EP#192: How to Eat Like an Italian

<p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d3850">How do Italians eat pasta every day and not gain weight?</p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d3850">Why do they have the lowest obesity rate in Western Europe?</p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d3850">Why they don’t gain weight as easily as Americans do? </p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d386a">In October, I was really fortunate to spend two weeks in northern Italy. I visited  Venice, Verona, Florence, and Tuscany, specifically the medieval walled hill towns of San Gimignano, Siena and Volterra. They were each wonderful in their own way. I had a fantastic time, and really loved it there. </p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d386c">While I was there, I talked to a few American expats. One American woman in Florence told me, <strong>“I’ve been living here for a year and have lost 10 pounds without doing anything. I eat pasta every day. Plus I can eat dairy and gluten here with no digestive problems. Back in the States, I couldn’t tolerate those foods.”</strong></p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d386c">I can’t tell you how many people have told me stories like this.  Americans who visited Italy told me that they drank wine with one or two meals a day, ate pasta, desserts, not to mention those breakfast croissants, and did not get the indigestion they normally got back home, and did not gain weight.</p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d386c">The Italians are known for their fantastic cuisine. Italy was the EAT in Elizabeth Gilbert’s <em>Eat Pray Love</em>.  And for good reason. </p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d386c">Have you ever wondered why Italian cuisine is so delicious? And how do they eat that carb-heavy diet filled with pasta, bread, croissants (see typical Italian breakfast to the right) and other delicious things, and <strong>not</strong> have the obesity problem that much of the rest of the world is experiencing?<strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr" data-css="tve-u-1849b0d386f">Italy has approximately half the obesity rate as the Unite