Nutritionist Dilara Koçak announced the misconceptions about pasta and obesity. Koçak said: “Pasta is a miraculous food for those who are diabetic and want to lose weight.” Giving a speech during the 2nd Obesity Symposium organized in İstanbul University Süleyman Demirel Cultural Center, Dilara Koçak gave information about the importance of pasta for nutrition. Mentioning the misconceptions about pasta and obesity, Koçak stated that pasta is made from durum wheat, that it has a positive effect on blood glucose level, and that it is a miraculous food for those who are diabetic and want to lose weight. Koçak also added it is possible to increase the vitamin value of pasta and make it enjoyable to eat for the people from all ages by mixing it with cheese, tuna fish, chopped meat, tomato, yogurt and vegetables. PASTA IS MISUNDERSTOOD Mentioning also the results of a research carried out by Pasta Industrialists Association of Turkey (TMSD), Koçak pointed out the misconceptions in people’s minds. Saying that according to the result of the research, there are misconceptions such as “pasta is fattening, is not considered as main dish, its nutritional value is low and it cannot be served to guests”, Koçak stated: “76 percent of the society considers pasta as side dish rather than main dish; pasta is consumed mostly with meat balls or stuffed vegetables. 95.9 percent of the society cooks pasta as they do not have much time to cook other meals. However, pasta should not be considered as a mandatory meal that is cooked due to insufficient time. Pasta is a very special food and it is possible to cook pasta as quite tasteful and healthy meal while having guests.” “PASTA REDUCES THE OBESITY RISK” According to the research of TMSD, 93.2 percent of consumers thinks that raw material of pasta is flour. Saying that raw material of pasta is durum wheat, Koçak stated “Durum wheat contains more protein, is processed less and is turned into semolina. As a result, pasta is produced from semolina. In terms of glycemic index and glycemic load, pasta is a proper food for diabetics and for those who want to lose weight.” Emphasizing that carbohydrates should not be accused alone, Koçak said: “Just a single food cannot be the only responsible for obesity; a food cannot be the only solution by itself. If carbohydrates were the only responsible, the rate of obesity would have been higher in Italy and France than in America. There are many reasons for obesity; we should think them as a whole. It is important to think how much we eat and how much of it we burn. It is not about how much calorie we take; instead it is about the source of calories. That’s why it is so important to calculate how much we take from where. If you do not take carbohydrates then you start to burn your muscles and you lose weight by losing water. Human body loses 2,7 gr water for 1 gr Muscle. This is a temporary weight loss. Moreover, as you lose muscle your metabolism starts to slow down and you gain weight more. I am trying to tell people this with questions and answers one by one so that they can be comfortable about taking carbohydrates and be fearless. Because I believe this: we should not tell people what to avoid eating, instead we should tell them what to eat and how to eat. This is forbidden; that is forbidden… Minimum wage is obvious. So what will they eat? However, we have many economical sources. We have eggs, pasta, grains. Pasta and grains are included in Mediterranean diet which is considered as the healthiest diet in the world. By Mediterranean diet, we mean it is rich in basic ingredients, such as grains, vegetables, fruits and dry pulses.” ENJOYABLE AND HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES FOR CHILDREN! Dilara Koçak says that pasta can be healthier for children by combining it with other foods. Pasta with cheese and yogurt can be alternative for children who do not drink milk; pasta with vegetable for children who do not like vegetables; pasta with chopped meat for children who cannot eat meat cuts; pasta with salmon, tuna and perch for children who do not like fish. As well as other beneficial pasta alternatives for children, Koçak advises as follows: • Add cheese so increase calcium and protein. • Add Tuna fish and walnut so increase omega 3. • Add meat chop so increase iron, zinc and protein. • Add vegetables so increase more fiber, mineral and vitamins. • Add tomato so increase antioxidant and lycopene. • Add yogurt so increase calcium, riboflavin and protein. Stating that it is important to know how to eat pasta, Koçak says pasta is a reliable food for mothers and healthy for children. ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY PASTA! Dilara Koçak pointed out that pasta is environment friendly and she added: “Sustainability, carbon footprint and how much water we consume will be the world’s most important issues in the future. Life cycle analysis of pasta shows that pasta is one of the least harmful products for environment. Carbon footprint of pasta is only 14.5. According to ecosystem researches, we use 500 ml water to make meal from grains while this is 15 tons for 1 kg steak.” The famous nutritionist who says pasta can be shaped as desire; pasta should be valued as required; and pasta is a miraculous food stated that pasta has passed the test successfully.