Pizza – a health food? Sounds like a bad joke, but it may be true!
Food chemists at University of Maryland have found ways to increase the antioxidant content of whole-grain wheat pizza. Antioxidants are the ‘good guys’ that protect cells from free radical damage. Some experts even believe that antioxidants can lower the risk of cancer, heart disease and other ailments. The humble pizza can be elevated to health food status, the chemists’ claim, by baking it longer at higher temperatures and giving the dough lots of time to rise.
Researcher Jeffrey Moore added
The reason that we chose pizza is just because it is a very popular food product, not only in the U.S. but worldwide.
So we thought if we could find ways to improve (its antioxidant) properties, doing this for such a product could have a larger impact on public health.
However, just because the crust is now made healthy, does not mean you can top it off with any old topping. Moore warned against mounds of fatty toppings such as extra cheese, pepperoni, sausage and ground beef, saying
If you’re adding back all these other things that have potential negative health consequences, then you’re negating anything that you’re adding in terms of (health) value.
The researchers experimented with baking temperatures, baking time and fermentation time.
It was found that the hotter the oven, the greater the antioxidant boost to the pizza. Along with higher baking temperatures, longer baking times also had a similar effect, raising antioxidant levels by 60 percent.
The researchers used oven temperatures from 400 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit (204 to 287 degrees Celsius), and baking times from 7 to 14 minutes.
Fermentation time – The time the pizza dough is given to rise – was increased from the typical 18 hours to up to 48 hours. In some cases, this almost doubled the antioxidant levels in the pizza dough.
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and grain organizations, but not by the pizza industry.
Source: CNN
