Food Theory: You're Eating Pasta WRONG!
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of Food Theory, MatPat explores the health implications of pasta consumption, particularly at Olive Garden's 'Never-Ending Pasta Bowl.' He discusses how pasta's carbohydrates can be made healthier by altering its temperature, revealing that reheated pasta contains more resistant starch, which slows digestion and reduces blood sugar spikes. A TV experiment supports these findings, suggesting that enjoying pasta cold or reheated can make it a slightly healthier option.
Takeaways
- 🍝 Olive Garden's 'Never-Ending Pasta Bowl' is a popular choice for those who love unlimited servings of pasta, breadsticks, salad, and soup.
- 🏋️♂️ Pasta is often debated in terms of health; it contains fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals, but also a significant amount of carbohydrates.
- 📊 The glycemic index of pasta is relatively low, which means it doesn't cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels.
- 🍽 Portion control is crucial with pasta, as the recommended serving size is much smaller than what is typically consumed.
- 🔁 The structure of starches in pasta can affect how quickly they are broken down and absorbed by the body.
- 🥶 Cold pasta contains more resistant starches, which are harder for the body to break down, potentially making it healthier.
- 🔥 Reheating pasta increases its resistant starch content even more, making it the healthiest option in terms of blood sugar response.
- 📚 A 2009 study and a British TV show experiment both support the idea that reheated pasta causes less of a blood sugar spike.
- 🎧 The script includes a sponsorship message for Audible, highlighting the convenience of audiobooks for busy individuals.
- 🍲 The video concludes with a practical tip: to make pasta healthier, cool it, reheat it, and enjoy the benefits of increased resistant starches.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the script?
-The main topic discussed in the script is the health implications of consuming pasta, specifically how the temperature at which pasta is consumed can affect its impact on blood sugar levels.
What is the 'never-ending pasta bowl' mentioned in the script?
-The 'never-ending pasta bowl' is a reference to Olive Garden's promotional offer where customers can enjoy unlimited servings of pasta for a fixed price.
Why does the script mention breadsticks, salad, and soup?
-The script mentions breadsticks, salad, and soup because these items are also part of Olive Garden's unlimited offerings, similar to the never-ending pasta bowl.
What is the significance of the phrase 'what if that wasn't the case' in the script?
-The phrase 'what if that wasn't the case' is used to introduce the idea that there might be a way to enjoy pasta without the typical health drawbacks, setting up the discussion on resistant starches.
What does the script suggest about the healthiness of pasta?
-The script suggests that pasta can be made healthier by changing the temperature at which it is consumed, specifically by cooling and reheating it, which increases the presence of resistant starches.
What is the role of carbohydrates in pasta according to the script?
-Carbohydrates in pasta are a source of energy but can be unhealthy in excess, particularly when they are refined carbs like those found in regular pasta.
What is the glycemic index, and how does it relate to pasta?
-The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels. Pasta has a relatively low glycemic index, meaning it causes a slower rise in blood sugar levels.
What is the significance of portion control when it comes to pasta?
-Portion control is significant because a typical serving size of pasta is much smaller than what people usually consume, leading to excessive carbohydrate intake.
What are resistant starches, and how do they relate to pasta?
-Resistant starches are types of starch that are difficult for the body to break down and absorb, thus providing fewer calories. The script explains that pasta can become a source of resistant starches as it cools and is reheated.
What does the script reveal about the effect of reheating pasta on its health impact?
-The script reveals that reheating pasta can increase its resistant starch content, making it healthier by reducing blood sugar spikes compared to fresh pasta.
How does the script use the British television program 'Trust Me I'm a Doctor' to support its claims?
-The script cites an experiment from 'Trust Me I'm a Doctor' where volunteers' blood sugar levels were measured after eating fresh, cold, and reheated pasta, with the results supporting the idea that reheated pasta causes the smallest blood sugar spikes.
Outlines
🍝 The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl Dilemma
The paragraph humorously describes a customer's interaction with a waiter at an Olive Garden restaurant, highlighting the concept of the 'never-ending pasta bowl.' The customer inquires about the unlimited nature of the food offerings, including pasta, breadsticks, salad, and soup, and humorously contemplates the idea of needing a second pasta bowl to rotate while eating. This sets the stage for a discussion on the health aspects of pasta and introduces the idea that there might be a way to make pasta healthier without changing its recipe.
