Here we will take you through some of the health benefits of homemade healthy pizza made at home. Keep reading to learn more.
Recently, most people globally take pizza either during dinner dates, family dinners or even during weekend sports events. Some might not be aware of the ingredients used to prepare the pizza. What about the toppings? Still have no idea.
But again, at the end of the day, pizza lovers want to lead a healthy life. Homemade pizza has a lot of health benefits since the pies are also created amazingly.
Basically, an homemade pizza has three significant parts, namely the dough, the sauce, and the toppings. Now, let us dive into the health benefits of each component of a homemade pizza.
The Dough
The process of making dough at home is straightforward. First, you can make a crust that has a relatively low carb count. It makes it easier to roll out the thinner dough you prefer. Additionally, you can also make either a cracker-like crust or make it a little bit thick.
Another advantage of making dough at home is preparing a crust that can not drown in the oil. Most people also prefer making sourdough that has faster digestion.
The Sauce
A tomato-based sauce is the most commonly used to prepare pizza at home. Tomatoes are fruits full of vitamin C to humans. Besides, they also have vitamin K, folate, and potassium– essential nutrients that help build the body’s immune system.
In other homes, oregano is added to the sauce. Oregano has carvacrol, a compound that plays a more significant role in balancing blood sugars in the body.
Do you know that tomatoes have antioxidant lycopene? Lycopene gives the tomatoes a red color and protects them from direct sun rays.
We cannot talk about lycopene without mentioning the minimization of lousy cholesterol and easing inflammation. Above all, it protects the heart. It is much better to absorb it from cooked tomatoes. Avoid eating raw tomatoes.
Remember, antioxidant lycopene also fights free radicals that can damage many cells in our bodies and eventually lead to various health issues.
The Toppings
There is a wide range of pizza toppings when preparing pizza at home. However, the type of toppings will decide how healthy your pizza will be.
Therefore, the toppings that will make you lead a healthy lifestyle should be on your top-priority list. Below is a list of the healthy pizza toppings your homemade pizza should not miss.
Cheese
Cheese is rich in calcium and proteins. Calcium is a vital mineral that helps strengthen bones, blood clotting, and normal muscle contraction. On top of that, calcium helps regulate normal heart rhythm and the function of the nerves.
Proteins, on the other hand, play a significant role in the body. For example, they repair and build body tissues, facilitate metabolic reactions, help in fluid balance, and regulate the concentration of the acids and bases in the blood.
Also, it would help if you had proteins such as salmon, chicken, turkey, shrimp, and oysters that have low calories and can add proteins to your pizza.
We recommend that you avoid putting in too much cheese because it contains a lot of fat. Also, putting a lot of cheese on the pizza will make it greasy.
The cheeses that you can add to your pizza include:
- Mozzarella
- Fontina
- Parmesan
- Asiago
- Grana
- Blue cheese
- Padano
Veggies
A homemade pizza topped up with vegetables has a lot of health benefits. Vegetables are rich in vitamins and fibers. Below is a list of the common veggies with their importance in our bodies.
Garlic
- Garlic strengthens our immune system, keeping it away from sickness. It also prevents the body from the flu virus and cold.
- Globally, heart-related disease and strokes are some of the greatest health concerns. Hypertension is a major factor that causes stroke, heart attacks, and chronic heart failure. People with heart-related conditions are advised to include garlic as a spice in their pizzas because it lowers high blood pressure. Besides, it also treats fever.
- Garlic plays a significant role in reducing cholesterol and LDL levels by 10 to 15 percent. Cholesterol is another fatty component that is a threat to one’s health.
- Finally, body detoxification is an important part of health and a good and long life. Garlic helps remove all the substances that are detrimental to our bodies. Therefore, adding garlic toppings to your homemade pizza is a good way to have a healthier life.
Onions
- Onions are rich in vitamins, fiber, and minerals, implying that they have no calories. The nutrients help in iron absorption, tissue repair, collagen production, and boostsOnions’mune the system.
