Pizza is one of the most popular foods, albeit junk foods. It’s delicious, loaded with cheese, and you can customize the toppings based on your mood and taste.
It’s also available quickly and is easy on your pocket. Many people also stock frozen pizzas, which can be eaten by heating for just 10 minutes in the oven.
However, with pizza being a junk food, here are some health risks associated with regular consumption of pizza in your diet.
1. Risk for heart disease
Pizza is high in saturated fats due to cheese and processed meat toppings, which can increase your cholesterol levels as well as risk for heart disease.
Eating three-four slices of pizza or more, on a regular basis, can have detrimental health consequences.
2. Quick weight gain
One slice of plain cheese pizza has approximately 400 calories. So eating even two or three slices of pizza will add 800 to 1,200 calories in your diet. This will be higher when you add processed toppings like pepperoni.
Since a person should be consuming 2,000 calories on average in a day, these few slices of pizza will take up between 40 to 60% (or even more!) of your daily calories intake. When you also add calories from your other meals of the day, it is easier to do overboard. Over-consuming calories regularly will quickly increase your weight.
3. Increased risk of cancer
Regularly consuming high-fat processed meats like pepperoni, bacon, and sausage as toppings on your pizza can increase your risk of developing certain forms of cancer, such as bowel and stomach cancer.
Safest way to consume pizza
It’s ok to eat pizza, only if you do so moderately. Pizza in itself is not as big a problem as overconsumption of pizza. It is also important to note that pizza is made from refined flour which can slow down your digestion, creating a sluggish metabolism.
Make it at home
One of the best ways to enjoy pizza in your diet is my making it at home yourself. That way, you will be able to choose healthier ingredients and can also regulate the amount of cheese. Instead of maida, you can also opt for pizza base made from healthier ingredients, such as whole wheat roti. If you want the experience of eating pizza from a restaurant, then make sure you limit your portion size as well as frequency of pizza consumption.
