Pizza: The Healthier Take-Out Food

Done right pizza can be a diet friendly delight.

Americans order 3 billion pizzas a year, mainly from the more than 60,000 pizza restaurants found in every burg with a ZIP code.

There's no reason to cut pizza out of your life -- it offers a quick, easy, tasty way to get loads of vegetables, fruit, fiber, and even fish without much artery-clogging saturated fat. But pizza, like any other take-out/order-in food, has its own pitfalls.

When the Center for Science in the Public Interest evaluated pizza slices from the top chains, it discovered fat levels approaching -- and sometimes surpassing -- a fast-food cheeseburger. The main culprit: way too much cheese. Add to that fatty meat like sausage and pepperoni, and you are in the unhealthiest reaches of the food world. Here's how to make pizza a healthy delight:

• Order half cheese or no cheese.



• Ask for extra veggies.



• Steer clear of stuffed crust pizzas. You don't need the extra cheese.



• Avoid anything called Meat Lover's, All the Meat, or Super Supreme. In fact, order your toppings individually.



• Best toppings: After veggies and fruit (ever tried pineapple-topped pizza?), chicken, ham, clams, shrimp, and anchovies offer the greatest nutritional punch with the lowest saturated fat.

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