L’evento ha avuto ampia risonanza mediatica, sia in Italia che all’estero, ed ha rilanciato il tema

dell’importanza di una corretta nutrizione che segua la Dieta Mediterranea e della pasta come

scelta di alimentazione sostenibile e alla portata di tutti.

Di seguito gli highlights media.

World Pasta Day & Congress is near, and the programme is always richer and moreinteresting!

On World Pasta Day, this coming 25 October, there will be a pasta festival in the true sense of the word and to help celebrate it, as well as the reference authorities of the industrial and institutional world, such as UNESCO (whose Italian Commission has granted its patronage to the event), the pluri-Michelin-starred Massimo Bottura who will describe his vision of pasta between tradition and modernity, and other celebrities. It will be moderated by the British journalist Alex Thomson, Channel 4, backbone of the TV channel.

Francine Segane, one of America’s foremost experts on Italian cuisine, is an engaging public speaker, author and TV personality and she will tell us how pasta is commonly perceived by food bloggers, artisan pasta makers, and vanguard chefsnoted.

Danielle Nierenberg, is President of Food Tank and expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues. She has written extensively on gender and population, the spread of factory farming in the developing world and innovations in sustainable agriculture. She will provide an overview of the “food issue” under a geopolitical viewpoint.

We are nowadays experiencing an incredible paradox in trying to find a balance between hunger and obesity. During dinner at the “Terrace of Italy Palace”, another famous chef, the Italian-American chef Bruno Serato, shows that pasta, as highly nutritious and affordable, can be part of the solution to this problem. The chef, included in 2013 by CNN among the ten heroes of the year, will be awarded by Italian pasta makers for its efforts, through its “Caterina’s Club” of Anaheim (California), to serve more than 1,200 needy children, a nutritionally balanced meal based on pasta and fresh vegetables, 365 days a year.

The following two days, Monday 26 and Tuesday 27, there are multiple sessions on the themes of environment, innovation and nutrition, attended by top-level speakers.

On 26 October, the IPO President Riccardo Felicetti will introduce an important issue: the fight against the misinformation on the relevant role of carbohydrates in every meal. The “Truth about Pasta” is an IPO project finalized to change the perception about pasta by informing, educating and encouraging you to eat pasta, as part of a diet and a healthy lifestyle.

If the pasta is an excellent response to the challenges of today “in feeding the planet”, how much pasta is produced, distributed, and consumed in the world? There are growing markets? The availability of raw materials is a problem? These questions will be answered in the Pasta is global: overview of wheat and pasta market trends session by Jack Skelly, Packaged Food Analyst at Euromonitor International.

Fernanda Roggero reputed journalist of Il Sole 24 Ore, describes the healthfulness status of world population and indicates its expectations, needs and features from the food of the future.

Carmen La Macchia, Professor of Foggia University (Italy), reassures sufferers of celiac disease about that they can keep eating pasta in future by presenting the outcome of a recent research showing how to reconcile the technological and nutritional properties of wheat proteins with the safety for celiac patients, with gluten sensitive and overall wellness.

During the Pasta is good for the planet session Duncan Williamson, from WWF UK and Riccardo Valentini, Professor of Tuscia University (Italy) have the chance to explain that few foods can boast a “sustainability index” as high as pasta.

The closing session Pasta is good for your health is maybe the most important one and it will take place on October 27. The scientific evidence on the nutritional values ​​of pasta and its central role in the Mediterranean diet are confirmed by a group of international nutritionists (established by IPO and coordinated by the Oldways) who will meet to update the statement of Scientific Consensus on the benefits of pasta and will present the new document during the nutritional session. Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of Oldways will introduce the Panel of  nutritionists. Kantha Shelke, will present the 2015 Scientific Consensus Statement on Healthy Pasta Meals. David L. Katz MD MPH Founding Director Yale University Prevention Research Center Griffin Hospital will explain “COMMUNICATING THE TRUE HEALTH MESSAGE”.

