While Pizza is the best food that humanity has ever made, pizza is also considered unhealthy because of its calorie content. So here we will see how many calories in a slice of pizza there are.
Pizza is not as bad as most people think, it can be a healthy meal as long as you know what to get and how to control your consumption to keep it on the healthier side when eaten.
A slice of pizza a day will not affect one’s health dramatically. However, we never settle for just one slice, so the best way to limit our consumption is to know what we get.
There is a lot of fat content in one serving of a pizza so you should know where to stop. That way, you will not have to work too much to burn the unhealthy minerals from it.
Here, we will see how many calories you get from a pizza and look at the other minerals you get from a slice of pizza to know how you can burn them or control them.
Table of Contents
How Many Calories In A Slice Of Pizza?
Let us go straight to the question and see how many calories you get from a slice. Depending on the type of pizza that you eat, the calorie content will differ significantly.
There might not be that huge difference between the more common types of pizza but you still get a lot. For an average slice of cheese pizza, you get somewhere around 285 calories.
Remember that cheese pizza is a healthy type of pizza for many and still, it has that many calories. So when you go with meat or other oily options, the calories, and fat climb up.
For a regular slice of pepperoni pizza, you get 494 calories. So if you want to control your calorie intake, you might want to go with more vegetables as toppings rather than meat.
Toppings such as sausages and ground beef can also get your calorie intake up to 300. While that does not sound bad, it takes many exercises just to burn that number of calories.
We usually go for at least two slices of pizza, so you need to multiply that number by the number of slices you eat. From there, you will need to burn calories by exercising.
What It Takes To Burn 300 Calories
As we have mentioned, the most effective way to burn the calories that you got from the slice of pizza that you have just eaten is to exercise. Luckily, there are many ways to do that.
Exercises usually vary in intensity and longevity. You also need to know your fat content and body build to know how effective the exercise will be in burning calories.
The average person can spend 300 calories running at an average speed of 3.5 miles per hour. You need to run at that speed for an hour just to burn the calories from one pizza slice.
It will also vary according to your weight as you burn more calories if you weigh more. So just the regular exercise will get you to burn all those 300 calories within 30 minutes to an hour.
You can also do other activities like gardening to help you burn calories. 20 to 25 minutes of gardening will help you burn the calories from one slice of pizza, so that is a great activity.
Other Nutritional Content Of Pizza
As we have mentioned above, there are other minerals and healthy components that you can get from pizza. The following are for a regular slice of cheese pizza, so it may differ from other types.
Protein
Protein helps us build muscles and other tissues in the different organs of the body. Pizza, although not that healthy, can contain enough protein in one slice depending on the type.
For a regular slice of cheese pizza, you can get somewhere around 12.2 grams of protein. This can help you in your recovery after exercising for a few minutes.
Although it does not sound like it is much, a slice of cheese pizza contains enough protein to get you through a slight recovery from torn muscle tissues and other tissues in the body.
Fats
Most people shy away from food with fats without knowing that fat is three of the most important minerals that our bodies need. A slice of cheese pizza contains fat for our bodies.
A single slice of cheese pizza contains 10.4 grams of fats. This is not an unhealthy amount of fat than other foods, and you can use the fat from the pizza to balance your fat percentage.
Fiber
To keep our digestive tracts healthy, we need fiber. It is a component that helps in making the stomach and intestines healthy while also improving our metabolism.
A slice of cheese pizza contains 2.5 grams of fiber which is not enough, but it helps keep and improve our metabolism. You can get more fiber if you choose to go with vegetable toppings.
Calcium And Phosphorus
Since we are on cheese pizza, these two are the most obvious minerals that you can get from one. Calcium is notorious for keeping our bones healthy and strong.
On the other hand, phosphorus is also a mineral that helps calcium in keeping our bones strong. It is more obvious on our teeth and it repairs damages at the cellular level.
Others
Again, the nutritional content of the pizza you eat will hugely depend on the toppings you choose. There are other minerals that you can get from a slice of cheese pizza though.
Other common minerals and nutrients that you can get from pizza are sugar, sodium, potassium, and cholesterol. While not all of them are helpful, it is just important that you know what you eat.
Is Pizza Bad For Weight Loss?
There are not many variations to pizza that will help you lose weight. However, you can still enjoy a slice of pizza while also trying to lose weight as long as you control your consumption.
To be able to eat pizza and lose weight, you need to choose the right toppings. Cheese pizza is great, but vegetable toppings is a much healthier option when trying to lose weight.
It will also help you stick with one slice a day to limit the number of fats and calories you eat. Just eat the pizza as a side and get other types of food to fill your stomach.
Eating more than three slices of pizza can become unhealthy, or it can be challenging to burn through exercise. So as much as the toppings will help, consumption is also very important.
What Pizza Has The Lowest Calorie Content
Aside from the low-calorie pizza which is cheese pizza, you can always go with vegetarian pizza. A slice of vegetarian pizza only contains somewhere around 240 calories.
It also increases the other healthy minerals such as fibers and healthy fats. It would also be great flavor-wise if you can find vegetarian cheese rather than just plain vegetables as toppings.
Vegetarian pizza is also a good source of antioxidants. So if you are looking for a recipe where you can still enjoy your pizza without gaining too many unhealthy minerals, then vegetarian pizza is the one.
Tips On Making Your Pizza Healthier
If you do not want to compromise the flavor or the toppings on your pizza, then maybe you can order your pies in a different way to boost the nutrients and reduce the bad ones that you eat.
The Crust
It is a better choice to go for thin crust than the regular ones. You can also make your pizza healthier by choosing whole wheat crust instead of the regular flours used in pizzas.
This can lower your calorie intake as most of the calories and carbohydrates are because of the dough. Request for a healthier option starting from the crust if your pizzeria has this option.
Local Options
Compared to pizza chains known worldwide, local pizzerias might have more options on the toppings that you can choose from. So visit one around the neighborhood and ask.
Choose the pizzas that have healthier toppings and you might also get the bonus of discovering a new favorite pizza place and pizza flavor. Plus, it is a good way to support small businesses.
Skip the Sides
If you are ordering pizzas, just get the pizza. Do not get a pizza dip as it might contain a lot of calories that can only add up to what you get from the pizza itself.
Avoid ordering other sides, such as breadsticks, as it is most likely going to waste. You already have enough carbohydrates from the dough, so do not add more calories from the breadsticks.
Conclusion
Perhaps the best way to make the pizza healthier is to cook at home. That way, you will know what kind of toppings put on your pizza, and you can keep track of the nutritional content.
You really cannot avoid calories from pizza, so the best way to do it if you want to lose weight or keep your diet healthy is to know the ingredients well and limit the ones that contain a lot of calories.
Calories are not necessarily bad for your health as long as you burn them. So follow the tips above so you can still enjoy the pizzas while limiting the bad minerals from entering your body.
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