are healthier choices really healthier?

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veliia
veliia Posts: 70 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I noticed regular pasta and whole grain or veggie pasta have the same calories n serving n almost the same nutritional facts. The same with white rice n brown rice & mazola corn oil and extra virgin olive oil...So is it even worth eating the alternative?

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Health isn't measured on the nutritional label. I wouldn't regard olive oil and inflammatory industrial corn oil as the same from a health perspective but I'll grant you they're the same in an oil lamp or diesel engine.
  • LushFix
    LushFix Posts: 303 Member
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    Depends on what your looking for nutrient wise. I believe the whole grain and veggie pastas may have more fibre. Which is important to some of us.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I've noticed that when I buy whole grain pasta (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), it tends to have more protein and -- sometimes -- more fiber than the regular kind. That's one reason I will sometimes choose it. Also, corn oil and olive oil have very different tastes. I don't really think of one as a "healthier" version. They both have a place in my pantry.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    Hmmmmmm. "inflammatory industrial corn oil". I declare ad hominem attack on the poor corn.

    @veliia I think you've caught on to an important concept in nutrition, which MFP highlights fairly easily. The difference between different foods in the same family are miniscule, and even an unvaried diet of "healthy" foods can be bad for you. For instance, and all-broccoli or all-sweet potato diet.

    But mix them all together, and we've got heaven. Have a pasta plate, carbonera in a light cream sauce with a side of dark leafy vegetables sprinkled with feta and pine nuts. It's the combination that makes the meal, not the individual components. Even if the cream sauce has a tablespoon of corn oil.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,871 Member
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    veliia wrote: »
    I noticed regular pasta and whole grain or veggie pasta have the same calories n serving n almost the same nutritional facts. The same with white rice n brown rice & mazola corn oil and extra virgin olive oil...So is it even worth eating the alternative?

    Caloric density has nothing to do with the nutritional (health) value of a particular food...calories are just a measurement of the energy that food provides. There are any number of foods that are jam packed with awesome nutrition and very good for you that are also calorie bombs...an avocado for example...and conversely, there are any number of foods with little to no nutritional value and also have little to no calories either...like a diet coke has no calories, but provides absolutely zero nutritional value.

    When you're looking at the nutritional information, don't just look at the calories...look at the actual nutrition.
  • veliia
    veliia Posts: 70 Member
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    The regular pasta actual had a lil bit more fiber i think
    LushFix wrote: »
    Depends on what your looking for nutrient wise. I believe the whole grain and veggie pastas may have more fibre. Which is important to some of us.

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    "Health" is determined by a lot of different factors that go above and beyond the calorie count. It's hard to compare two foods and definitely point to one as healthier than the other without looking at the bigger picture (total diet composition, any health issues or allergies a person has, etc). Which choices you make will depend on your personal needs instead of how foods are labeled.
  • ericatoday
    ericatoday Posts: 454 Member
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    Brown rice has more fiber which helps break down food better, keep you full longer, and helps them bms.
  • ericatoday
    ericatoday Posts: 454 Member
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    Somethings are healthier but its not on the label.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Whole grain pasta has less calories and more fiber than white. I find it tastier too now... Not sure about veggie pasta, although now I'm craving some, it's been a while... lol.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    edited April 2016
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    Most of the " extra virgin olive oil" in the U.S. is mixed with cheap oil like canola oil.
    http://www.foodrenegade.com/your-extravirgin-olive-oil-fake/
    Eat whatever you want.
  • veliia
    veliia Posts: 70 Member
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    Waste of my money then
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    You can get olive oil with the certification stamp saying it is 100% olive. I buy only ones with the stamp.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    You can find real EVOO.

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