Pizza Nutrition Questions

We hear a lot of dietary advice and for good reason: Smart food choices can
substantially enhance your family’s health over time. Yet, when it comes to pizza, it can be hard to sort out the advice.

Pizza is what dietitians call a “mixed dish” – and we love that about it. It blends together the flavors of cheese and bread with things like meats and veggies, even fruit. The art of pizza cuisine is to combine those elements creatively.

Pizza contains a mix of nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, fats and calcium. Grain (sometimes, but usually not,whole grain) is one of the primary ingredients in the crust. The cheese contributes some protein and calcium, but it also delivers significant calories as well as saturated fat and cholesterol, so it should be consumed in moderation.

Pizza is also a leading source of sodium in the U.S. diet. Most of the components of pizza – sauce, dough and toppings – contain sodium in significant amounts. Moderating your pizza portion can help keep your daily sodium intake consistent with government recommendations. For most consumers, that means no more than 2,300mg/day, but the government recommends a limit of 1,500mg/day for those at “high risk”

(defined as African Americans, individuals with hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease and individuals ages 51 and older).

Pizza can also contain trans fats. The Nutrition Facts panel on packaged pizzas allows you to check for trans-fat levels and limit your family’s consumption of this unhealthy fat. Nestlé brands of pizza, with few exceptions, contain no added trans fats beyond what naturally occurs in cheese and meats.

The best way to avoid other sources of trans fat is to look for ingredient statements that include no partially hydrogenated oils. Experts recommend the removal of these oils from our diets and Nestlé is working diligently to completely remove partially hydrogenated oils from its recipes.

How do you apply all that nutrition information and advice to pizza?
➺ Maybe it’s simpler than you thought.