functional foods

It's hard to resist a heaping plate of creamy pasta primavera or sizzling spinach lasagna, but traditional pasta isn't always the healthiest of foods. Made with semolina and enriched flour, pasta is high in carbs and somewhat low in nutrition. Whole wheat pasta is much healthier — containing fiber and protein — but its thicker, grainier texture can be a turnoff for many pasta lovers. A newly developed barley pasta may finally be the healthy pasta they're looking for.

On the quest to make a more nutritious, tastier noodle, scientists in Italy and Spain spent time in the kitchen lab developing a new type of "super spaghetti" made from barley flour, as reported by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin E, this whole grain is a popular ingredient often added to foods to make them healthier.

While it hasn't hit store shelves yet, the barley pasta will be higher in fiber and antioxidants than traditional spaghetti made with semolina. And, under current FDA requirements, producers can make claims on the packaging of barley pasta about the food helping people's hearts and digestive tracts.

As you can see from the chart above, whole wheat pasta is lower in calories and also higher in fiber and protein. I'd be curious to see how this new barley pasta stands up nutritionally, but also to twirl my fork around a bite and see how it tastes. Would you try this new type of healthier spaghetti or do you prefer sticking to the traditional pasta you grew up with?

Companies are always coming up with new ways to entice customers to buy their products. Recently, a whole line of functional foods has evolved — regular foods that are enhanced with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. These products sound really healthy, so the average consumer sees "Now With Added Fiber" or "Packed With Vitamin A" on the package and places it to the cart without even looking at the label. If they did peek, they would be appalled to see that these products are often just junk food disguised as healthy food. Many of these products contain loads sugar, corn syrup, sodium, and the dreaded trans fat.

Food companies are preying on lazy consumers who see buzz words like "antioxidants," "fiber," and "omega-3s," which make us think we're not getting enough, so we feel compelled to buy these products. The truth is, if you eat a healthy diet full of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins, you don't need all these enhanced foods. You get enough of what you need from your diet alone. If you're worried about making your quota of certain nutrients, then opt for eating a food that naturally contains what you're missing, instead of foods that are artificially enriched.