Rough day? Mood in a slump? If you find yourself reaching for comfort—maybe after a nasty break-up—science suggests you might want to reach for a bowl of pasta. According to new research from Milan’s Free University of Languages and Communication, IULM, pasta doesn’t just fill you up; it actually lifts your spirits.
For the study, researchers at IULM’s Behavioral and Brain Lab invited 40 adults, aged 25 to 55, to eat pasta while their physical and neurological responses were monitored. These reactions were then compared to how participants felt when listening to their favorite songs or watching sports. The verdict? Pasta outperformed both music and athletic excitement when it came to sparking “cognitive memory processes”—in other words, helping people recall specific memories (though the researchers didn’t get into the details of what those memories were).
Spaghetti Bolognese
Pasta Better Than Music or Sports
But pasta didn’t just jog memories; it also sparked more positive emotions than either music or sports. (Now, if only there were an Italian phrase for “Buffalo Bills fan.”) When researchers analyzed facial expressions, they found that enjoying pasta was just as likely to signal happiness as listening to a beloved song, and it beat out sports-watching by a wide margin in the smile department.
“Science has lent a hand to our emotions, confirming that pasta and happiness go hand-in-hand,” explained Vincenzo Russo, Professor of Consumer Psychology and Neuromarketing at IULM and head of the university’s Neuromarketing Behavior & Brain Lab. “Our results show that we’re at our most emotionally active while eating pasta. Savoring each bite appears to spark our happiest memories and feelings.”
It’s Not Just Hype
Participants were also asked when they tend to eat pasta. The most popular answers? Family meals, time with friends, or simply whenever they’re in a good mood. As for how happy pasta made them feel, 76% said “a lot.” Only 40% labeled pasta as a comfort food, but that might be because in Italy, pasta is almost a daily ritual—99% of Italians eat it about five times a week.
Enjoying a bowl of your favorite pasta dish not only brings comfort but also releases endorphins—hormones that elevate mood and help alleviate stress and anxiety. Plus, pasta is classified as a complex carbohydrate. Unlike simple carbs, complex carbs consist of longer sugar molecule chains, providing a more sustained energy release and boosting serotonin levels.
This increase in serotonin is linked to tryptophan, an amino acid that plays a crucial role in mood regulation. Impressively, pasta retains up to 80% of its B-vitamins even after cooking, which are vital for converting tryptophan into serotonin.
A Pinch of Skepticism is Healthy
Ravioli
Of course, as intriguing as the findings are, a pinch of skepticism is healthy—along with maybe a sprinkle of Parmesan. So far, the study hasn’t been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, and it was commissioned by Unione Italiana Food, the main industry group for Italian pasta makers.
“We always knew that a good plate of pasta makes people happy—we just didn’t know exactly why, or how much,” said Riccardo Felicetti, president of Unione Italiana Food’s pasta division. “Now, thanks to this research, we can officially say that pasta is the food of happiness, or as we pasta-makers like to put it, it offers the best happiness-to-price ratio.”
So, the next time you need a little emotional pick-me-up, don’t hesitate to twirl up a forkful of spaghetti.
