---
title: Healthy Pizza: Should I Eat Pizza?
description: Here's why it depends on the pie
canonical: https://time.com/3701678/should-i-eat-pizza/
author: Mandy Oaklander
article:opinion: false
article:content_tier: free
article:published_time: 2015-02-12T12:00:39.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:02:48.185Z
article:section: Health
og:title: Should I Eat Pizza?
og:description: Here's why it depends on the pie
og:url: https://time.com/3701678/should-i-eat-pizza/
og:site_name: TIME
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og:image:alt: pizza
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twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:title: Should I Eat Pizza?
twitter:description: Here's why it depends on the pie
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---
# Should I Eat Pizza?
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## Video: Should I Eat Pizza?
[Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Pizza?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NvpgAWn5.m3u8) (1:39)
_Published 2015-02-12. You might be surprised that four out of five health experts give pizza the thumbs up. But don’t be fooled: these are not greasy thumbs._
by
[Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)
## Mandy Oaklander
Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.
Feb 12, 2015 12:00 PM UTC
You might be surprised that four out of five health experts give pizza the thumbs up. But don’t be fooled: these are not greasy thumbs.
by
[Mandy Oaklander](https://time.com/author/mandy-oaklander/)
## Mandy Oaklander
Oaklander is a senior editor at TIME.
Feb 12, 2015 12:00 PM UTC
**4/5 experts say yes.**
But don’t dial for delivery just yet. These experts’ thumbs, though mostly up, advocate for fresh, homemade pizza—not the grease-soaked stuff from a box.
Bad news #1: A single slice of sausage pie has 14 grams of fat. Bad news #2: Pizza is the single biggest source of solid fat intake in kids: 20% of all that pizza comes from school cafeterias, and it’s [pretty much equal in fat to the fast-food kind](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24139767).
“Stay away from eating numerous slices at a time, and pizza laden with salty and fatty toppings,” says study author **Lisa Powell**, PhD, professor in the school of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her 2015 [study](http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2015/01/13/peds.2014-1844.abstract) found that on days when kids eat pizza—especially the fast-food kind—they take in more [calories](http://time.com/3671774/kids-eating-pizza/), saturated fat and sodium than usual. When you want to indulge, offset it with a big salad, she suggests.
All the salad in the world may not undo the damage of delivery, but rethinking the pizza can.
“Pizza is a typical Mediterranean dish, like it or not,” says **Adam Drewnowski**, PhD, director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington. Treat it as an open-faced sandwich, he says—a vehicle for whole grains, cheese, tomatoes, vegetables and even fruit, if you’re one of those people who likes pineapple on your pie.
Pizza has a lot going for it in ingredients alone. You already know [how our experts feel about cheese](http://time.com/3532516/cheese-health-benefits/), and tomato sauce has a lot of nutritional potential. Because it goes through thermal processing, it packs even more antioxidants than raw tomatoes, found one 2015 [study](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25466100). Heating up tomatoes helps break down their cell walls and releases tomato carotenoids like lycopene, “thus increasing their absorbance,” says study author **Rosa M. Lamuela-Raventos,** antioxidant researcher and associate professor at the University of Barcelona. Sometimes processed food does a body good.
One group in Scotland took a stab at formulating a nutritionally perfect pizza that people would still actually like to eat. Dr. **Emilie Combet**, lecturer in nutrition at the University of Glasgow School of Medicine, helped create a [pie that cut back on salt and saturated fat](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9356963&fileId=S1368980013002814) while enhancing fiber. About 77% of adults—and a surprising 81% of children—said that the revised pie tasted as good or better than what they usually ate. “With the right ingredients, and the right proportions, pizza can be part of a nutritionally balanced meal,” Combet says.
That’s the right way to treat the pizza question, agrees **Jennifer M. Poti**, research assistant professor in nutritional epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of many pizza studies. Ditch delivery, she says, but “I would say yes to pizza with whole-grain crust, fresh vegetable toppings, and prepared with lower sodium and served in reasonable portion sizes.”
