Pizza: symbol of pride and resistance
To watch the moods of the social profiles of Italians in recent times, it turns out to be a new symbol of national identity: pizza.
The consumption of flour and yeast immediately have a strong increase and, in the long days to spend at home, each of us seems to have discovered a vocation from a pizza maker.
Perhaps it is no coincidence because the most famous of our pizzas, the margherita pizza, looks with its colors (mozzarella white, tomato red and green of basil) to show us our tricolor flag, which becomes a historical period A symbol of pride and resistance for all of us.
Nutritional properties of pizza
According to the data processed by the Inran (National Research Institute for Food and Nutrition) a portion of 100g of pizza bring about 270 kcal, but considering that a margherita media pizza weighs 270-300g, we reach around 800kcal.
As regards the breakdown of the so-called macronutrients, it should be noted that more than half of these are represented by carbohydrates (73.14%) and only a small percentage from fat (18.60%) and proteins (8.27%). According to those who are the inspiring principles of the so-called Mediterranean diet a pizza can in principle consider himself a complete meal.
In reality the high percentage of carbohydrates present in pizza means that it becomes a complete meal only if integrated by the appropriate amounts of fiber, which can be taken, in the form of vegetables or fruit at the end of the meal.
- The flour, which brings energy in the form of carbohydrates, but also proteins and vitamin B12;
- The tomato, rich in precious vitamins, mineral salts and lycopens, substances that have an important action of "sweepers (scavengers in English) of harmful substances for health, so-called free radicals;
- Mozzarella, source of fat, protein and calcium;
- Attention to sodium: the traditional recipe includes 20g of salt per 100g of flour, but it is necessary to limit this quantity to reduce the cardiovascular risk deriving from excessive use of sodium.
- You prefer little refined flour, like those from antique grains or wholemeal flours, which guarantee 8.5 g of food fiber against 2.2 g present in tender wheat flours (00). Food fiber has an important role in reducing the abrupt glycemic peaks after meals, which can cause serious health damage;
- Carefully select the ingredients for the filling: less sausages, fat cheeses and cold cuts; More seasonal vegetables;
- Always use mother yeast, ie a mixture of flour and water to which a series of microorganisms (ferments) is added that are able to let the dough naturally rise. This is because high quantities of brewer's yeast present in most pizzas from catering, can determine an alteration of intestinal bacterial flora, thus creating digestive problems.
N Waiting to program the pizzeria outputs again, even as a good omen of "the storm has passed", we could realize excellent pizzas with the ancient grains of our region (Basilicata) and rediscover lost or forgotten flavors and attitudes.
Dr. Anna Cosentino
Nutritionist biologist
