Pasta: always and new

1998/01/01 Lorenzo, Arantza | Uranga, Ane Miren Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

The base of the ingredients of these foods of Italian origin is the semola of hard wheat. The fame of these foods is also known among athletes, since, as we all know, those who practice sport often take a lot of pasta. The reason is the amount of carbohydrates of the pasta, which allow to obtain the necessary energy for the sport. In this way, the reserve of glycogen in liver and muscles is ready for exercise, so it is necessary to take some of these pasta dishes in the days before and after a test to have the reserves available and recover what has been spent, respectively.

On the contrary, those who do not do too much sport will have to take the pasta once a week, since their energy needs are not so great.

As for the way to prepare ourselves, there are many forms that are presented to us by different forms and types. Although initially only macaroni were sold in the form of snail, spaghetti and noodles, little by little they have been explaining ways that attract more to the consumer: asterisks, ties, pearls of noodles, feathers, etc. As has already been mentioned, all of them are composed of wheat semolina, but driven by the new food technology, the different ingredients are mixed and the egg paste (1 kg with 4 eggs of wheat semolina), spinach paste (in addition to wheat semolina with dehydrated spinach), tomato paste, etc. have appeared in the market.

This makes the composition of these foods change; the common paste contains 350 Kcal per 100 g, 75 g of carbohydrates, 10 g of protein and one gram of fat. The egg, meanwhile, has more fat and protein but less carbohydrates and tomatoes and spinach are richer in vitamins and minerals. Like these last two, the integral paste also presents a greater amount of nutrients, along with a higher content in fiber, so people with constipation are recommended.

The way to prepare has a great importance when evaluating the composition of a pasta dish. Here we have to be very careful with food of animal origin (cream, chorizo, ham, sausages in general...), it is better to replace them with as many vegetables as we want: tomato, mushrooms, peas… On the other hand, prepared lasagna, cannelloni, macaroni al bologné, etc. They also sell them, but be careful to use them as a custom, since in addition to having a lot of energy, they have a lot of fat.

In short, if we do not do too much sport, once a week we should take a pasta dish and prepare it with the most suitable vegetable products.

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