People who are trying to lose weight follow certain diets that do not have high amounts of carbohydrates. This is because carbohydrates can easily turn into blood sugar and if the person burns fewer calories, they gain more weight. In a new study, almost every food high in carbohydrates can cause weight gain, but not with pasta, which can be a food choice for people with diabetes or overweight problems.

Pasta Consumption Not Punishing Like Other Foods

Glycemic Index is a ranking of carbohydrates in foods that measure impact to the blood sugar levels. Foods with low GI are absorbed slowly by the digestive system and raise the glucose in a gradual manner. Meanwhile, high GI foods do the opposite, wherein the carbohydrates are easily metabolized that spikes the blood sugar levels. Foods with a glycemic index score of 55 or less are absorbed and metabolized by the body slowly.

According to Harvard Medical School, there are several foods that have a high GI score. These foods range from bread to cereals to fruit products:

- 70 or more GI: White wheat bread, whole wheat bread, white rice, cornflakes, instant oats, mashed potato, and raw watermelon.

- 56 to 69 GI: Wheat flake biscuits, millet porridge, raw pineapple, French fries, popcorn, and sucrose or table sugar.

- 55 or less GI: Sweet corn, Udon noodles, raw banana, raw mango, apple juice, orange juice, boiled carrots, skim milk, soya beans, and fructose or sugar from fruits.

Pasta is considered by many people as a food that can increase body weight. But scientific evidence proves that pasta is not metabolized quickly and does not spike the glucose levels, unlike with most refined foods, according to a new study.

The new study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available evidence from randomized controlled trials. The trials are used to assess the effects of pasta alone to body weight, body mass index, and body fat. The researchers also assessed the effects of the food to waistline details, such as waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and sagittal abdominal diameter adiposity, a measurement of fat in the gut area, among adults.

The research team identified 32 randomized controlled trials that involved 2,448 participants who ate pasta, instead of other carbohydrate-based foods. The participants ate an average of 3.3 servings of pasta per week, wherein one serving is equivalent to one-half cup of cooked pasta.

After the researchers made a follow-up in a median of 12 weeks, they found that the participants who followed the pasta course lost about a half kilogram of weight. They also found that the evidence has a moderate effect on body weight, BMI, WHR, and SAD, but has a low effect on waist circumference and body fat. For other measurements of obesity, the evidence showed no significant effect.

Researchers clarified that the trial solely focused on the effects of pasta alone in the context of low GI diet patterns. And the results have been compared to the patterns in high GI diet. They concluded that consumption of pasta does not cause an adverse effect on obesity, rather, provide a higher chance of weight loss, compared to foods with high GI score. The team plans to assess the effects of pasta in the context of other healthy diet patterns.

"The study found that pasta didn't contribute to weight gain or increase in body fat. In fact, analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So contrary to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet such as a low GI diet," said Dr. John Sievenpiper, a clinical scientist at the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Modification Center at St. Michael's Hospital.

Manipulating the Glycemic Index

The low GI score of pasta is already confirmed by the American Diabetes Association, along with sweet potato, legumes, and barley that score 55 or less. The default glycemic index of foods can be manipulated, which can either speed up or slow down the digestion of carbohydrates.

1. Fiber affects GI score: Higher intake of dietary fiber tends to decrease the GI score and prevents the sudden spike of blood glucose levels.

2. Fat also tends to decrease GI score: This is because fat itself has a GI score of zero and taking it with carbohydrates, dulls the index. To compare, a plain baked potato has a high GI score while a potato with butter would have a lower GI score.

3. The ripeness of the food: Fruits and vegetables that have been stored for long periods, leading to ripeness, would have a higher GI score.

4. Processing of the food: Foods that have been cooked or processed tend to have a higher GI, compared to raw or unprocessed foods.

There are other factors at play as well in the increase and decrease of GI scores, such as the portion size of the food and the combination of different foods.

[메디컬리포트= Ralph Chen 기자]