🔬 The Science of Making Pasta Healthier
This paragraph delves into the science behind pasta and its health implications. It discusses the nutritional content of pasta, including fiber, protein, and carbohydrates, and how these contribute to energy but can also be linked to health issues when consumed in excess. The concept of resistant starches is introduced, explaining how these starches are harder for the body to break down and thus can lead to fewer blood sugar spikes. The paragraph also mentions how the cooling and reheating of pasta can increase its resistant starch content, making it a healthier option. A study is referenced that shows reheated pasta contains more resistant starch than cold pasta, suggesting that eating reheated pasta could be a strategy for healthier consumption.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Never-Ending Pasta Bowl
💡Portion Control
💡Carbohydrates
💡Glycemic Index
💡Resistant Starch
💡Amylase
💡Blood Sugar Spikes
💡Refined Carbs
💡Food Pyramid
💡Digestion
💡Reheated Pasta
Highlights
Olive Garden's 'never-ending pasta bowl' includes unlimited breadsticks and salad.
The concept of 'never-ending' extends to soup and soda refills as well.
The idea of enjoying pasta without the associated health risks is explored.
Pasta is a source of fiber, protein, and various vitamins and minerals.
Refined carbs like those in regular pasta are linked to an increased risk of diseases.
Whole wheat pasta is healthier than regular pasta and can be requested at Olive Garden.
Pasta has a relatively low glycemic index, which affects blood glucose levels.
Portion control is crucial with pasta, as recommended serving sizes are often smaller than typical portions.
Carbohydrates in pasta are composed of long strands of glucose molecules known as starches.
Resistant starches are difficult for the body to break down and thus can be healthier.
Cooling pasta increases its resistant starch content, making it healthier.
Reheating pasta after it has cooled actually increases its resistant starch content even more.
A study showed that reheated pasta causes less of a blood sugar spike than fresh pasta.
The process of cooling and reheating pasta can be repeated to further increase resistant starches.
Eating habits can be adjusted to make favorite meals like those from Olive Garden less unhealthy.
Audible is highlighted as a sponsor, providing spoken word entertainment and audiobooks.
Transcripts
sir your never-ending pasta bowl
oh thanks if you need anything else just
let me done
excuse me i'm done ready for more pasta
you said it's never ending right
well yes great also i down the
breadsticks and salad those are
unlimited too correct
oh dear now is the soup endless because
if so i'll order that too and you know
tell you what i'm going to need a second
never-ending pasta bowl just to get a
couple in rotation gonna be here a while
and i'm planning on eating a lot of
pasta honey it's me sell all of our
olive garden stock
right now yeah he's back free refills on
soda correct
[Music]
thanks
hello internet welcome to food theory
where with science
all things are possible all right i'll
admit it theorists i've been daydreaming
about
olive garden a lot lately like an
unhealthy amount though when it comes to
olive garden is there really any other
kind see
their food hasn't touched my lips since
the pandemic started but what else can i
do
it's not like i'm gonna order olive
garden as delivery ugh that defeats the
whole purpose
olive garden is one of those restaurants
that has to be done in person if you're
gonna do it right cause as
everyone knows the minute you sit down
inside of an olive garden they start
throwing endless and bottomless foods at
you from all directions
breadsticks soups salads pasta until you
leave the restaurant an hour later with
enough extra calories in your stomach to
keep you in the gym for a week which is
both
awesome and awful because the venn
diagram for reasons pasta is delicious
and reasons pasta is unhealthy
is basically one circle but here's what
i've been noodling about recently
friends what if that wasn't the case
what if you could enjoy all those tasty
carbs on your lips and they wouldn't
wind up forever on those hips theorists
i wanted to make today's episode because
there are some really interesting
science-based reasons to believe that
pasta can be made healthier
not by altering the recipe but by simply
changing
the temperature not to go full clickbait
on your friends but there's really no
other way to put it this one trick makes
food
instantly healthier so grab a fork
theorists cause if i'm right about this
one the possibilities
are endless first let's talk pasta is it
healthy or
isn't it because i feel like pasta is
just one of those foods that's gone in
and out of style like 10 times during my
life
these days i hear a lot about the carbs
it contains and yet when i was in grade
school
this is what got drilled into my brain
every single day
the food pyramid which celebrated grains
as the literal foundation of a healthy
diet so what is the deal here
is pasta good or is it bad well on one
hand pasta is a source of fiber
protein and a slew of vitamins and
minerals on the other yeah it contains
a lot of carbohydrates now carbs are
great for energy which is why for
instance marathon runners will load up
on carbs before a race but for those of
us not running marathons on the reg
an excessive amount of carbs ain't great
particularly refined carbs like the ones
found in regular pasta as opposed to
whole wheat pasta which isn't typically
the default option when you order pasta
at a restaurant my local olive garden
for instance doesn't currently have
whole wheat linguine on the menu but
they've served it to me every time i've
asked for it in the past according to
healthline
quote eating refined carbs is linked to
drastically increased risk of many
diseases including obesity
heart disease and type 2 diabetes still
