Tag: benefits

Why you should eat pasta with vegetables: benefits and recipes – Italian Cuisine

Promotes satiety, increases good mood and helps you stay fit and healthy. Here are all the properties of this combination and the best recipes to try

Pasta with vegetables is an excellent first course to satisfy your taste and stay fit and healthy. Cooked correctly and consumed in the right quantities, it ensures vitamins, antioxidants and other precious substances for the functioning of the body. «First you need to choose the right pasta. Whole grain than white provides more vitamins and minerals, "says the nutritionist Valentina Schirò. In addition, it has a lower glycemic index. "In addition to complex carbohydrates, it contains a portion of fiber, which helps to control the ups and downs of blood sugar which, over time, promote the overweight and the onset of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and many other ailments" says the expert. Cooking can also make a difference. "Al dente pasta combined with vegetable fibers, compared to a plate of spaghetti or well-cooked penne, without sauce or with sauce, makes the carbohydrates of which it is rich more slowly absorb and make it less quickly assimilable by the body". But eating pasta with vegetables also has other advantages. Here are all its benefits and our best recipes to try.

Promotes good humor

The combination of pasta with vegetables provides a super nutrient booster for the mood. "The paste contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid precursor of serotonin, the hormone of happiness. Then it brings complex carbohydrates, which increase its production "says nutritionist Valentina Schirò. Some vegetables also contain tryptophan. «The list includes asparagus, artichokes, chard, spinach. Vegetables, in particular those with green leaves, are also rich in B vitamins that promote the balance of emotional well-being. They are in fact involved in the synthesis of the hormones of good humor .

Helps eat less (and lose weight more)

Pasta with vegetables has a good satiating power that helps avoid overeating and the accumulation of extra kilos. "The carbohydrates of the pasta combined with the fiber of the vegetables are assimilated slowly and ensure long-lasting energy," says nutritionist Valentina Schirò. «The fibers slow down the times of gastric emptying and at the same time promote satiety. In addition, they reduce the assimilation of sugars and fats, keep blood sugar constant and help keep hunger attacks and weight gain away, "explains the expert.

Counteracts cholesterol

The pasta combined with the vegetables sautéed in extra virgin olive oil helps to increase the levels of good HDL cholesterol and to lower those of bad LDL cholesterol. "Plant fibers have a cholesterol lowering action. Associated with pasta carbohydrates they lower the assimilation of fats in the blood "says the nutritionist.

Facilitates digestion

Pasta is a very digestible food. "Together with vegetables, especially bitter ones, such as escarole, turnip greens, radicchio, it favors the production of bile and helps the liver to work better". "Thanks to the wealth of water and minerals, such as potassium and magnesium, it lightens the work of the kidneys, promotes diuresis and the disposal of toxins and excess waste substances", explains the nutritionist.

Helps you sleep better

Pasta with vegetables is a dish that is easily digested. Consequently, it can also be eaten at dinner. Facilitates sleep. "The tryptophan with which it is rich promotes the production of the serotonin hormone, which relaxes and makes falling asleep easier." "The minerals present in vegetables such as magnesium and potassium thanks to their muscle relaxant action lower the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone and help to relax. In addition, melatonin is present in many vegetables such as cabbage, tomatoes, radishes, asparagus, which regulates the sleep-wake rhythm and helps to counteract early awakenings says nutritionist Valentina Schirò.

Here are our best vegetable pasta recipes to try: look at the gallery

benefits and how to do it every day – Italian Cuisine

A study reveals that getting up early in the morning helps not to gain weight and stay healthy. Find out why and what routine to follow to become super early risers

Getting up early in the morning is often a challenge. Especially for those with a bad habit of going to sleep late. Yet getting up early in the morning is a great way not only to better manage the timing of the day, but also to stay fit and healthy for several reasons. Usually the first rule that follows an early riser is to go to bed at a decent time in the evening. This small habit is able to trigger a whole series of good practices that help to preserve line and health. Those who get up early in the morning compared to those who are night owls eat more regular meals. For example, he tends not to skip breakfast. It also manages to better distribute the portions at different times of the day and consequently to better manage sudden hunger attacks, eating less and preferring healthier foods. The confirmation also comes from the experts: "Having the habit of going to sleep late or eating at night has the big disadvantage of misaligning the metabolic balance dictated by the circadian rhythm", he explains Luca Piretta, gastroenterologist and nutritionist of the Biomedical Campus University of Rome. "Our body's biological clock synchronizes metabolic systems to make them efficient and functional during the day and to let us rest at night. If we reverse our activities, we create the so-called "chronodisruption", a phenomenon directly related to metabolic disorders, obesity and cardiovascular diseases ".

