Pizza can help you absorb the antioxidant Lycopene. Lycopene is found in tomatoes, which are used to make the base sauce for pizzas. Lycopene helps to lower blood pressure and bring down high cholesterol. It's also more easily absorbed from cooked tomatoes as opposed to fresh tomatoes.
Fast-Food Pizza
Pizza sold in fast-food restaurants and convenience stores is among the unhealthiest of choices. It tends to be the highest in calories, unhealthy fats, carbs and sodium.
He adds that pizza shouldn't be consumed more than two or three times a month. "And it shouldn't be part of the daily diet, even less for children," he adds, "Because it is during that period of growing development that you have to provide a varied and healthy diet with lots of vegetables and fruit."
But since pizza is still a source of saturated fat (about five grams) and chock-full of sodium, limit it to once a week and load up on those veggies.
2 pizza slices contain 18 gram of total fat out of which 8 gram is the harmful saturated fat. On the other hand, a burger contains 19.8 gram of total fat, out of which 9.2 comes from saturated fat. Although low in total calories, a burger is higher in fat content than pizza slices.
Three slices per adult and two slices per child offer a good base to start from when you're estimating how many pizzas to order. If you know in advance that you have guests with major pizza appetites, allow for one or two more slices per person, just to be safe.
The bottom line is: If you live a mostly healthy lifestyle, one slice of pizza won't change that, and you'll only gain the weight of the pizza you consumed. However, if you have health issues — including heart disease, or high blood pressure — it's obviously best not to overindulge.
Serotonin is produced from carbs
You'll be shocked to know that the carb-fest that is pizza actually fills you with serotonin. This is partially because when you're craving pizza and that craving is satisfied, your brain produces serotonin. This is also because carbs are used heavily to make serotonin.
Opt for a Thin-Crust Pizza to Cut Down on Calories
“Thin crust means you can get more of the veggies in before getting full,” says Lemond. By going the thin-crust route, your main focus of the meal is the veggies, rather than the bread.
Pizza is a complete food and part of the Mediterranean diet. It contains carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and fats, and the calorie intake of an average portion is about 300 grams. The classic margherita with tomato and mozzarella is about 815 calories.
When it comes to health, you can choose either, but the type of pizza or pasta you compare will determine which is healthier. A tomato-based pasta is preferable to pizza or cream-based pasta. Thin crust, veggie-loaded pizzas contain less flour and more vegetables, making them an excellent choice.
It won't even affect your weight. In the short term, your weight will only increase by the actual weight of the pizza, according to Angelone. (Only eating excess calories over time will contribute to fat gains, she adds.)
For the average Joe, that means two or three slices of pizza along with veggies on the side is a good place to start. If you're out, an easy way to do it is to split a pizza between two or three dinner buddies and order some fresh sides to go with it.
Stick to Mozzarella Cheese
Because mozzarella naturally has slightly less fat, including saturated fat, than other types of cheese, go with it over three-cheese blends, which will pack more fat and calories.
Pizza isn't considered health food—and for good reason. It's high in calories and typically loaded with fatty meats and cheese with little nutritional value. Two slices can easily add up to 600 calories and more than a full day's worth of sodium.
Consider this: The average slice of cheese pizza packs about 285 calories, according to the USDA. If you're trying to lose weight and your goal is to consume around 1,500 calories a day, eating two slices is over a third of your daily caloric intake.
A slice of pizza: 6-8 hours
Pizza has carbs in the crust, sauce, and vegetable toppings, plus high fat and protein in the cheese, and any meat toppings. The higher fat means it takes longer to digest.
Pizza and cheese are the biggest sources of saturated fat in the American diet. As we mentioned with meat, this saturated fat clogs our brain vessels just like it clogs our heart vessels. Higher saturated fat is linked with inflammation of the brain, higher risk of stroke, and impaired memory.
Fat Content
The cheese on pizza is high in saturated fat, which increases your risk for high cholesterol and heart disease. Each 5-ounce serving of cheese pizza contains 18.5 grams of fat, or 28 percent of the daily value for fat. Saturated fat makes up about 6.5 grams of this fat, or 33 percent of the DV.
A traditional piece of pizza is not nutrient dense, so it takes more slices to fill you up, which adds up in calories and sugar which can contribute to weight gain, says Zeitlin. With no fiber or protein, you have nothing to really fill you up and keep you full.
Regular size with its 4 slices serves a single person, medium size with 6 slices serves two buddies or a couple. And our large pizza with 8 big slices serves a family of four. Look around the circle of your friends, contemplate their appetite and decide the size accordingly.
A large pizza usually contains eight slices, while an extra-large pizza contains around 10. Following the same rule that an average adult will eat around three slices, a large pizza will feed around two adults or four children. An extra-large pizza would feed around three adults and five children.
The Answer
Considering all the above information, please note, it takes 6 to 8 hours to digest a pizza given the higher fat content.
"Because sodium is found naturally in all foods, this is easy to exceed when pizza is included in your daily meal rotation." Bottom line: if you regularly eat pizza out, you could be ingesting too much saturated fat and sodium and not enough fiber, which could increase your risk of heart disease.