“Following a low-carb (low carbohydrate content) diet, by definition means increasing fats and/or proteins, but these nutrients cannot play the role of carbohydrates, and when they do, they do it badly. A low-carb diet becomes a high-protein one and the protein in excess loses its natural plasticity to take on an energy-generating function, thus producing “dirty” energy that is not clean because it forces the body to eliminate the nitrogen in excess. It’s like deciding to return to heating our homes with coal instead of methane.”

Luca Piretta, specialist in Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy, as well as Human Nutritional Science in the Department of Clinical Sciences at La Sapienza University, is direct when speaking about the risks we run when we significantly reduce—or even eliminate—the carbohydrates we eat.

Diet? It’s not just about numbers – “Carbohydrates are clean energy. Some tissues, such as the brain and red blood cells, only work with glucose (even if neurons can adapt to ketone bodies) that must be supplied in the right quantity.” And this nutritionist warns: “It’s as if the alchemy of a healthy diet were based exclusively on a purely mathematical calculation: take a bit away here and add it there. It’s as if calories were all the same and represent the only parameter to take into consideration when deciding what kind of diet to choose.

All foods are not the same  – Piretta continues: “I can’t substitute apples with fish, pasta with butter or fruit with meat, just maintaining the overall number of calories.” And what about carbohydrates? “To avoid having excessive impact on glycemia and insulin levels, carbohydrates must not be abolished, we have to learn how to consume them. You just have to be aware of the glycemic index which can be worked with, not just through the choice of foods, but also learning how to prepare and combine them. For example, eating pasta ‘al dente’, with a mushroom or asparagus sauce, has a very low impact on post-prandial blood sugar levels.”

The car metaphor – “In other words,” Piretta concludes, “with diet, talking only about calories and low carbs is like going to buy a car and asking only how fast it goes, and forgetting to ask if it is a diesel, if it is 3- or 5-door, if it has 2- or 4-wheel traction, if it is yellow or black and if it has a pleasing design or is just a box on wheels.”

Pasta, rice, vegetables and grains—from the US come guidelines for a diet that is also good for our planet. Everybody knows, in fact, how good and versatile pasta is and what an ally it is in the kitchen. But perhaps not everyone knows that including it in our diet is also an eco-friendly choice.

Confirmation of this arrives from a group of medical and nutritional consultants to the US government which ties diet to sustainability and promotes a nutritional model based on fruit, vegetables and grains (2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Grain-based foods, such as pasta, have been the center of traditional diets for centuries and, unlike other dietary components, does not require intensive production techniques and is a food with low environmental impact. Thanks to its versatility, it is also a perfect example of how to fight waste in the kitchen (for example, using leftover pasta in omelets, flans or cold As shown in the recent WWF report in Italian Quanta natura sprechiamo (2014) which deals with this issue, 1 kg of pasta produces CO2 emissions of 1.48 kg, while 1 kg of beef involves ten times as much (14.7 kg CO2 equiv.). Similarly, WWF figures show that to produce 1 kg of pasta, 15 liters of blue water are required, while 1 kg of beef requires 594 liters (and 77 liters for a liter of milk).

In general, the environmental impact of pasta from field to table, including the production and processing phase, is 1 global sqm—the measure of the biologically productive area of the sea or land required to regenerate the resources consumed during production—per serving of pasta, a very low amount. And the environmental footprint of an 80 g portion is only 150 grams of CO2 As our increasingly-populated planet heads towards climatic uncertainty, our nutritional choices must make proper use of the Earth’s precious resources, and those who love pasta are also making the best choice in terms of environmental sustainability!

Sources: AIDEPI, IPO – International Pasta Organisation, 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population.

