By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

August 28, 2020

My first trip to Italy was a real eye opener. And I want to tell you all about it. But first, I have a question for you.

What’s your favorite Italian food?

Is it pasta smothered in tomato sauce, meatballs and cheese? How about chicken parmesan? And, of course, neither of these would be complete without a giant slice of buttery garlic bread!

Maybe you’re partial to Italian submarine sandwiches. Or, if you’re trying to skip processed meats, perhaps you prefer a Caesar salad loaded up with croutons, parmesan cheese and dressing.

With foods like these, you have to wonder why only about one in ten adults in Italy are obese. Yet nearly two out of every FIVE adults in the U.S. suffer from the condition.

So basically our obesity rates are nearly four times what you’ll find in Italy – 39.6% in the U.S vs. just over 10% in Italy. Italy has the second lowest obesity prevalence in the EU.

Well, guess what?

The first time I visited this beautiful country, I discovered that Italians don’t eat the way most Americans think they do.

Not even close!

In fact, all of the foods I’ve mentioned above aren’t even traditional Italian creations. They’re Americanized versions.

The folks over there don’t smother their pasta with red sauce, meatballs and cheese. They’ve never seen chicken parmesan. And garlic bread is a myth. There is no such thing as an “Italian” sub. And Caesar salads apparently originated in Mexico, not Italy.

Here’s why Italy has such a Low Obesity Rate

Here in the U.S., we tend to associate Italian foods with gluttony. And it’s no wonder! We’ve bastardized traditional Italian foods so badly – and serve them in such mountain-sized portions – that it’s impossible to view them as healthy.

The truth is, Italians actually eat a very healthy and varied Mediterranean style diet.

Sure, there’s usually some sort of pasta served at least once a day. But it’s not the heaping bowls of spaghetti, meatballs and cheese we see here in America. It is just a small serving… like an appetizer.

Generally, these small pasta servings aren’t smothered in sauce. They aren’t loaded down with meatballs and cheese, either. Spaghetti is most often lightly tossed with freshly cooked tomatoes, garlic, basil, extra virgin olive oil and other seasonal vegetables.

And get this! The only time Italians eat bread with their pasta is if they have a few remains they need to mop up from their plate. (And no, it’s not garlic bread or drenched in olive oil. It’s a very plain, dry bread that is only used to scoop up whatever your fork can’t manage.)

I was also surprised to learn that Italian meals are eaten much differently than those in America.

Breakfast is a very small and quick affair. No pancakes, eggs, waffles, sausage, bacon or hash browns for these folks!  You’re more likely to see people enjoying an espresso while eating a biscotti, pastry or croissant with some fruit. Muesli (rolled oats with nuts, seeds and fruits) and yogurt are popular, too.

And while we Americans zoom through lunch with a burger or slice of pizza, lunch in Italy is a long and relaxed affair. In fact, it literally shuts down some regions of Italy for two hours or more in the afternoon.

These long leisurely lunches consist of two courses and rely heavily on fresh, seasonal produce. (In other words, it’s not all about the pasta!)

The first course (primo) is usually a small pasta or rice dish. Depending on the dish, it can contain any number of plant-based additions… like eggplant, tomatoes, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, pesto or other healthy foods.

The second course (secondo) is generally a protein and a vegetable dish (contorno). And believe me! The veggies are tossed in more than a little extra virgin olive oil.

As a matter of fact, they don’t even have “salad dressing” in Italy. Salads are eaten with vinegar and oil. And by the way… croutons, cheeses and other salad decorations have no business in an Italian salad.

Once the lunch plates are cleared, a beautiful basket of seasonal fruit appears on the table for dessert. (In Italy, fruit is almost always used to signal the end of a meal.)

After a lunch like that, you can imagine that the last meal of the day is pretty light fare. It’s certainly nothing like the huge piles of spaghetti, lasagna and ravioli that appear on American dinner plates.

It’s generally a light meal consisting of another petite pasta dish and maybe a soup or salad… followed by a light protein entrée and a variety of side vegetables. This meal is also accompanied with a bottle of local wine.

After such a large lunch, many Italians opt to indulge only in the first course (primo) of their dinner meal and skip the second (secondo). In other words, they stop eating when they are full.

Over the years, I’ve returned to Italy numerous times. Every time I visit, I fall so easily into the culture that it is like a second home.

And I love sharing with you what I’ve learned from those journeys.

If we all adopted the Italian passion for extra virgin olive oil, fresh seasonal produce, nuts, seeds, fish and small servings of meat – along with their habit of taking long evening strolls – Americans would be all the healthier for it.

SOURCES:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2015–2016. NCHS Data Brief  No. 288, October 2017.

OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2017), Italy: Country Health Profile 2017, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.