Today, Wednesday 17 January 2024, is Pizza day. Among Italians' favorite foods, here are the pros and cons, truths and false myths about one of the symbols of 'tricolor food' from the experts of 'Doctor, but is it true that…?', the anti-hoax website of the Federation of Orders of doctors (Fnomceo). Is it true that pizza swells and weighs you down? Can you be intolerant to the yeast used for the dough? Can you eat it without gaining weight? These are some of the questions that recur about pizza, much loved but also demonized. A flag of Made in Italy in the world, which each country has declined by satisfying local tastes: from the Americans' 'pepperoni pizza', the equivalent of ours to spicy salami, to the pineapple pizza abhorred by purists, which has also caught on at different latitudes.
Does yeast ferment in the belly?
“Some people think that yeast can do to the abdomen what it does to the dough of water and flour, swelling it before it is spread out in the pan, seasoned and baked”, explain the doctors. “During leavening, in fact, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae fungus – which alone constitutes brewer's yeast, while it is found together with other species in sourdough – begins the process of digestion of the carbohydrates contained in the flour, from which carbon dioxide is released which it makes the dough 'grow'. However, this cannot happen in our stomach – anti fake news doctors assure us – because the yeast cannot survive the temperature present in the oven during cooking, and is therefore completely inactive when it arrives at the table. Even if some remains due to too short leavening or insufficient cooking, it wouldn't do any harm”, on the contrary: “Fermentation by 'good' yeasts or bacteria is an important component of the benefits brought by a healthy microbiota, and the enzymes present in saliva or produced by the pancreas to digest starch (amylase) act in the same way”.
But can you be intolerant to yeast?
“To explain the heaviness you feel after eating pizza, some people believe they have an individual intolerance to yeast. This too does not exist – the white coats reply – like other false intolerances to hundreds of foods that support a market of visits and tests without scientific basis, as recently reiterated by the most important Italian scientific societies dealing with this topic, but also by Fnomceo and the Ministry of Health. While intolerance to gluten or lactose is based on the difficulty of digesting these substances, if anything, yeast helps digestion and the well-being of the intestine. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important component of our intestinal microbiota and is given as a probiotic to strengthen it. It is true that there is a rare form of allergy to yeast, which however – they specify doctors – occurs due to inhalation of the substance, as can happen to those who work in the bakery industry, not due to introducing it by mouth”.
Why can pizza seem 'heavy'?
“Pizza in itself is a healthy dish and balanced in its components of carbohydrates (flour), proteins (mozzarella) and fats (olive oil)”, state the anti-hoax doctors. “To complete the meal, all that would be missing is a plate of vegetables and a fruit, since the sauce does not contain a significant quantity of fibre. The cooked tomato, however, contains lycopene, a substance to which beneficial properties are attributed, even towards some tumors. All this applies to the classic margherita pizza, but we know how often the richest and most varied toppings of cheeses, processed meats, even chips are added to the basic recipe. At this point the digestion is not weighed down so much by the disk of dough of bread, but by the large quantity of fats and proteins that must be broken down and absorbed along the digestive tract”. Furthermore, “the impression of bloating can also be given by the amount of water that the salt draws into the intestine, together with the gases produced by the fermentation of starches”.
Does pizza make you fat or not?
Having clarified that “the quantity, rather than the quality, of the nutrients contained in the pizza determines the feeling of fullness, heaviness or swelling”, the doctors recall that its “caloric intake certainly depends on any additional filling, but also on the size , by the weight, by the quantity of oil or mozzarella that the individual pizza chef adds to the disc of dough. Even a simple margherita pizza, however, contains on average around 900 Kcal with at least 30 grams of fat, almost half of the daily requirement of a adult, and the maximum amount of salt (5 g) allowed by the World Health Organization Guidelines. This is why, after eating pizza, we often wake up thirsty during the night.”
Is it possible to eat pizza every now and then and save your figure?
For experts, its caloric value “does not mean that we should give up this traditional dish, which often also represents an important social event with family or friends. To more easily include the pleasure of pizza in our diet, even on a weekly basis, there is no need to look for someone who makes it with ancient grains or light mozzarella, but simply avoid the more garnished versions and reduce the size. You can choose the children's pizza, offered in many places – the doctors suggest – or share it with someone , taking into account the caloric intake involved in the other meals of the day and also what you drink to accompany it: beer or carbonated drinks can in fact increase the sensation of bloating, in addition to the caloric intake”. And then “always valid advice: chewing, well and slowly, small bites, will improve the digestibility of the pizza and at the same time allow us to enjoy it even in smaller quantities”.
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