Eat pasta, lose weight. Yes really, science says so

In news that’s set to see women everywhere fist pumping their way down the pasta aisle, a new study says pasta can actually keep your weight steady and help you lose weight.

Done by Italian researchers (who else?), the study examined 20,000 people and their eating habits, finding that when eaten as part of a healthy Mediterranean diet, pasta is your food friend, not foe.

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"As a traditional component of Mediterranean diet, pasta consumption was negatively associated with BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio and with a lower prevalence of overweight and obesity," researchers from the Neuromed Institute found.

So what does the Mediterranean diet involve? Think foods high in complex carbohydrates and fibre such as legumes and rice, plus fish, tomatoes, cheese and olives. Cheese and pasta? You don't need to tell us twice.

That doesn’t mean you can let yourself loose on parmesan loaded Latina Fresh every night though. It’s still a case of eating in moderation and watching your portion sizes.

In the case of research participants, the biggest portion was 86 grams, or roughly a cup of cooked pasta.

That still sounds pretty damn good to us.

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