What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Frozen Pizza?
A whole frozen pizza can contain almost a teaspoon of salt, which is your entire daily limit. Here is what happens in your body that same night, how it affects you over the years and how to choose better.
What half a frozen pizza contains
Half a cheese pizza comes to around 450 kilocalories. It also provides about 20 grams of protein, roughly the same as three eggs.
It does have some points in its favour. The cheese adds calcium. Cooked tomato provides lycopene, which your body absorbs better than when the tomato is raw.
But that same half pizza also contains about 2.5 grams of salt, half your daily limit. It also has around 9 grams of saturated fat, close to 40% of the recommended maximum.
The base is made with refined flour and has little fibre. It is filling in volume, but it does not keep you full for long.
What you notice that same night
Sodium makes your body hold on to water. That is why you may feel thirsty and bloated.
If you are sensitive to salt, your blood pressure can rise for a few hours.
What happens over the years
In the long run, what matters is the total. According to AESAN, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition, people in Spain consume almost 10 grams of salt a day, double the limit.
If that excess continues over time, it contributes to high blood pressure. High blood pressure is the leading modifiable risk factor for stroke.
Around three-quarters of the salt you eat does not come from the salt shaker. It is already in the food you buy.
Is it worse because it is frozen?
No. That is a myth. Cold preserves food on its own.
The salt does not come from freezing, but from the recipe.
Why it is so easy to eat the whole thing
A 2019 experiment by the US National Institutes of Health helps explain it. Researchers admitted 20 adults to a clinic. They spent two weeks eating ultra-processed food and another two weeks eating minimally processed food.
The menus had the same calories, sugar, fat, fibre and salt. Participants could eat as much as they wanted. On the ultra-processed diet, they ate about 500 kilocalories more per day, and they also ate faster.
The problem is not just what goes into the pizza. It is also how easy it is to finish. The box says two or three servings, but it is common to eat the whole thing.
How to choose better and how to eat it
A reasonable guideline, though not an official one: make it an occasional food. Set aside half the pizza before you sit down and serve it with a salad.
At the supermarket, turn the box over and check the salt per 100 grams. Compare several and pick the one with the least. Above 1.5 grams, the UK's traffic-light food labelling system rates it as high in salt.
Choose vegetable pizzas over ones topped with cured or processed meats. The WHO's cancer agency classifies processed meat as carcinogenic.
If you have high blood pressure or kidney disease, you have less leeway. See a doctor if, over several readings, your blood pressure is above 140 systolic or 90 diastolic, or if your ankles often swell.
Frequently asked questions
How much salt is in a frozen pizza?
Half a cheese pizza contains about 2.5 grams of salt, half the daily limit. A whole pizza can provide almost a teaspoon, which is the entire limit for the day.
Is frozen pizza worse than fresh pizza because it is frozen?
No. Cold preserves food on its own; the salt comes from the recipe, not from freezing.
How can I tell if a frozen pizza is high in salt?
Check the salt per 100 grams on the box and compare. Above 1.5 grams, the UK's traffic-light food labelling system flags it as high.
When should I see a doctor?
If, over several readings, your blood pressure is above 140 systolic or 90 diastolic, or if your ankles swell often. If you have high blood pressure or kidney disease, you have less leeway with salt.
Informative article written with the help of AI tools from the verified script of the video. The video is in Spanish.