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[Miggy]

Uhh, about pizza. It's not necessarily unhealthy, it all depends on what you put in it/on it.

Sure, common white bread made with oil isn't the best thing ever. But you can add some wholegrain and use olive oil and it's all good.

Tomato sauce, nothing wrong with that. It's pureed good stuff with some olive oil in it.

Just don't fill the top with all sorts of processed meats and cheese. Put some vegetables on it, skip the cheese. There's only bad things in the pizza if you add all the bad things.

[JoshuaFH]

Yeah, I did always hear that pizza was good for you because it included so many of the food pyramid items all into one dish. Really not an expert though.

[ECrownofFire]

Some cheese is fine. It's when you load it up that it becomes a problem.

[shadenight123]

it's not even cheese.
it should be mozzarella.
mozzarella, not grated cheese.
mozzarella, the white milky stuff which is round.
(yes, i know it's fresh cheese, however, it's different!)
or you can use the "fior di latte" as a different type of mozzarella.
...
youtube link to funny cartoon about pizza origin (the cartoony myth of how it was made, you know, the story you tell childrens)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhs6Usen7lA

i'm getting hungry about pizza you know?
...and i'm on a diet. sheesh!

[G-Flex]

concerning pizzas:
being italian i must throw myself inside the ring:
first off, it depends on who does it.
pizza in itself is a healthy substitute of a lunch (dinner is the trend, but it's a lunch substitute. NOT add-on. it's a substitute)
it should contain the following: a "pasta" base (carbohydrates), a vegetable base (tomato sauce/fresh tomatoes), salt and oil what needed. and then a topping of something like ham, or (prosciutto crudo? raw ham? it's the other type of ham, the one salty) that's about it.
this is healthy italian pizza

obviously americans must have lost the quantities of the receipt and went with their wicked fatty fantasies...ehhh
"americans"

Portraying ham as healthy? Yep, definitely an Italian typing this.

it's not even cheese.
it should be mozzarella.
mozzarella, not grated cheese.

Mozzarella can be pre-shredded/grated. Won't be as fresh, though. Fresh mozzarella is pretty great, though.

[shadenight123]

italian ham is prosciutto, and i'm not referring to the one industry made that tastes like stale carton.
that ham is in general not healthy, once again depends on quantity.
moderation is always better.

[G-Flex]

The general perception I have is that pork isn't a very healthy meat to begin with, and that ham is generally worse due to the added salt (and often other sodium compounds), not to mention the fattiness. Not that it's terrible in moderation, but I'd rather have chicken on my pizza if health is the main concern, which actually works pretty well if you do it right.

[RedKing]

Pork gets an undue bad rap. Especially since they've done a pretty good job breeding the fat out of hogs in the last 50 years. Your average pork chop or ham today is far leaner than in years gone by.

My family and I probably eat more pork than any other kind of meat, and we don't have sodium or cholesterol problems. Another nice thing is that pork is rarely laced with antibiotics or growth hormone because pigs have hardier immune systems than cattle or chickens, and they grow to market weight quickly. Along with goats, pigs are an ideal livestock for marginal farmlands because they can eat almost anything. And finally, they just taste so damn good and you can eat virtually every part of a pig in some fashion.

[shadenight123]

yes, my re-answering was because i didn't understand what part of the pig production was actually unhealthy.
i know some countries and companies use nitrate to make pigs legs "tastier" but usually it's just a pig's leg pressed with salt and without bones and blood.
...
and @redking@
here, at my house, ham doesn't make it to the table.
it reaches the door and then is eaten during the way towards the fridge.
having a grandmother who was an owner of the bar (in the late fourties) makes it even worthwhile, since she can cut ham for sandwiches, make milkshakes, and so on and on and on.
...
which may be the reason i have a slight overweight.
...
but i'm fine like this.

[G-Flex]

Pork gets an undue bad rap. Especially since they've done a pretty good job breeding the fat out of hogs in the last 50 years. Your average pork chop or ham today is far leaner than in years gone by.

Most pork products I see are quite fatty, ham in particular. I also find pork products much more tough/difficult to digest, although that's less true with decent ham, and that's just my own experience. It's also pretty high in saturated fats.

My family and I probably eat more pork than any other kind of meat, and we don't have sodium or cholesterol problems. Another nice thing is that pork is rarely laced with antibiotics or growth hormone because pigs have hardier immune systems than cattle or chickens, and they grow to market weight quickly. Along with goats, pigs are an ideal livestock for marginal farmlands because they can eat almost anything. And finally, they just taste so damn good and you can eat virtually every part of a pig in some fashion.

A lot of that is certainly true, and I can understand why people eat pork, but given the option, I'd generally judge poultry, fish, and possibly beef as "healthier", although I'm not quite sure about beef. Also, to be frank, your own family's health isn't really a sound argument, being very anecdotal evidence and all.


EDIT: Some cursory research seems to back up my idea that pork is a difficult meat to digest. Interesting. Other red meats take a bit less time to digest, and chicken/fish are obviously much easier/quicker.

Not that eating pork is going to kill you, I just wouldn't call it the most health-conscious meat there is or anything like that.

[lordcooper]

Political leaders in St. Petersburg are about to vote on law that will make it illegal for any person to write a book, publish an article or speak in public about being gay, lesbian or transgender.

Holy shit!

[DJ]

Slow release != unhealthy. Otherwise the most healthy thing would be eating nothing but fruit, and
I don't think that would work out so well in reality.

And the whole saturated fats deal is overblown. Sure, they'll kill you if you consume too much of them, but it hasn't been proven that moderate intake has a big negative effect on health.

[ChairmanPoo]

The recommendations as of now are that all fat intake should be lowered. That aside, olive oil, which is rich in poliinsaturated fats, has been shown to be benefittial in several ways.

I'm unsure as to the details concerning saturated fats' unhealthiness, I'll get back to you on this one

[Dutchling]

Political leaders in St. Petersburg are about to vote on law that will make it illegal for any person to write a book, publish an article or speak in public about being gay, lesbian or transgender.

Holy shit!

Holy shit indeed.

[G-Flex]

Slow release != unhealthy. Otherwise the most healthy thing would be eating nothing but fruit, and
I don't think that would work out so well in reality.

And the whole saturated fats deal is overblown. Sure, they'll kill you if you consume too much of them, but it hasn't been proven that moderate intake has a big negative effect on health.

Sure, except "moderate intake" is basically defined as the amount that won't cause a big negative effect.


I'll echo ChairmanPoo here; saturated fats tend to not be the best for you, as far as I know, and most people eating a Western diet get too much of it to begin with. And olive oil is pretty great. One of my favorite lunches is a tuna sandwich with a bunch of olive oil and hot peppers in it, and some tomato soup. I don't know what it is about olive oil, but it even feels better (and less gross) to eat than other fats/oils.