“Choose thin crust versus thick crust or even stuffed crust to help reduce the total calories and sodium,” says Kimberlain. One slice of a small thin-crust pizza with no cheese has 141 calories and 282 mg sodium, according to the USDA.
Pizza can be a healthy choice for many people. And yes, you can lose weight by eating pizza as long as you're eating it right! As surprising as it may sound, it's, in fact, true. You can have portion control, use selectively healthy vegetable toppings and make your pizza healthy.
If you have two slices, it's not going to derail your progress, but swapping out one slice for a salad or other veggies could help stay satisfied longer — and save you extra fat and calories.
Most dieticians point to the cheese as being the unhealthiest part of a pizza. This is because cheese has a high fat and salt content, which isn't healthy in large amounts.
If you love pizza and balance a slice weekly with vegetables like a salad, it can certainly be a part of a healthy diet. However, if you start eating three or four slices (or more!) on a regular basis that is where your diet can have health consequences.
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.
A general rule of thumb is that adults will eat around 3 slices of pizza and children will eat around 2 slices when purchasing a standard pie. Increase that estimate to 4 slices per adult and 3 slices per child when ordering smaller sized pies or thin crust options.
Although low in total calories, a burger is higher in fat content than pizza slices. Regular intake of food rich in fats can lead to obesity increasing risk of lifestyle diseases such as heart conditions, diabetes and hypertension.
While you can pick either when it comes to health, the type of pizza or pasta you are choosing to compare will determine which is healthier. A tomato based pasta is better than pizza or a cream based pasta. Thin crust, veggie-loaded pizzas are less flour, more veggies, which makes them a good choice.
While pizza can be healthy if you make it the right way, most of the pizza you buy counts as junk food because of the high amount of refined carbohydrates, fat and sodium it contains.
Fried food can lead to problems such as weight gain, increased blood pressure, developing diabetes, and increasing your risk for heart disease. Pizza, on the other hand, can protect your heart because of the nutrients that it provides.
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.)
Cheese is a great source of protein and calcium but is often high in saturated fat and salt. This means eating too much could lead to high cholesterol and high blood pressure, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Mozzarella
Mozzarella is relatively low in fat and calories. This makes it a healthier cheese option compared to others. Mozzarella contains probiotics such as the bacteria Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus fermentum.
However, with highly refined dough, heavily processed meat and extremely high calories, pizza is one of the unhealthiest junk food in the world.
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.
Because of its blend of fresh ingredients and reduced calorie and fat content, Margherita Pizza is a healthier option to regular pizza. Even though it's crucial to think about the exact size and toppings, Margherita pizza has certain basic nutritional advantages, such as: Low in both fat and calories.
McDonald's Big Macs tend to have highly saturated amounts of fat, carbs, sodium, cholesterol, and other harmful ingredients that pizza doesn't have as much of. Furthermore, we even did some research to find that Americans tend to prefer pizza to burgers, fries, and other foods found on McDonald's menus.
The nutritionist said it's due to the large amount of sugar found in many cereals. Pizza may have more fat, but it has less sugar. Thus, Chelsey Amer, MS, RDN, CDN tells "The Daily Meal," you'll have a better chance of avoiding a sugar crash later on.