even though pasta has plenty of carbs
it's by no means the highest carb food
out there looking at you french fries
plus pasta has a pretty low glycemic
index which is a value assigned to foods
based on how slowly or how quickly those
foods cause
increases in blood glucose levels so
with all those nutrients and a
relatively low glycemic index why does
pasta get a bad rap
simply put portion control see a serving
size of pasta is supposed to be a half
cup
which is a lot less than you would think
and it is definitely a lot less than the
plate of pasta you're making for
yourself at home and
certainly less than what you get served
at olive garden how many servings are
contained in a never-ending pasta bowl
a tad bit higher than a recommended
daily dose now when we say that pasta
has a lot of carbohydrates what we
really mean is that it has a lot of
glucose molecules the word carbohydrate
is derived from carbon
and hydrate as you can see from
glucose's structure it's more or less
six carbon atoms with six h2o molecules
attached now hosta doesn't have a bunch
of free glucose molecules floating
around in it what it has
are long strands of glucose molecules
linked together these long glucose
strands can come in different lengths
and arrangements but
generally they're referred to as
starches when we ingest a starchy food
like pasta bread or potatoes the
salivary
enzyme amylase gets to work right away
in the mouth and it begins breaking the
long starch chain down into shorter
chunks
this process continues in the small
intestine where it eventually becomes
individual glucose molecules and see
that is what our body needs for energy
but as long as the glucose molecules
remain in their long starch chains
they can't be absorbed okay so remember
how i said that starches can come in a
bunch of different arrangements well
some of those arrangements are very easy
for our body's enzymes to break apart
in this case our small intestine will
successfully absorb a whole bunch of
free glucose molecules our blood sugar
will spike and all those unhealthy
dangerous things that we discussed
earlier could occur however
sometimes glucose molecules are arranged
into starches that are a lot
tougher to break down these starches are
resistant to digestion which is why
they're called
resistant starches who names these
things by the way feel like there could
have been more creativity involved if i
made a scientific discovery i'd have
more fun with it you know like
starch nemesis tony starch like and
subscribe to food theory starch you know
something like that anyway resistant
starches can be so difficult and takes
so long to break apart that they pass
all the way through our entire digestive
system to the colon and even beyond
without getting fully broken down
that means not all of the glucose
molecules get broken off the starch
chain which means your body effectively
gets fewer carbs so at long last this
all brings us back to olive garden
because the starches in your piping hot
freshly boiled pasta actually become
more resistant as the pasta cools down
and yes this applies to other starchy
foods too like potatoes and peas
if you've ever noticed how day-old
leftover pasta in the fridge has an
almost
crispy texture that's because it has
more resistant starches in it than
before
thereby making cold pasta healthier than
freshly boiled pasta
bazinga okay so i can feel your fierce
at home rolling your eyes saying to
yourself gee thanks matpat you roped us
in with that click bait thesis statement
earlier and now you're going to tell us
that we have to suffer through eating
cold
pasta in order to glean the benefits of
resistant starches and all right i admit
i can see where you'd get that idea
if you stopped watching the video right
now because here's the big twist
friends a 2009 study shows that reheated
pasta
actually contains more resistant starch
than the cold pasta so boil's the worst
cold's second best and reheated is the
best best and if you repeatedly
cool and reheat your pasta the presence
of resistant starches
only accumulates basically it's kind of
a what doesn't kill you makes it
stronger kind of thing except it's uh
makes you
more of a resistant starch okay so the
science is telling us that cooling and
reheating your pasta increases its
starch resistance our understanding of
digestion tells us that higher starch
resistance means that it's harder for
our body to break down and therefore
should lessen spikes in blood sugar but
i'm not okay just leaving this thing
with a should
is there actual proof of this working in
the real world or is it all theoretical
food theoretical yeah doesn't quite have
the same ring to it does it well i'm
happy to report friends that such an
experiment was performed
on the british television program trust
me i'm a doctor they measured the blood
sugar of volunteers after eating fresh
cold and reheated pasta and the results
are precisely what we would expect the
largest spikes in blood sugar occurred
with fresh pasta and the smallest spikes
resulted from reheated pasta
granted this was a small scale
experiment on a tv show but other
more extensive studies have also been
carried out and they also support the
same findings so if you're like me and
your desire to eat healthy is constantly
at odds with your desire to eat your
body weight at olive garden you can rest
a little bit easier tonight knowing that
there's still a way to make the huge
unhealthy meals that you love a little
bit less unhealthy now if you'll excuse
me i need to a
reheat my olive garden leftovers
multiple times and b
thank audible the sponsor for today's
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what don't look at me like that guys
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then you only have like a half hour to
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all food theory bon appetit
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