Can't top that: how to pick the best pasta sauce.(BRAND-NAME RATING)

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...cancer.

But prepared sauces have some serious drawbacks, especially in the sodium (and sometimes the saturated fat) department. And labels underestimate the damage by using a serving size better suited to a side dish ... or a sparrow.

What's more, some pasta sauces have price tags that approach what you used to pay for dinner at your local Italian trattoria. Here's how to tell which sauces are worth the capellini, fusilli, or linguine they'll drape. (See the photos for some of our favorites.)

1. CONSIDER THE SERVING

Nutrition Facts labels assume that you use just 1/2 cup of tomato sauce or 1/4 cup of pesto or Alfredo sauce to cover 1 cup of pasta. Given that a typical restaurant serves 3 to 4 cups of pasta as a main dish, it's unlikely that you'll get away with so little unless you're having pasta as a side dish or using it in a recipe that adds a load of vegetables. Now there's an idea (see p. 12).

Pasta is easy and inexpensive, but it's still just a bowl of (often refined) carbohydrates. Granted, even refined pasta doesn't give blood sugar much of a boost. And it has a bit more protein than many other grains (rice, for example). But a healthy dinner plate should also leave generous space for veggies and extra protein like beans, seafood, or chicken.

So it's worth shooting for the small servings that appear on the Nutrition Facts panels. If you do go beyond, it'll be nearly impossible to keep the sodium (and, with some sauces, the saturated fat) in check.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Bonus: these days, you can easily--and tastily--make your mound of rotini or linguine whole grain. Among our favorites: whole wheat pastas by DaVinci, Whole Foods 365 Organic, DeBoles Organic, and Gia Russa.

2. SPARE THE SODIUM

Commercial pasta sauce chefs are a salt-happy lot. Some Francesco Rinaldi, Barilla, Bertolli, Buitoni, Hunt's, Newman's Own, Del Monte, and Ragu sauces hit 600 to 750 milligrams of sodium in...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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