Pizza is Healthy

Pizza is good for your health. Science says it. This is the result of a research carried out by Silvano Gallus.

Together with Dr. Deborah Sangregorio (food consultant and toxicologist) let’s try to understand its beneficial properties.

Who is Silvano Gallus?
He is a Dutch-Italian from the Mario Negri Irccs Institute for Pharmacological Research in Milan who won the IgNobel prize for medicine. The IgNobel prizes are awarded annually in Harvard’s Sanders Theatre.

Designed to make people laugh, but then ultimately make them think.

The 2019 Medicine Prize was awarded to Silvano Gallus.

His research shows that eating pizza habitually extends life and prevents myocardial infarction and some forms of cancer.

His study originated in 2003, when he started an analysis on the incidence of pizza on health.
The research was conducted on 4,999 people, (2,724 men, 2,275 women), based on their eating habits, sports activity, alcohol consumption and pizza consumption.
The results showed that those who habitually consume pizza are less prone to certain types of diseases.

However, pizza must be made in Italy, or at least with Italian methodology.
The real reason why pizza would turn out to have these “beneficial powers” lies mainly in the toppings.

Dr. Deborah Sangregorio, in particular, highlights the properties of tomato, basil and Evo oil.

With few calories, tomatoes are composed by 93% of water and are particularly rich in fibers, mineral salts (potassium in particular, but also manganese, phosphor, copper, calcium and iron); substances with high antioxidant power (β-carotene, lycopene, vitamin E); B group vitamins, folates, vitamin K and vitamin C.
They perform many actions in favor of our body as it decreases cholesterol levels, helps digestion, protects the heart and stimulates diuresis.

Moreover, thanks to lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, tomatoes are considered a highly protective food for our body against degenerative diseases connected to aging processes and they reduce the risk of tumors and genetic damage.

The latter, we should remember, is absorbed in a much greater way when tomatoes are cooked.

Basil is rich in vitamins, mineral salts, flavonoids and antioxidants, useful to protect the body from aging and to contrast the action of free radicals.
In addition to this, basil helps digestion and the correct functioning of the stomach. In order to keep its vitamin content at its best, the suggestion is to consume basil raw.

Basil is composed of about 92% water and contains a small amount of proteins. It also contains vitamin A and B vitamins.

Dr. Sangregorio goes on to explain the properties of extra virgin olive oil (EVO), a real gold mine of antioxidants.

Olive oil is particularly rich in fatty acids: oleic acid (monounsaturated), palmitic acid (saturated), linoleic acid (polyunsaturated,  ω-6 family) and α-linolenic acid (polyunsaturated, ω-3 family); the introduction of the right amounts of ω-3 and ω-6 are beneficial for their anti-inflammatory action.

Grazie alle micro-molecole essenziali (vitamine liposolubili – tocoferoli e β-carotene) e ai fitosteroli e polifenoli l’olio ci protegge da processi infiammatori, combatte l’invecchiamento cellulare, previene malattie cardiache, antitumorale, riduce il rischio di diabete di tipo 2 e migliora le nostre funzioni cognitive.
Importante è anche l’apporto di vitamine in particolare quelle del gruppo A, E, K.

Thanks to the essential micro-molecules (fat soluble vitamins – tocopherols and β-carotene) and to phytosterols and polyphenols, oil protects us from inflammatory processes, fights cellular aging, prevents heart diseases, anti-cancer, reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and improves our cognitive functions.
The contribution of vitamins, in particular those of group A, E, K is also important.

It must be said we cannot limit the results of the research simply to these ingredients, because there are many variants of pizza.
We can add fish, rich in Omega 3, but also and above all many vegetables, source of fibers, vitamins and mineral salts.
We can draw the conclusion that the binomial pizza and health is therefore found in the ingredients used in the Italian Mediterranean diet.
Checking the ingredients and knowing their origin is fundamental, both to be sure of what we eat, but especially for their impact on our health.

This is another good reason to continue eating pizza, especially if it is home made with one’s own hands.
For those who want to try their hand at it, we suggest taking a look at Clementi’s wood fired pizza ovens.

Having said all this, we can only conclude by saying LONG LIVE PIZZA!