From the famous Chiara Ferragni’s, The Blonde Salad, to the lunch of Irene Colzi of Irene’s Closet, even fashion bloggers are unwilling to forgo the healthy lure of a plate of spaghetti! Yes, because if we have seen pasta on the catwalk, printed on ample skirts and fashion accessories, standing out in photo shoots on a score of fashion blogs, the glamour comeback of pasta is not just a matter of summer 2015 fashion design, but is also the favourite dish of the most famous bloggers.

 Blonde…pasta salad – She is the most famous Italian blogger in the world and her The Blonde Salad is one of the most popular fashion blogs, her name is Chiara Ferragni. Despite the name of her blog, the very blonde Chiara appears to prefer tasty pasta dishes over green salads. This is evident from the various photos appearing on her social channels where she is seen in the company of friends, colleagues and the not-to-be-missed made-in-Italy pasta dish; the latest appeared just a few days ago when a happy face announced on Instagram that it was “pasta time” showing a tempting plate of seafood spaghetti.

The fashion…pasta – Also well-known in the photostream world are those midnight pasta snacks of Martina Mercedes Corradetti of The Fashion coffee, one of the most popular fashion blogs in Italy, who doesn’t give a second thought to posting on her flickr account photos in the company of boiling pans just waiting for a big fistful of spaghetti.

Wholemeal…Neovecchio style – Eleonora della Guardia of Neovecchiostile on the other hand says she prefers wholemeal pasta served with just a few simple ingredients (never more than 3) which she likes best at lunch time. Her motto? Eat everything taking care over the quality.

Rigatoni for Irene – Pasta, sushi and cakes for breakfast. Irene Colzi of the well-known Irene’s closet loves sport, keeping fit and eating well without giving into the allure of restrictive diets which are not very healthy. Amongst the food photos on her social accounts there is room for a great plate of traditional rigatoni with tomato sauce.

 

Sources: Yahoo- Lifestyle; Style and trouble; Martina Mercedes Corradetti – Flickr; Chiara Ferragni – Instagram

The socio-economical differences in diet derive almost entirely from the perception of availability, affordability and convenience of food and not from the real problems related to the cost, in brief: good food must be more expensive. This is what the results of the study conducted by researchers at the Deakin University (Australia) suggest. The survey was carried out on a sample of almost two thousand women (1,850 to be precise) to find out to what extent financial means and the cost of food influence food consumption.

But is this also true of pasta? With an annual consumption of approximately 25 kg per capita, the Italians, famous the world over for many qualities but definitely not for exorbitant wealth, are the biggest consumers of pasta in the world. But the Italians aren’t the only ones who love pasta; on a worldwide scale, production reached 14.5 million tons and this trend is continuously growing: in fact, over the last ten years, world production has gone up by 25%. The international popularity of pasta therefore proves that it is not only good for you but also affordable.

“What makes pasta a winner as a global food – explains Paolo Barilla, President of AIDEPI (Italian Association of Confectionery and Pasta Industries) – are its innate characteristics: It tastes good, is good for you and promotes well-being. It is a food that is complete and filling thanks to its protein content. And, above all, everyone can afford it.”

World Pasta Day & Congress is near, and the programme is always richer and moreinteresting!

On World Pasta Day, this coming 25 October, there will be a pasta festival in the true sense of the word and to help celebrate it, as well as the reference authorities of the industrial and institutional world, such as UNESCO (whose Italian Commission has granted its patronage to the event), the pluri-Michelin-starred Massimo Bottura who will describe his vision of pasta between tradition and modernity, and other celebrities. It will be moderated by the British journalist Alex Thomson, Channel 4, backbone of the TV channel.

Francine Segane, one of America’s foremost experts on Italian cuisine, is an engaging public speaker, author and TV personality and she will tell us how pasta is commonly perceived by food bloggers, artisan pasta makers, and vanguard chefsnoted.

Danielle Nierenberg, is President of Food Tank and expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues. She has written extensively on gender and population, the spread of factory farming in the developing world and innovations in sustainable agriculture. She will provide an overview of the “food issue” under a geopolitical viewpoint.

