Wednesday Wellness

_{why is pasta always not the best choice for our health?}

When we eat refined grains and carbohydrates we spike our blood sugar.

Carbohydrates break down into a simple sugar, glucose, when we eat them. Glucose is then absorbed into our bloodstream raising our blood sugar.

We can keep our blood sugar stable throughout the day by eating foods high in fiber, protein and fat, all of which don’t raise our blood sugar.

Constantly spiking our blood sugar can lead to insulin resistance, fatigue and energy issues, hormone imbalances, chronic inflammation, weight grain, depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, cancer and kidney disease.

Strong metabolic health is critical to feeling our best today and preventing chronic diseases down the road. We can improve our metabolic health by eating lots of non-starchy vegetables, fats, protein and fiber and eliminating or limiting flours, grains, cereals and processed and refined carbohydrates.

Learn more about how to balance your blood sugar and build strong metabolic health here & shop below for some of my favorite better-for-you pastas :)

_{why we need to be mindful of the sauces we buy}

The ingredients in many store-bought pasta sauces can include…

sugar, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, canola oil, soybean oil and natural flavors - these ingredients are highly inflammatory

Always check the ingredients and look for brands with no added sugars, seed oils or natural flavors, just real whole foods!

Palmini Hearts of Palm Pasta - only ingredient is hearts of palm, low carb, gluten free and gives you the texture of pasta without the blood sugar spike

Barilla Red Lentil Rotini - only one ingredient, lentils. high in protein and fiber, gluten free

Veggie Craft Penne - made with peas, lentils and zucchini, gluten free, high in protein and fiber

SAUCES 🍅 

Primal Kitchen Vodka Sauce - made with clean, whole food ingredients, dairy free and no sugars processed seed oils, or artificial flavorings

Rao’s Homemade Basil Sauce - made with only real whole food ingredients - no sugars, processed seed oils, or artificial flavorings

Gotham Greens Vegan Pesto - made with clean whole food ingredients -no processed seed oils, artificial ingredients and dairy free