So here is some science that you can really use: A team of UK physicians and nutritionists are working on how to build a healthier pizza. Pizza has typically gotten pegged as a junk food — but that doesn’t have to be the case. By taking pizza back to its roots we can trim carbs, cut saturated fat, and add vitamins and nutrients. “There really is no reason why pizzas should not be nutritionally-balanced,” said lead researcher Mike Lean. “We have shown it can be done with no detriment for taste.” 

Pizza really shouldn’t be that bad for us. A little dough, some cheese, and a lot of nutrient-packed ingredients like tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. But as it stands, conventional pizza is a mess of unhealthy fats, refined carbohydrates, sodium and calories. In analyzing nutrition info for 25 margherita pizzas, the researchers found one serving could contain anywhere between 200 and 562 calories. All were high in salt, with nine out of the 25 containing more than one gram sodium per serving. Most contained unhealthy levels of saturated fat and very few had large amounts of vitamin C, vitamin A, iron or calcium.  

But using a “health by stealth” method, the scientist set out to build a more nutritionally pizza. They came up with a range of healthier pizza recipes, each containing 30 percent of recommended daily nutrient levels per serving (making one serving an ideal meal). Core adjustments included: 

• reducing salt
• adding more whole-wheat flour
• adding red peppers to provide extra vitamin C
• adding a small amount of Scottish seaweed to provide vitamin B12, iron, vitamin A and iodine
• using less (not reduced fat) Mozzarella cheese