One of the most popular fast-food meals is pizza and with pizza chains rapidly growing across the country, more and more Indians are turning to this cheesy Italian classic. So are the commercially sold pizzas anything like the classic healthy pizzas made in Italy? Or have food chains cut corners and quality to maximize profits? As always, we will dig deep into the details and uncover facts that you might not have known before.
The ingredients:
If you enjoy a cheese burst pizza or often dine at some of the most popular pizza outlets, then the cream cheese spread used in these pizzas is a concoction of hydrogenated vegetable oils, thickeners, artificial flavors to mimic a cheesy aftertaste, starch to give it a gooey consistency and if you're lucky, maybe a small serving of cheese as well. The other ingredients used are refined flour for the pizza base, pizza sauce that's packed with preservatives and oils to increase its shelf life, highly processed cheese and toppings that can vary from person to person.
Carbohydrates:
We at HYP enjoy carbohydrates, trust us! Not the unhealthy ones though. Each medium-sized pizza comes with 77 grams of carbohydrates which is 308 calories. Most of this comes from refined flour used in making the pizza base, which is stripped of its fiber, thus putting your blood glucose levels on a rollercoaster ride. Also, carbohydrates make up close to 30% of the calories that you'll find in a medium-sized pizza.
Fats:
You've been following us long enough to know that we at HYP aren't against fats, but we have time and time again stated that the type of fat used is equally important. A medium-sized pizza contains a mind-boggling 68 grams of fat, which equates to 612 calories. This isn't a light snack by no stretch of the imagination. Fats alone make up close to 60%of pizza's calories, which will leave you feeling full, lazy, and low on energy, especially as your body tries to digest this humongous meal all at one go.
Protein:
The most important macronutrient protein sadly is found in the least quantity at a mere 31 grams which equates to a mere 124 calories. While the protein content can vary from toppings, you can always expect the most important macronutrient to be found in the least quantity. While most of the protein comes from cheese and toppings, some of it also comes from the flour itself, which is an incomplete protein and can't be used for muscle building and post-workout recovery.
So there you have it. We've covered another unhealthy food in our Know Your Calories series and we'll continue to share vital information about other foods and dishes as well.
Questions?