A diet rich in whole grains may lower your risk for heart disease, but the average American diet includes less than one-quarter of recommended amounts, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Whole wheat pasta is easy to cook, and you can eat it instead of regular pasta to increase your intake of whole grains. Eat a variety of whole grains in moderation as part of an overall balanced diet.
Calories and Macronutrients
Each cup of cooked whole wheat pasta provides 174 calories, less than 1 g total fat and almost no saturated fat. This serving size has 37 g total carbohydrates, including 1 g of natural, not added, sugars. It has 7.5 g protein, or 15 percent of the daily value. The protein in pasta is not complete, because it does not provide each of the amino acids that you need to get from your diet. Pasta is cholesterol-free.
Dietary Fiber
A cup of cooked whole wheat pasta has 6.3 g dietary fiber. Fiber lowers levels of bad LDL cholesterol in your blood, reduces your risk for constipation and may help control your blood sugar levels. You should get at least 14 g dietary fiber per 1,000 calories that you eat, but the average American gets less than half of recommended amounts, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Refined, white pasta has only 2.5 g dietary fiber per cup.
Vitamins
Whole wheat, cooked pasta has 0.15 mg thiamin, or about 10 percent of the daily value. Thiamin, or vitamin B-1, is essential for getting energy from carbohydrates in your body. Whole-wheat pasta has 1 mg niacin, or vitamin B-2, and only 7 mcg folate, which is essential for preventing neural tube birth defects. Enriched, refined pasta has more thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, and it has 167 mcg folate, or 42 percent of the daily value.
Minerals
Cooked whole wheat pasta has 1.5 mg iron, or 8 percent of the daily value for this essential mineral for healthy red blood cells. It also has 1 mg zinc and 42 mg magnesium. Whole wheat pasta has 62 mg potassium and it is nearly sodium-free, with only 4 mg per cup, cooked. Keep the sodium content low and support a healthy blood pressure by cooking your whole-wheat pasta without salt, and eating it with a low-sodium sauce.
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