Does Pizza Have Gluten, Sugar, Protein, Carbs, Fiber and Eggs?

We know that pizza is a staple diet for most of the youngsters.

With its extra cheese and toppings, it is an expert at satisfying our taste buds.

While being everyone’s favorite; whether pizza adds any nutritional value to the diet is always up for debate.

Let us take a look at what exactly does it provide and how healthy can it be.

Before trying to know whether the pizza has gluten or not, let us first see what gluten is and how would it affect you.

To put it in simple words, gluten is a protein that is present in grains like wheat, barley, and rye. It gives those flours the sticky consistency that they have.

Although gluten does not have any harmful components as such, its sticky nature makes it stick to the inner organs as well. This might result in some complications later.

So, to answer the question, yes. Anything that is prepared from wheat would have gluten in it.

Since most of the pizza bases are prepared from processed wheat flour, it contains a good amount of gluten.

Many pizza chains boast of providing gluten-free pizzas to their customers. What that actually means is that a pizza crust made from grains other than wheat, barley or any grains containing gluten. These crusts are prepared from Rice, potato, soy or bean flours.

However, most of the chain pizza stores, both the pizza crusts are prepared on the same counter.

Research shows that a regular 14-inch pizza crust is loaded with carbs anywhere between 22g to 34g.

Again, most of that carb count comes from the crust. But do not panic just yet. These figures are much below the healthy carb count your body needs every day.

So, if you are not aiming to lose weight or be on a low carb diet, a little more of that tasty pizza is not going to hurt you.

However, if you are indeed prescribed to a low carb diet, it is better to know just how much carbs your pizza crust holds.

Since most of the carb content comes from the base, a thin crust pizza is going to have less carb contain compared to a thick one. 

A thin crust pizza has carb content of approximately 20g while a thick one is loaded with up to 35g of carbs.

While toppings don’t make a big difference in the carb content, the ingredients used to prepare the crust do. Pizza crust prepared from wheat flour is low on carb as it is loaded with fiber.

Sadly, this is one essential nutrient that your pizza doesn’t give you enough.

Although having little nutritional value, Fibre is responsible for maintaining a healthy digestive system.

It is not digested by the body and discarded as a whole. Intake of fiber in the diet cleanses the digestive system.

A human body needs 25g to 38g of fiber intake every day.

A slice of regular pizza gives you only 2g to 3g of fiber. Add to it, the extra amount of carbs, fats, and calories, that does not paint a pretty picture.

The fiber content in the pizza can be increased by opting for more green toppings.

Green vegetables are a rich source of fiber. Whole grains also provide a good amount of fiber. So next time, opt for the whole grain bread.

What an unnatural looking question! huh? But it's natural to have eggs in a pizza dough.

Normally pizza dough doesn't contain eggs in it but you can't be sure before asking the waiter about that. 

Some Italian pizza recipe has a good amount of eggs in the pizza dough and also with the toppings. So, what we've found? It depends on the chef and the recipe of pizza.

Next time you go for a pizza treat, ask the waiter about that!

One simple way to make your pizza healthier is to prepare it at home.

Although the process is tedious and time-consuming, the results are worth it.

Firstly, you are completely sure about the cleanliness maintained while preparing it.

Secondly, you can control the amount of the ingredients you want in it. The result is your own source of tasty and healthy food.

However, if making it at home is not an option for you, some slight changes in your order might give you a healthy pizza.

Go for crust prepared from whole grain. Whole grains are loaded with protein and carbohydrates in just the right proportion for your body.

Thinner crusts are better since they do not add too much carb to your body.

Opt for extra toppings instead of extra cheese. Cheese increases unhealthy fat in the body.

Meat toppings instead are a healthy source of proteins.

So, with all this information, we can conclude that pizza is not as unhealthy as it is shown to be.

A few tweaks here and there, and you can easily bring your pizza into the list of healthy food.