Building A Healthy Pizza

Here's a piece I wrote for a South Shore health club in 2006:

"Building a Better Pizza"

Unfortunately, the typical diet of the western world is too high in refined carbohydrates, saturated fat and animal foods, and calories. It is too low in fiber, nutrient-rich carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Making a shift towards an optimal way of eating takes several steps. To simplify this, let's use a traditional dish and …"build a better pizza".

Current Western world diet: Order a large combination pizza (with sausage, pepperoni, cheese, and a small amount of vegetables like olives, onions). Eat 1/2 or more of the pizza yourself, and wash it down with a liter of soda pop or beer.

Better: Order a large combination pizza. Eat 2 pieces. Have a green salad with low calorie dressing, and wash it down with no sugar ice tea, diet soda, or better yet, skim milk.

Still Better: Order a large pizza with mostly vegetables, maybe some chicken, but no processed, cured meats. Ask that 1/2 of the cheese be omitted. Eat 2 pieces. Have the salad with low calorie dressing and low calorie beverage.

Best!: Order a small pizza [whole wheat crust] with extra vegetables, half the cheese (low fat cheese if possible), and no meat. Eat 1 or 2 pieces. Eat a larger green salad with various vegetables, beans and seeds, with low calorie dressing. Choose a no sugar beverage, preferably water or skim milk.

After your pizza has properly digested, take a brisk walk, run, or whatever exercise you enjoy doing. Take the dog, too - he probably got some of your pizza scraps and could use the exercise!