not recommended. It is also not very healthy to feed pizza to children who are prone to obesity. After all, fillers such as ham, sausage, cheese, bacon, etc. also contain a lot of calories and are not a healthy diet. It's a different matter when it comes to vegetable fillers. For example, tomatoes, mushrooms, sweet peppers, zucchini, onions, green peas, Pineapple pieces are low in calories and healthy.

But there are varieties of pizza with reduced calorie content. It is better to prepare such pizza at home, this will guarantee that the included products will be exactly what suits you. In this case, the dough is made unleavened, without yeast.

Not a bad alternative butter dough The one that provides the bulk of unnecessary calories is dough mixed with kefir or pizza prepared on pita bread.

Here's a pizza recipe for those on a diet:

This one is being prepared pizza in 10 minutes. You need to take thin pita bread, place it on a baking sheet, grease it with a small amount of olive oil. The oil should be evenly distributed over the surface without touching the edges of the pita bread. Use a tablespoon to coat the pita bread with marinara sauce. After this, sprinkle the pizza with grated mozzarella cheese. You will need about 100 grams. Sprinkle with dried ground garlic, salt and place arugula and basil leaves on top. If you don't have them, you can replace them with parsley, dill and other herbs. Then place the pizza in the oven. Preheat to 220 degrees for 10-12 minutes. As soon as the cheese melts, the pizza is ready.

How to reduce calories in pizza

For testing always use rye flour or wholemeal flour.

Instead of mayonnaise, ketchup. Ready-made store-bought sauces. Use a freshly prepared mixture of fresh vegetables. To do this, you need to simmer tomatoes, sweet peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, and then grind them.

For filling, use low-fat fish, chicken, rabbit, veal, fresh vegetables, mushrooms, low-fat cheese, seafood

Replace yeast dough on thin flatbreads, lavash

Replace animal fat with vegetable oils

Thus, the much-loved pizza can become quite acceptable weight loss dish, really healthy, nutritious and very tasty.

See how to cook pizza with kefir:

How is pizza harmful to the body? and got the best answer

Answer from Zyukanov Anna[guru]
Depending on the type of pizza:
1. Fat sauce (mayonnaise, cream)
2.Fatty filling (cheese, sausage)
3. Dough.
In people with insufficient liver and pancreas activity, pizza can cause pain and nausea.
For overweight people, pizza will help them gain another hundred grams of fat. And regular consumption will transform your figure into an ideal spherical one.
The only healthy ingredient in pizza is tomatoes, which become healthier after baking than before.

Reply from Yovetlaya[guru]
Nothing. If the pizza is real, without preservatives and other rubbish. Do it yourself and you will be happy and healthy!))

Reply from Helena[guru]
gastritis)

Reply from Mr. Corax[guru]
It makes my stomach swoon, how can I digest it all... =)
I, and not only me, have guaranteed heartburn after it.
Although we don’t deny ourselves the pleasure of eating byaka a couple of times a month.
=)

Reply from Katya Zahodenka[expert]
Warm dough is very hard on the stomach. Accordingly, if you eat it constantly, you can get problems. And if, as sometimes in cafes, they make it completely unbaked, then even more so.

Reply from Olya[guru]
It has long been known that dark chocolate and red wine, in moderation, are beneficial to health because they are antioxidants. More recently, scientists have discovered that the sodium nitrate found in canned meats slows down aging, that ice cream improves mood, and that popcorn has the same health benefits as whole grains.
Pizza proponents claim that tomatoes contain lycopene, a natural pigment that gives tomatoes their red color). Which, in turn, is very rich in antioxidants and prevents the occurrence of many cardiovascular and cancer diseases, and also reduces the likelihood of esophageal cancer by 59%. And the second required product cheese is a powerful source of calcium.
However, in addition to lycopenes and calcium, pizza contains a lot of fat and calories, which reduce its beneficial substances to zero.
So is pizza bad for your health? Nutritionists answered this question. Dividing food into very good and absolutely bad is initially wrong. Many products contained in pizza supply the body with the necessary protein and calcium. You just need to know when to eat in moderation. And so that pizza does not affect your weight, do not get carried away with large portions.
Fact: Modern scientists believe that most often the stress hormone, not food, leads to a heart attack. Therefore, if you care about your health and you enjoy eating pizza, then eat it for your health and don’t count calories. After all, this Italian flatbread can lift your mood so quickly!

Reply from Pavel Patsevich[guru]
much more harmful to the body - like Pizza....))

Reply from Landis[guru]
It is very high in calories!!

Reply from Andrey Sokolov[newbie]
If there are contraindications, it is better not to use it. if not then eat