When You Eat Pasta Every Day, This Is What Happens To Your Body

When it comes to healthy eating trends low carb and no carb diets still reign supreme, but maybe they shouldn't. A study found that people who get the majority of their daily calories from carbohydrates tend to live an average of four years longer than their low carb counterparts (via The Lancet). Don't believe the numbers? Take a look at Italy. Italians on average are thinner, healthier, and live nearly four years longer than the average American — and, no surprise, pasta, delicious, delicious, pasta is an integral part of their daily lives (via Livology)! 

Sophia Loren, arguably one of the most beautiful women in the world, credits her looks and figure, in part, to eating pasta. She was famously quoted as saying, "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti" (via Life In Italy). The Italian diet, which is essentially the Mediterranean diet is simply a well-balanced meal plan that focuses on whole grains, vegetables, and lots of olive oil. There's a reason it has taken the top spot in U.S. News & World Report's annual diet rankings for the third year in a row — it's well-balanced, produces results, and is easy to follow.

So, whether you're concerned about extra pounds, or simply wondering just how good or bad a daily dish of pasta may be for you, consider the following benefit of indulging in Sophia Loren's favorite food.

Most people associate a carbohydrate-laden meal with feeling sleepy, but the opposite is true. If you eat pasta for dinner in an appropriate serving size as part of balanced dinner that includes lean protein and vegetables, you'll wake up the next morning ready to conquer the day — and you won't even need a cup of coffee first. Registered dietician Blake Avery explained to Insider, "So many people demonize carbohydrates, but carbohydrates are our body's preferred energy source." Unlike simple sugars, the carbs in pasta are complex carbohydrates which take longer to digest, and provide sustained energy over a long period of time instead of a burst of energy and then a crash (via Pasta Fits)

Eating pasta every day and losing weight — you're not dreaming. One study found that people who regularly eat pasta as part of a balanced Mediterranean diet have a lower Body Mass Index than people who don't (via The BMJ).Do you need even better news? The same study participants also had less belly fat than their non-pasta eating peers. Turns out, the complex carbohydrates in pasta combined with its dietary fiber have the magical ability to make you feel full for much longer. Plus, they help you avoid the dreaded hangry mood, which makes you irritable and more likely to eat anything you can get your hands on until you are satisfied (via WebMD).

As long as you're reaching for whole grain pasta — and not the refined kind — on your supermarket shelf, a daily dish of pasta may help lower your risk of heart disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and obesity (via Healthline). What's more, WebMD notes that whole grain pasta contains nutrients that can reduce your rick of developing stomach cancer. 

While it's still important to eat pasta as part of a well-balanced diet, reducing your intake of carbs, or cutting them out altogether, is clearly not the best choice for your health. And after all, what's not to love about pasta? It can be an appetizer, entree, or side dish. It can serve as a vessel for rich pasta sauces or light stir-fries with seafood and garlic. The options are endless and so are the pasta shapes.