Is pizza unhealthy?

You can load it up with veggies, order whole wheat or multigrain crust, ask for only half of the cheese. It’s one of the most customizable foods you can order, yet high-fat and high-sodium slices still lurk on the menu, taunting at your cravings. Pizza: Is it unhealthy or not?

Well, the Canadian Stroke Network, the Canadian Obesity Network and the Advanced Foods and Materials Network just awarded the “Salt-Licked Award” to Canada’s pizza restaurants. The main culprits:

• At Pizza Hut, two slices of the Pepperoni Lover’s large stuffed crust pizza have 3,000 mg of sodium
• At Boston Pizza, two slices of a large Rustic Italian Pizza have 2,580 mg of sodium
• At Pizza Pizza, one large slice of Meat Supreme has 2,400 mg of sodium

(Last year A&W won the same title for its Chubby Junior Kids Meal.)

The over-processed meat looks to be the salty source. So to cut the sodium in your Friday-night pizza habit, skip that as a topping, or even better, prepare your own low-sodium pizza at home. Try our recipes for Pizza Primavera or Tuna and Tomato Pizza to get started.

For myself, if I’m giving in to a pizza night, I’ll buy the cheese-only, thin-crust pizza and top it myself with artichoke hearts, tomatoes, onions and whatever I have in the fridge. But I’m always looking for ways to make healthier ’za, so what’s your pizza secret?

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