digest
Short Summary
Main recommendation: If you want pasta while managing blood sugar or following a low-carb diet, choose shirataki (konjac) noodles, which have almost no digestible carbs and produced essentially no blood sugar rise in the speaker's test. Regular pasta, even whole grain or egg versions, raised his blood sugar substantially, and portion size and cooking method change the response.
Key Points
- Traditional white-flour pasta (Barilla spaghetti), made from semolina, had about 40 carbs per small portion and under 2 grams of fiber, and raised the tester's blood sugar to about 200 mg/dL despite insulin, per the video.
- Pasta shape does not change blood sugar response; the ingredients and nutritional values (especially total carbs and fiber) do.
- Whole grain pasta performed better than refined pasta because of roughly double the fiber, producing a gentler rise (about 160 mg/dL), though the speaker still favored counting total carbs rather than subtracting fiber as "net carbs."
- Artisanal spaghetti tasted best but had the highest carb load (about 42 carbs per small portion) and pushed his blood sugar over 220 mg/dL, showing taste and blood sugar impact often trade off.
- Blood sugar response tracks total grams of carbohydrate, so the speaker linked carb count directly to how much insulin is needed.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Cook pasta al dente (firm and chewy) rather than soft, since it has a lower glycemic index and spikes blood sugar more slowly.
- Rinse cooked pasta with cold water and let it cool to convert some starch into resistant starch, which behaves more like fiber and produces less of a blood sugar spike; cold pasta salads are more blood-sugar-friendly than hot dishes.
- Keep portions small: a traditional Italian first-course portion is about 2 ounces dry (about 4 ounces cooked), and check the label for serving size and total carbs per serving.
- Choose shirataki (konjac) noodles for a very low-carb option; they are sold under brands like Miracle Noodle and Skinny Pasta and are now available flavored and microwave-ready. Zucchini noodles, spiralized zucchini (sometimes frozen), or spaghetti squash were mentioned as alternatives in the video's discussion.
- Count total carbs rather than subtracting fiber ("net carbs"), per the speaker's preference.
- Blood sugar was measured with a continuous glucose meter (about $50 to $100 per month without a prescription, per Dr. Westman); he noted individual responses vary and that he himself is a doctor, but was describing the video's presenter (not himself) as not a doctor or nutritionist.
- Test results: Barilla spaghetti ~200 mg/dL (rated 11/20 overall), egg linguine ~190 (12/20), whole grain penne ~160 (14/20), spelt pasta (7/10 blood sugar, 5/10 taste), shirataki near flat-line response, artisanal spaghetti over 220 (11/20).
- Dr. Westman stated that in his experience there is no strictly forbidden food on a low-carb diet; the amount matters, and over time many people can return to small portions of higher-carb foods.
Bottom Line
For pasta-craving viewers managing blood sugar, Dr. Westman's takeaway is that carb quantity, not pasta shape or brand marketing, drives the response, so shirataki is the clearest low-impact choice, while he suggests small, al dente, cooled portions of whole grain pasta as a more realistic compromise if eating regular pasta.