There you have it, pizza fiends. Let your love of pizza be your excuse to cook more.
Illustration by Lon Tweeten for TIME
_Read next:_ [_Should I Drink Seltzer?_](http://time.com/3689687/seltzer-water-carbonated-water/)
### QUIZ: Should You Eat This or That?
Which is better for you: Half cup of ice cream or 3 scoops of sorbet? Getty Images (4)
Answer: A half cup of ice cream If you eat what you’re craving, you’re more likely to feel satisfied and eat less. And scoop for scoop sorbet contains twice the sugar with none of the filling dairy protein and fat. Getty Images (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Real butter or spray on fake butter? Getty Images; Tara Johnson for TIME
Answer: Butter Serving size for spray butters (even low-calorie ones) are around a 1/3 second spray. What on earth does that mean? You're better off using a small amount of real butter as opposed to guessing how much you're using of the mystery melange of up to 20 ingredients. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: A turkey burger or a sirloin burger? Getty Images (2)
Answer: Sirloin burger Restaurant turkey burgers are often made with dark meat and the skin, so they’re not necessarily better for you (and for the record, they aren't low-fat). You can get a sirloin burger that’s 95% lean meat and gives you 20 g of protein. Just be careful with the toppings. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Almonds or pretzels? Getty Images (2)
Answer: Almonds Almonds are high in protein, fiber and fat and will keep you feeling fuller longer. Give high-sodium pretzels about an hour and you'll feel hungry again thanks to the high-carb no-fat or protein content. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Special K or eggs? AP; Getty Images
Answer: Eggs In the morning, you want a meal that will fill you up. Eggs offer protein and fat for satiety, but Special K cereal really only offers carbs and, well, air. If you want carbs to kick off the day, you're better off pairing eggs with a slice of 100% whole grain toast. Getty Images (1); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Fat free salad dressing or regular salad dressing? Tara Johnson for TIME
Answer: Regular salad dressingTo absorb fat soluble vitamins like Vitamins E and K in vegetables you need to consume them with a fat to aid nutrient absorption. Fat-free dressing, meanwhile, is low-calorie but gets its flavor from added sugar and salt. Tara Johnson for TIME (5); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: A low fat cookie or dark chocolate? Getty Images (2)
Answer: Dark chocolate “People believe fat free is calorie free,” says Keri Gans, a registered dietitian in New York City. “Go for the real thing.” Fat free cookies tend to be high in carbs, sugar and fake sugar. Try a nice piece of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate instead. Getty Images (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
Which is better for you: Low fat Greek yogurt or 100 calorie Yoplait yogurt? Tara Johnson for TIME
Answer: 2% Greek YogurtA little fat is good in the morning to keep you full—plus it has upwards of 17g of protein per container. Fat-free "fruit" yogurt is high in sugar—7 to 10 g per serving—and lower in protein. Tara Johnson for TIME (2); Gif by Mia Tramz for TIME
## Transcript
[ MUSIC ] You might be surprised that four out five health experts are giving pizza the thumbs up. But don't be fooled. These are not greasy thumbs. Delivery is a nutritional minefield. One slice of sausage has 14 grams of fat. Pizza is the number one source. Of solid fat intake for kids. 20 % of the pizza that kids eat comes from school cafeterias. Which is pretty much equal to the fast food kind in fat finds a study by Jennifer Poti. Beware the fatty, salty topping. Things warns Lisa Powell. Here 2015 study found that on days when kids eat pizza they take in more calories, saturated fat, and sodium then usual.
The trick here is rethinking the pie. Pizza can be as harmless as an open faced sandwich filled with vegetables whole grains and even fruits says Adam Drewnowski. It has a lot going for it. Tomato sauce packs more antioxidants than raw tomatoes, found one 2015 study from the University of Barcelona. In one recent study, Emily Combet developed a nutritionally perfect pizza, with less saturated fat. Less sodium and more fiber. 81 % of kids liked it as much as the regular kind, and 77 % agreed. So yes, by all means eat it, but let your love for pizza be your excuse to cook more. [ MUSIC ]
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