Clapham Pizza – The Healthy Option
If you drew up a list of health foods would pizza be on it? Well, according to scientific research, the Italian dish has emerged as a healthy dietary option with further news that it could help play a part in preventing some types of cancer. Of course we’re not talking about the fully loaded fat-laden cheese fest you get from the large high-street restaurants. The healthy choice is to be found at the more discerning eateries such as Clapham pizza restaurant ‘ECO’.
The food facts
Let’s take a look at some of the facts. On average, a large slice of pizza from the big chain restaurants contains around 300 calories (a meat lovers’ slice can push 480!). Now consider that you get about eight slices and the calorie count hits four figures. Ever ordered a takeaway and found it slopping around in the cardboard box? That’ll be the high levels of fat. Ever felt incredibly thirsty after devouring a takeaway pizza? That’ll be the high levels of salt. So, you can easily eat most of your daily calories in one sitting and fall the wrong side of your daily salt intake. Not good for health.
The big culprits are cheese, the oils used for cooking, meat toppings (particularly pepperoni which is 80% fat) and the dough base. While the dough contains carbohydrates, which play a role in digestion, it’s typically made with unhealthy high gluten flour and the carbs from the bread and crust turn into sugar and eventually into fat.
Hopefully you’re starting to realise how too much of bad thing is…well, bad. But there’s no need to deny yourself one of life’s pleasures, you just need to “takeaway” a different approach. And as one of the great Clapham takeaways, ‘ECO’ ticks all the right boxes.
The healthy option
So how can you get a healthy munch on with a slice of your favourite flat-bread? Health experts say the base needs to be light and contain whole wheat flour to keep your digestive system healthy. ECO produce the lightest and healthiest base in Clapham (and for that matter, all of London and the UK). Ingredients need to be fresh, especially the tomatoes used in the sauce, and cheese should be low-fat.
A recent survey of more than 8,000 Italians by Milan’s Institute of Pharmacology found that people who had healthy pizza several times in a week lowered their risk of disease compared to those who had never eaten it. According to the results, the risk of developing throat cancer was reduced by 60%, colon cancer by 26% and oral cancer by 30%.
Scientists put this down to the ingredients – tomatoes, olive oil, vegetables, garlic, herbs and spices – which contain antioxidants such as ‘lycopene’ that are believed to help prevent chronic diseases such as cancer. Another study by Manchester University scientists suggests that pizza can also cut the risk of skin cancer.
Guilt free eating
Next time you fancy ordering pizza in, or perhaps dining out Italian style, seek out a restaurant like ECO in Clapham who make the effort to ensure the food you eat not only tastes great, but is also made with ingredients that are good for your health.