Pasta: Role in Diet.

Pasta is a key component of traditional Mediterranean Diet. The best pasta is produced using durum wheat semolina which confers excellent rheological and organoleptic properties. Among carbohydrate rich foods pasta has a low glycemic index (GI) which has beneficial effects on the regulation of body weight, blood glucose and insulin metabolism and plasma lipid control. In order to favor whole grain product consumption, whole wheat grain and other grains can also be used to make regular pasta. Moreover, recently several ingredients and additives have been used to improve nutritional properties of pasta such as fibers, proteins and vitamins.