As an Italian-American, my most cherished recollections involve returning home from school to find mom cooking a large pot of spaghetti and freshly made garlic bread, or having take-out pizza as a family on Friday evenings.
The meal was not digested for hours, and she was still feeling lethargic.
Without a home to return to, they would not be able to eat as much and would lose weight.
This month, a veritable Mecca for those with a passion for carbohydrates.
I decided this trip would be an ideal opportunity to determine for myself whether there was a substantially different physiological response when I enjoyed my favorite dishes locally versus at home.
The quantity of sugar in your blood.
Large drops in blood sugar levels and subsequent rebounds are often responsible for the fatigue, dehydration and other undesirable symptoms people experience after overindulging.
I recorded my progress for a week prior to my vacation and then during my honeymoon for the first week. To say the results were astonishing would be an understatement.
I used a device called Stelo that gets inserted into the arm using a small needle, where it stays for several weeks.
It measures the concentration of glucose in the fluid that surrounds cells and tissues throughout the body.
A normal blood glucose level for a non-diabetic is typically between 70 and 140 milligrams per deciliter of blood.
Whenever my glucose levels rose above this target, I would receive a notification on my phone, requiring me to provide information about my activities and food intake around that time.
During the first part of the experiment, I frequently observed spikes in activity after dinner, especially after meals that included pasta or rice, which was the case quite often.
Rice, whether white, brown, or yellow, are staples in my evening meals, and they’re popular options due to their ease and convenience.
But within 30 minutes of eating, Stelo would inform me that my blood sugar would rise from 80 mg/dl to approximately 130 in just a few minutes, gradually increasing above the normal range.
The same applied to pasta, which I attempted to combine with vegetables and light sauces in order to make it a healthier option.
I attribute my stable blood sugar levels possibly to the food I consumed, or it could be the absence of the stress and responsibility that comes with wedding planning, resulting in no spikes in blood sugar levels during my first week in Rome.
Throughout my travels, whether dining on a plate of spaghetti carbonara at a traditional eatery or sampling a delicious pizza tart inside a pocket-sized foldover or a sweet gelato treat from a street food vendor, my glucose readings remained constant.
And the bloating and fatigue that I normally experience at home never occurs.
Even the elaborate five-course meal we created during our cooking class, which featured three distinct pasta courses, did not trigger any high glucose warnings.
Experts believe that the extremely processed character of food in the US contributes to a different outcome compared to European food products.
A box of Barilla Spaghetti, for example in the United States, contains its additives which include niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, and folic acid, plus semolina wheat flour.
Several of these ingredients originally added to extend food shelf life have been associated with blood-sugar issues and diabetes.
In fact, traditional Italian pasta is typically made with only two basic ingredients: semolina wheat flour and water, without any added preservatives.
Studies indicate that limiting our consumption of processed foods may have numerous health advantages.
For example, consuming pasta that is less processed tends to digest more gradually, thereby slowing the rate at which glucose enters the blood.
Italians also follow the tradition of cooking pasta “al dente”, which is an Italian expression that literally means “to the tooth.” This indicates a firmer texture that requires additional effort to chew, thereby slowing down the digestion process.
In Australia, reports that portion sizes are usually smaller in Italy. Italians often consume several small courses during meals. Pasta is typically served as the initial dish (primo), followed by further courses featuring meat or fish (secondi) and ending with dessert.
She stated, “Meals are also combined with other nutrient-dense foods, such as vegetables, which can further reduce blood sugar responses.”
He stated: typically prepared in the Neapolitan style, featuring a thin crust and minimal toppings, predominantly consisting of fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella.
While the dough used typically lacks fat and sugar, eating pizza in Italy may add fewer calories to your daily consumption than you might expect.
Most pizza will contribute to a blood sugar rise, hopefully Italian pizza with a thin crust will have a lesser impact on blood sugar levels due to its lower glycemic level generally.
In the United States, numerous restaurants incorporate sugar into their dough and sauces as a means to increase flavor.
“This extra sugar found in US pizza may, theoretically, contribute to more severe blood sugar spikes compared to those seen in Italy,” Dr. Atkinson noted.
Experts also mentioned that my increased daily activity was a contributing factor: my average of 15,000 steps per day and constant standing compared to my typical daily range of 5,000-7,000 steps in the United States.
Research has consistently demonstrated that taking a walk after eating can facilitate the quicker digestion of food and the smoother movement of gas throughout the digestive system, which in turn helps to prevent the feeling of bloating.
A two-minute walk after eating can help lower blood sugar levels, as muscles absorb excess glucose from the bloodstream.
Ms Alexander told
‘Cycling is very much embedded in daily life in many European cities, which can really have a great impact on digestion and metabolic health.’
I didn’t entirely avoid blood-sugar spikes while in Italy – they did occur after breakfast.
I’m not typically a breakfast enthusiast. I usually rush to get going and only have time for a couple of hard-boiled eggs or a toasted waffle.
In Rome, Florence, and Venice, I made a point to thoroughly enjoy the traditional European breakfasts, which typically featured a mix of baked goods, yogurt, eggs, leafy greens, and cappuccino.
It’s possible that I was experiencing spikes at this time as my body isn’t accustomed to consuming breakfast, and I opted for high-sugar choices.
At the end of my Italy trip, my average glucose level was 101 milligrams per deciliter, and I spent 96 percent of the time within the targeted glucose range.
Although I had fewer spikes in total, I spent roughly the same amount of time within the target range.
I’m extremely impressed at how full of energy and vitality I felt, even while indulging in my beloved foods in Italy, and I’ll make sure to carefully check the ingredients lists in the US from now on.
I’ll also make sure to include an evening stroll after our Italian meals at home.
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