We are nowadays experiencing an incredible paradox in trying to find a balance between hunger and obesity. During dinner at the “Terrace of Italy Palace”, another famous chef, the Italian-American chef Bruno Serato, shows that pasta, as highly nutritious and affordable, can be part of the solution to this problem. The chef, included in 2013 by CNN among the ten heroes of the year, will be awarded by Italian pasta makers for its efforts, through its “Caterina’s Club” of Anaheim (California), to serve more than 1,200 needy children, a nutritionally balanced meal based on pasta and fresh vegetables, 365 days a year.

The following two days, Monday 26 and Tuesday 27, there are multiple sessions on the themes of environment, innovation and nutrition, attended by top-level speakers.

On 26 October, the IPO President Riccardo Felicetti will introduce an important issue: the fight against the misinformation on the relevant role of carbohydrates in every meal. The “Truth about Pasta” is an IPO project finalized to change the perception about pasta by informing, educating and encouraging you to eat pasta, as part of a diet and a healthy lifestyle.

If the pasta is an excellent response to the challenges of today “in feeding the planet”, how much pasta is produced, distributed, and consumed in the world? There are growing markets? The availability of raw materials is a problem? These questions will be answered in the Pasta is global: overview of wheat and pasta market trends session by Jack Skelly, Packaged Food Analyst at Euromonitor International.

Fernanda Roggero reputed journalist of Il Sole 24 Ore, describes the healthfulness status of world population and indicates its expectations, needs and features from the food of the future.

Carmen La Macchia, Professor of Foggia University (Italy), reassures sufferers of celiac disease about that they can keep eating pasta in future by presenting the outcome of a recent research showing how to reconcile the technological and nutritional properties of wheat proteins with the safety for celiac patients, with gluten sensitive and overall wellness.

During the Pasta is good for the planet session Duncan Williamson, from WWF UK and Riccardo Valentini, Professor of Tuscia University (Italy) have the chance to explain that few foods can boast a “sustainability index” as high as pasta.

The closing session Pasta is good for your health is maybe the most important one and it will take place on October 27. The scientific evidence on the nutritional values ​​of pasta and its central role in the Mediterranean diet are confirmed by a group of international nutritionists (established by IPO and coordinated by the Oldways) who will meet to update the statement of Scientific Consensus on the benefits of pasta and will present the new document during the nutritional session. Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of Oldways will introduce the Panel of  nutritionists. Kantha Shelke, will present the 2015 Scientific Consensus Statement on Healthy Pasta Meals. David L. Katz MD MPH Founding Director Yale University Prevention Research Center Griffin Hospital will explain “COMMUNICATING THE TRUE HEALTH MESSAGE”.

It takes intelligence – wholemeal pasta and bread, oily fish, coffee, fruit and vegetables, and even a glass of red wine. These are the foods which help to counteract brain ageing, helping it to stay healthy. This is what emerges from the “Feeding the Brain” convention, organized by the Lombardy Region and the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute within the scope of the activities in Palazzo Italia at Expo 2015. Food can be a medicine for the brain in the real sense of the word and the Mediterranean diet confirms its leading role in the prevention of brain pathologies such as Alzheimer’s.

What is the best diet for the brain? Without doubt the Mediterranean diet – and a glass of red wine with meals, alongside a good plate of pasta, can help prevent the loss of cognitive capacities which comes with ageing. Explaining the relationship between a healthy diet and the health of the brain in particular, was neurologist Giancarlo Logroscino, professor at the University of Bari Aldo Moro. “The brain,” he said, “is a machine of high energy consumption which needs certain types of ready-to-use fuels, such as glucose. Furthermore the brain is a highly vascularised organ, and one of the most important discoveries of the last 25 years is that risk factors for vascular damage are also risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases and Alzheimer’s”.

