Posted by kathryn in The Micronutrients, Folate, A Balanced Diet, Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein and Q & A Thursday

I stuffed up during this week’s Q&A Thursday. I was asked what would happen if you lived on pasta – no sauce, no cheese, just pasta alone. In my answer I stated, this diet would leave you malnourished and would ultimately lead to death. I also said that, along with vitamin and mineral deficiencies, the individual would suffer from a protein deficiency .

It’s this bit I’m wrong on. As one reader pointed out, pasta does contain some protein, enough to make up your daily requirements, even if your total kilojoule intake is from pasta alone.I wrote my answer after doing only a partial analysis, assuming I knew the rest. I based my protein statements on the belief that pasta alone would not yield enough of the eight essential amino acids, lysine in particular. It’s an embarrassing, first year stuff up, sorry everybody and thanks to the reader who took me to task on this.

The revised answer: deficiencies

Having just done the analysis properly , I’m revising my answer. A diet of pasta alone would lead to:

• adequate intake of carbohydrates, protein, copper, manganese and selenium.
• mild deficiencies in fibre, iron, niacin (B3) and pyridoxine (B6)
• severe deficiencies in fat, calcium, magnesium, zinc, along with vitamins A, C, E, K, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), pantothenic acid (B5), folate (B9) and cyanocobalamin (B12).

Health issues

The problems from this would include:

• scurvy
• anaemia (deficiencies of B9 and B12 will cause anaemia)
• tiredness and lethargy
• mental disorientation, hallucinations and impaired motor control (from the lack of B vitamins and fat)
• vision problems, leading to blindness (lack of vitamin A)
• heart problems (lack of vitamin E, calcium and magnesium)
• breakdown in wound, muscle and tissue healing and re-generation (deficiencies in A and C)
• poor clot formation and increased bleeding (lack of C and K)
• muscle weakness and spasming (calcium deficiency)
• kidney problems (lack of calcium and magnesium)

While eating pasta alone can give you enough kilojoules and enough protein, this would ultimately be fatal.

Even with the addition of meat, sauce, herbs and cheese, you’re still limiting your nutritional intake and not eating a balanced diet.

30 June, 2007