Is Pesto Sauce Healthy for You?

Ancient Romans consumed a paste known as moretum, it was prepared by squeezing garlic, cheese, and various herbs together.

Pesto sauce has its roots in Genoa, which falls under the Liguria region of Northern Italy. Pesto is derived from the Italian word, Pestare which in English language means to crush or thump.

With reference to the original method of its preparation, using wooden pestle and marble mortar the meaning suits it quite well. So what is pesto sauce anyway? Pesto for ardent lovers of authentic Italian cuisine is nothing but a fresh no-cook sauce.

It is versatile and can be mixed with any sort of pasta or can be simply slathered over a piece of bread. Italy surely is blessed with a wealth of culinary experts, because only they have the creative minds to turn fresh, wholesome ingredients into delicious meal.

Traditionally, it is made up of European Pine nuts, crushed garlic, basil leaves mixed with olive oil, Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano), Fiore Sardo (cheese produced from sheep's milk). Traditional pesto sauce is a healthy and tasty addition to anybody's meal.

Though it is made up of ingredients that have fat and high amount of calories, it still does offer a delectable flavor and a lot of nutrients which many other sauces lack.

And as the saying goes too much of everything is detrimental for your health, the same applies to pesto sauce too. Pesto sauce is healthy if consumed in moderation. So be it any type of pesto sauce - red or basil pesto it is healthy to eat. So to answer the question is pesto sauce healthy, let's first learn about its health benefits.

Pine Nuts

Pesto sauce is made up of pine nuts, but you can always substitute it with other nuts if you are allergic to pine nuts. Pine nuts are small white nut loaded with essential minerals and vitamins. They are rich in vitamin A which is good for our eyesight and especially beneficial for our skin.

Vitamin D which helps to strengthen our bones and muscle joints. Pinolenic acid is a nutrient that suppresses your appetite, is also found in pine nuts. It is also filled with various proteins and vitamin C which increases your immunity and works on your energy levels.

Benefits of Garlic

Italian food is incomplete without garlic cloves, it gives a delicious and tantalizing flavor to the food. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine claims, that by consuming garlic you can put an end to your cholesterol problems in less than three months.

Apart from lowering your cholesterol levels, it also stabilizes your blood pressure levels.

Benefits of Basil

Adding extra basil into your pesto means fighting off cancer-producing radicals. Basil pesto is considered healthy because it fills your meal with plenty of phytochemicals. Orientin and vicenin are two such phytochemicals that act as antioxidants.

These nutrients once they enter your system, take up the job of destroying free radicals which affect normal healthy cells. They are considered healthy because they reduce the risk of heart diseases and other serious ailments.

Basil leaves also contain beta-carotene, which your body ultimately converts into soluble vitamin A. Basil leaves are also rich in iron, so you can add a good amount of basil leaves to your pesto sauce. Iron in the body is necessary to produce more red blood cells.

Nutrients

Pesto sauce is filled with all good things, ¼ cup of homemade pesto sauce provides you with 15% of vitamin A, 6% of vitamin C, 20% calcium, 6 grams of protein, and 4% iron. As per the above mentioned information we all know how vitamins are essential for us, and calcium is really necessary for our bones, it makes them strong.

Benefits of Fat

Not all fats are harmful for your health, olive oil which is a major ingredient in pesto sauce is full of monounsaturated fats, also known as MUFAs. These fats help in lowering cholesterol. Substituting unhealthy and damaging fats with MUFAs can improve your immune system, thereby improving your overall health.

Such fats aid to control blood sugar levels and help in fixing blood clotting during an injury. However, you need to consume olive oil in moderation, especially for people who are diet-conscious. It is rich in calories and has about 9 calories in one gram of oil.

Commercially-produced pesto sauce is filled with high amount of sodium, a better alternative would be to make pesto sauce at home, or check the ingredients before purchasing it from the store.

When it comes to pregnant women, eating pesto sauce is not harmful at all, in fact from the aforementioned information it will be good for you and your baby. However, high amount of pesto sauce consumption should be avoided, to keep off weight gain.