One of the factors linked to cardiovascular risk is the consumption of large quantities of red meat, butter and alcohol, which consequently may also favour the onset of neurodegenerative processes. “Vice versa”, the neurologist said, “the consumption of white meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, pulses and moderate quantities of red wine with meals, together with other lifestyle choices, such as physical exercise and weight control, can help to protect against cardio- and cerebrovascular risks”.  Also in this case, prevention starts at the table and with correct eating habits such as in the Mediterranean diet, the cornerstones of which rest on the consumption of complex carbohydrates such as those found in pasta and cereals.

At the same time, it is good for the brain to stick to healthy eating habits: never skipping meals, starting with breakfast and keeping regular mealtimes can in fact reduce the onset of migraines.

Source: Leggo

Here is how nutritionists answer to the web rumours and carbophobia, starting with Pietro Antonio Migliaccio, President of the Italian Society of Food Science and Nutrition.

“Unfortunately, many people don’t realize just how healthy a good plate of pasta can be. Let’s start with the fact that this food, rich in slow absorbing complex carbohydrates, protects the body from sharp and sudden glycaemic peaks and guarantees an almost immediate and long-lasting sense of satiety thanks to the starch content.”

 On the consumption of pasta in low-calorie diets, the professor states: “It is absolutely wrong to think that pasta makes you fat. Even when you need to lose weight, a low-calorie diet must still guarantee, in the right ratio, the consumption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. These three well-balanced macronutrients are essential for establishing a healthy and personalized diet. Pasta, in the right amounts, can even be eaten every day within the context of a balanced diet and correct lifestyle and, because it gives a high level of satiety, it is also indicated in low-calorie and therefore weight-loss diets”.

Nicola Sorrentino, doctor and specialist in food science has made pasta one of the cornerstones of the diet which carries his name, discrediting the prejudice that pasta makes you fat and this is something he reiterates in the pages of his blog: “The body needs to take in large quantities of food so that it can feel full. And pasta, once cooked, does this best satisfying the palate and eye, with a limited number of calories. As a food it appears in a huge number of recipes which all the different shapes, traditional and new, can enrich further still. Served with pulses or with a fish sauce it is a complete and nutritionally balanced meal. Cooked with vegetables it makes a dietetic and healthy dish. Eating pasta also improves your mood because it is digestible (especially when al dente), it provides energy and contains tryptophan, an amino acid which produces serotonin, the neurotransmitter which helps fight depression. As well as potentially having an anti-diabetic role, complex carbohydrates (and therefore pasta) are indicated for anyone suffering from high blood pressure; the starch, when combined with foods of vegetable origin, have a low sodium content.

Confirming the benefits of pasta in the daily diet are the results of the recent studies performed by the Nutrition Foundation of Italy, which highlight how pasta helps to control body weight and glycemia in diabetic patients, to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and improve cholesterol levels in the blood as well as those of other cardiovascular risk factors.

Michelle Obama at EXPO, “ecological” spaghetti to fight obesity and an ally for the environment

“A packet of pasta, some tomato and fresh basil… and in 30 minutes you have a delicious meal”.

This is the declaration of love for our national dish and for the Mediterranean diet made by Michelle Obama who has recently been to Expo Milano to talk about the results of the “Let’s Move!” anti-obesity campaign.

It not only confirms the First Lady of Food’s passion for pasta, but also reiterates the coherence between this food made with wheat and water, in other words with simple and natural ingredients, with a correct lifestyle, also in terms of diet, based on simple, natural, sustainable and inexpensive foods.

This is how Michelle was immortalized by TIME with a plate of spaghetti (for the cover of the Cooking Light magazine dedicated to food, health and correct diet) offering her ecological pasta recipe: “spaghetti, tomato and spinach cooked in a pressure cooker”: in other words an innovative cooking method (used also by the Michelin-starred chef, Davide Scabin), which helps keep you in shape (no fats and 1/8 of the salt usually used to cook pasta) and helps the environment (less water and gas consumption). By the way, the pasta is good, al dente and creamy…