Pasta Defense

For Italians, a suggestion by American nutritionists that pasta can be bad for you has been harder to swallow than mushy macaroni.

U.S. experts were quoted in a front-page New York Times article Wednesday saying starchy foods might contribute to obesity.

“America, You Don’t Understand Pasta,” was the headline over a front-page commentary in an Italian newspaper. The articles suggested Americans should just give up “eating mindlessly,” and stuffing themselves with hot dogs.