Dietary Benefits of Pasta/ A Current Perspective Patricia T. Berglund, Ph.D. Director Northern Crops Institute Fargo, ND USA

Eating – one of life’s greatest pleasures How does pasta fit into a healthy diet and lifestyle?

What’s New in Nutrition??? Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000 A — Aim for fitness B — Build a healthy base C — Choose sensibly

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000 Developed for the American public, many are overweight Low calorie and low fat recommendations less important for some countries

Today’s Focus B — Building a healthy base and C — Choose sensibly

A HEALTHY BASE The Food Guide Pyramid Guide for daily food choices Base - 6 to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta daily Serving size - ½ cup of pasta, cereal or rice Many countries have food guides, most have grains as the base or main foundation

Why grains? Grains: Complex carbohydrates Provide vitamins and minerals Good source of protein Low in fat and sodium

Pasta: Complex carbohydrates Provide vitamins and minerals Good source of protein Pasta protein contains 6 of 8 essential amino acids

Provide all essential amino acids when combined with meat, poultry, cheese or dairy products Low in fat and sodium Low calorie Calories from carbohydrates (82%), protein (14%) and fats (4%)

Nutritional Value of Pasta, Rice and Corn Tortilla: Pasta (1/2 cup) Rice (1/2 cup) Tortilla (1) Calories Carbohydrates, g Protein, g Fat, g Cholesterol, mg 0.0 Fiber, g Sodium, mg Iron Zinc, mg Folic Acid (Folate) mcg Niacin, mg Riboflavin, mg Thiamin, mg Pasta and Rice are cooked

Exciting News in Nutrition Folic Acid Fortification U.S. produced pasta fortified with folic acid, also called folate or folacin Effective January 1998

Imagine being able to reduce serious birth defects

Folic acid (B vitamin) prevents: Neural tube defects such as spina bifida Anencephaly (a fatal defect in which part of the brain never develops) Oral and facial birth defects such as cleft palate May protect against some types of cancer and heart disease

The U.S Center for Disease Control estimated reduction of spina bifida and anencephaly by 50 to 70 percent with sufficient folic acid intake

Who Needs Folic Acid? Required by males and females of all age levels Most important for females of child-bearing age

Fortification level of Folic Acid 0.7 mg folic acid per pound of flour ½ cup serving of cooked pasta has 60 micrograms Six or more servings daily from bread and grains group needed to meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance of 400 micrograms

An Exciting Future?? Healthier Infants Healthier Children Healthier Adults

So what’s exciting about pasta nutrition? Pasta, along with other grain products, forms the foundation of a healthy diet Good source of protein Complete protein containing all the essential amino acids when combined with meat, poultry, dairy products or beans Good source of many vitamins and minerals

Excellent source of folic acid, when fortified Low calorie and low in sodium Many shapes, as many as 350 to 600 Tastes great Adds variety to the diet Convenience food

Nutrition, Taste, Convenience, and Variety all wrapped into one product… PASTA What more can we ask for??

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