- Onions’ vitamins B– pyridoxine(B6) and folate(B) help in metabolic body reactions, production of the red blood cells to carry oxygen, remove carbon dioxide and boost the functioning of the nerves.
- Onions’ potassium is very useful in the body for fluid balance, kidney function, nerve transmission, muscle contraction, and normal functioning of the cells.
- Red onions have anthocyanins, a powerful antioxidant that protects the body against heart-related disease and diabetes.
- Onions also have cancer-fighting components such as allium, which protects against certain cancers.
- The other benefits of using onion toppings on your homemade pizza are that it controls blood sugar, strengthens the bones, and inhibits the development of bacteria such as S. aureus and E. coli.
Aubergines
- Aubergines, commonly known as eggplants, are nutrient-dense pizza toppings. They have low-count calories and are rich in minerals, vitamins, and fibers, which are essential for health.
- Eggplant also helps promote weight loss. In addition, it is very versatile; you can add to your pizza easily.
Olives
- Research has shown that olives are very good for your health, protecting you against cancer and osteoporosis. The fruits are also a source of vitamin E, calcium, sodium, copper, and iron.
- The minerals and vitamins have antioxidant properties that protect you from chronic illness protect you from cancer, strengthen the bones, and improve the heart’s health.
To lead a healthy lifestyle, consider using olives as your pizza toppings.
Mushrooms
- Besides the great taste, mushrooms also have surprising health benefits. They have potassium that is used to lessen the tension in the blood vessels—reducing the tension and lowering high blood pressure, which might cause chronic heart diseases.
- Furthermore, mushrooms stimulate macrophages, which have an anti-inflammatory effect that boosts the body’s immune system. A strong immune system is ever ready to fight diseases.
- Also, eating pizza topped with mushrooms and performing daily workouts helps you lose weight. This can be a good move to reduce the risks of metabolic disorders and high blood pressure.
Artichokes
- These Artichokes are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals like folate, phosphorus, vitamin K, vitamin C, and magnesium. Artichokes also have low levels of fats. The antioxidant properties are present, which help remove oxidative substances in the body.
- Another major importance is that it reduces bad LDL cholesterol and, on the other hand, increases good HDL cholesterol. Cholesterol regulation helps to lower the levels of blood pressure.
- Artichokes prevent damage to the liver, relieving the symptoms of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. It also regulates sugar levels because of the presence of insulin components.
Bell peppers
- Bell peppers, especially red peppers, are high in vitamin A, C., and fiber.
- Vitamin C has collagen that helps heal body wounds and develop connective tissues. Vitamin A enhances eye health, ensuring that you have a clear vision. Apart from that, it improves the growth of cells, reproduction, cell communication, and proper functioning of the body organs.
- Generally, bell peppers have antioxidants such as lycopene, luteolin, beta carotene, and quercetin that protect your body from oxidative damage. Finally, bell peppers support the immune system.
Zucchini
- Zucchini is rich in minerals, vitamins, and plant substances beneficial to health. It has antioxidants in the fruit’s skin, which have significant importance to the body.
- Zucchini also has fiber, increasing insulin, a component stabilizing sugar levels. Well-regulated levels of sugar prevent type 2 diabetes. The fiber also lowers blood pressure and other chronic heart illnesses.
- Zucchini is a low-calorie food with plenty of water and fiber. The low-calorie plays an important role when reducing weight.
Conclusion
Making a homemade pizza is fun and healthy. Every ingredient, from the dough, sauce, and toppings, has health benefits for the body.
The minerals, vitamins, calcium, and fiber consumed play significant roles in building the immune system, lowering hypertension, preventing chronic heart diseases, and removing oxidative substances from the body.
Other benefits of a homemade pizza are that the ingredients reduce sugar levels, protect against some cancer diseases, and help in normal body functioning and muscle contraction.
Note that some cheeses such as salamis and pepperoni have lots of fats, preservatives, and sugar. Even though they’re used to preparing pizza, they’re not good enough when you make health your top-most priority as far as food is concerned.
We’re glad to provide all you need to know about homemade pizza and health. You now have many great reasons to prepare your favorite pizza at home.