The benefits of waking up early

Getting up early in the morning and sleeping well at night is an excellent strategy for keeping away from excess pounds and health problems. The confirmation also comes from a recent study conducted by Nestlé Research in collaboration with some prestigious international universities including Northumbria University of Newcastle and the University of Surrey (United Kingdom). Research results published in the scientific journal Advances in Nutrition revealed that early risers have a lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes than those who have a habit of going to bed late as they tend to have nutritional patterns more healthy. People who go to bed later than early risers tend to follow a less healthy diet. For example, they consume more energy, sugary and caffeinated drinks. But there is more. Those who tend to go to bed late than those who have a habit of getting up early are more likely to follow irregular meals.

The routine to follow

To be able to sleep early in the evening and get up early in the morning, the first thing to do is always set the alarm at the same time. Helps synchronize sleep-wake rhythm. During the day it is useful to be more outdoors. Sunlight stimulates the production of hormones that regulate the circardian rhythm. Exercising can also be helpful as long as it is not done before bedtime. The risk? Having difficulty falling asleep due to the production of adrenaline, a hormone that keeps the nervous system active. And finally, no smartphone and device before going to bed. The light of electronic devices before sleep can delay falling asleep and make waking up more difficult.

The foods that help

To rest well at night and wake up early in the morning, you must also pay attention to what you eat, especially in the evening. In fact, some foods could disturb sleep and, consequently, hinder awakening in the morning. «Foods that supply tryptophan and melanin are excellent allies. These are hormones that promote sleep. They are present in whole grains, almonds, legumes and many other foods. Milk is also an excellent food friend of rest thanks to the conversion of casein into casomorphins by the intestinal microbiota ", explains nutritionist Luca Piretta. Instead, meat, aged cheeses and spinach should be avoided at dinner. "They are rich in tyramine, an essential amino acid precursor of adrenaline, a hormone that promotes wakefulness." Among the vegetables, then pay attention to the cabbage. "It contains sulfur compounds, which are also precursors of exciting molecules." In short, he concludes, Luca Piretta "we must moderate the consumption of all those drinks that contain nervine substances that have an exciting effect such as tea and coffee".

Discover in the gallery the other foods that will help you get up early

Parsley, benefits in every recipe – Italian Cuisine

It is the ingredient in more than many recipes, especially of Italian cuisine. But do we really know all the benefits guaranteed by parsley?

It flavor every kind of dish, with its pungent and slightly bitter taste that really makes parsley a versatile dish and one of the most appreciated in the kitchen, especially the Italian one. In addition to giving each dish a nice pinch of color, parsley is also a food rich in vitamins and with numerous benefits for the human body. For example, his ability is well known diuretic, which helps the body get rid of excess fluids. This, however, must not lead us to believe that it can be used without taking into account some of them contraindications, as it is a herb with important doses of oxalates, or compounds that occur in needle-like crystals which, when combined with calcium, give rise tooxalate calcium, a soluble salt with negative consequences for the urinary tract. Salt, that is, which also leads to infections, stones, kidney damage and blood loss in the urine. In short, people with gallbladder problems and other kidney diseases are warned. And it would be better to be careful with other foods that contain oxalic acid, such as spinach, rhubarb, whole grains and cabbage.

Source of vitamins

As said, however, parsley is a source rich in vitamins (A, B, C and K) which represent an ally for the system immune, helping the bones to tone and promoting the right balance for the nervous system. But parsley also contains folic acid, a friend of the heart and blood circulation, while thanks to its anti-inflammatory qualities, there are those who recommend a pinch every day to feel relief from articolar pains.

Ally of digestion

Among the best known qualities of parsley, without a doubt, there is the digestive one. It is not by chance that the skills in this sense are known decoction parsley, panacea after particularly demanding meals. According to some research, moreover, parsley would even have an important role in the prevention of tumors and this could be due to the presence of apigenin, a substance that inhibits the proliferation of certain types of cancer.

Hair well-being too

By massaging some essential oil of parsley on the scalp can naturally reduce hair loss, while lengthening the list of properties of this spontaneous herb originating in the Mediterranean areas and believed harmful for cats (but in this case there are no certainties yet), it must be remembered that it is a food capable of stimulating appetite and eliminating nausea and a feeling of being sick. Finally, as is known by many, parsley refreshes thebreath and would even be a serious ally for those who intend to quit cigarettes. In short, considering its presence in many dishes, parsley is really a food capable of adding to each recipe one more ingredient for one's health.