Semolina flour: what the pasta does, and what the flour does not

In a meta-analysis of randomized trials, pasta eaten as part of low glycemic index diets lowered body weight by 1.4 lb (95% CI 0.93 to 1.9; metric: 0.63 kg, 0.42 to 0.84) against higher glycemic index diets. No trial in it tested pasta alone, so the effect belongs to the eating pattern. Semolina is the durum wheat flour that pasta is made from, and its gentle effect on blood sugar shows up in the pasta more than in the flour. In 30 Chinese and Indian adults, semolina spaghetti scored a glycemic index of 53, against 74 for wheat noodles and 80 for white rice. When 16 adults ate porridges milled from the same wheat, semolina gave a smaller two-hour glucose rise than whole wheat flour by 966 mg min/dL (95% CI 156 to 1775), though the authors saw little to no difference across the porridges overall.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Fine semolina averages 44 ug selenium per 3.5 oz (100 g) in USDA data, but eight analyzed samples ranged from 4.6 to 93.3 ug. — USDA Foundation Foods, Flour, semolina, fine, 8 samples (n = 8 samples) Evidence E source
  Selenium 44.07 ug/100 g (samples 4.57 to 93.3); thiamin 0.695 mg (0.05 to 1.48); folate 163.6 ug (131 to 199)
• In Guatemala, fortifying semolina flour used for pasta would extend wheat flour fortification to 60,000 households that currently miss it. — Guatemala 2005/6 Living Standards Measurement Survey households Evidence C source
  60,000 more households reached; fortified food consumption up for 68% of the population

What your body absorbs

• In 30 Chinese and Indian adults, semolina spaghetti had a glycemic index of 53, against 74 for wheat noodles and 80 for white rice. — Thirty Chinese and Indian subjects (17 men, 13 women; BMI 18.5-25) (n = 30) Evidence B source
  GI semolina spaghetti 53, wholegrain spaghetti 54, mee pok noodles 74, white rice 80 (p < 0.005)
• In 16 adults eating porridges milled from the same wheat, semolina gave a smaller 2-hour glucose rise than whole wheat flour, by 966 mg min/dL. — healthy participants (n = 16), six porridges from one grain source and mill (n = 16) Evidence B source
  IAUC 0-120 min -966 mg min/dL (95% CI -1775 to -156) for semolina vs whole wheat flour; Bayes factors favored no overall difference

What it does to your health

• Across 32 trial comparisons with 2448 adults, pasta eaten within low-GI diets lowered body weight by 1.4 lb (0.63 kg) against higher-GI diets. — 2448 adults in 32 randomized trial comparisons of at least 3 weeks (n = 2448) Evidence A source
  Body weight -1.4 lb (95% CI -1.9 to -0.93; metric: -0.63 kg, -0.84 to -0.42); BMI -0.26 kg/m2; no effect on other adiposity measures
• In 22 healthy adults, pasta with 40% of the semolina swapped for sprouted chickpea flour raised flow-mediated dilation to 10.3% from 7.9% after the meal. — Twenty-two healthy participants (5 men and 17 women; 26 years), 9 oz (255 g) of pasta with butter (n = 22) Evidence B source
  FMD 10.3% vs 7.9% at 2-3 h (p = 0.02)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Twelve patients with wheat-induced anaphylaxis were desensitized with semolina flour then spaghetti and came to tolerate 1.8 oz (50 g) of wheat. — 12 patients with IgE-mediated wheat anaphylaxis (n = 12) Evidence C source
  50 g wheat tolerated; total IgE fell after follow-up (p < 0.01)

Who this works differently for

• In 42 people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity, two weeks of Senatore Cappelli durum pasta gave lower symptom scores than standard commercial pasta. — 42 patients with NCGS on a gluten-free diet, 34 completed, two-week periods (n = 42) Evidence B source
  Lower overall symptom score (p = 0.03); less bloating (p = 0.04) and abdominal distension (p = 0.004)

What is still unknown

• Cooked and cooled high-amylose semolina reached 4.87 g resistant starch per 3.5 oz (100 g), yet its glycemic index in 10 people did not differ from normal semolina. — Ten healthy participants, about 50 g starch as semolina pudding (n = 10) Evidence B source
  Resistant starch 4.87 vs 0.77 g/100 g after retrogradation; no GI difference in vivo; lower in vitro digestibility

The bottom line

Fine semolina averages 44 mcg of selenium per 3.5 oz (100 g) in USDA data, but eight analyzed samples ran from 4.6 to 93.3 mcg, a spread that tracks the soil the wheat grew in. Thiamin ran from 0.05 to 1.48 mg and folate from 131 to 199 mcg across the same samples, which may reflect enriched and unenriched lots. In Guatemala, a modeled analysis found that fortifying semolina flour used for pasta would reach 60,000 households that wheat flour fortification currently misses. Cooking and cooling high-amylose semolina into a pudding did not change its glycemic index in a pilot trial of 10 people, even though it digested more slowly in the lab. That wheat is a mutant line you cannot buy. In 22 healthy adults, pasta with 40% of the semolina swapped for sprouted chickpea flour raised blood vessel dilation after the meal to 10.3% from 7.9%, which says more about the chickpea than about semolina. Who should take care. Semolina is wheat, and in celiac disease all wheat is excluded. In 42 people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity, two weeks of Senatore Cappelli durum pasta gave lower symptom scores than standard commercial pasta, from one old durum variety in one trial. Twelve patients with wheat-induced anaphylaxis went through oral immunotherapy that started with semolina flour and moved on to spaghetti, with no control group and only in a specialist setting. That is a hospital protocol and has no home version.

Sources

1. smfl-r6-01 · reference dataset
   Flour, semolina, fine (FDC 2003589, Foundation): selenium 44.07 ug/100 g, samples 4.57-93.3 n=8 · thiamin 0.695 mg, samples 0.05-1.48 n=8 · folate 163.6 ug, samples 131-199 n=8
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, FDC 2003589 · checked 2026-10-02
2. smfl-r6-09 · survey analysis
   fortifying semolina flour (used to make pasta) would extend the benefits of wheat flour fortification to 60,000 households that currently do not benefit from it and would increase the amount of fortified food consumed by 68% of the population.
   Food Nutr Bull, 2010 · checked 2026-10-02
3. smfl-r6-03 · randomized controlled trial
   The current evaluation showed that semolina spaghetti and wholegrain spaghetti can be classified as low GI products, with a GI of 53 and 54, respectively, significantly lower than wheat based mee pok noodles (74) and rice (80) (p < 0.005).
   Nutrients, 2021 · checked 2026-10-02
4. smfl-r6-04 · randomized controlled trial
   Little-to-no differences were observed in glycemic responses, with lower incremental AUC between 0 and 120 min glycemic responses only for semolina [mean difference (MD): -966 mg min/dL; 95% CI: -1775, -156 mg min/dL; P = 0.02) and cracked wheat (MD: -721 mg min/dL; 95% CI: -1426, -16 mg min/dL; P = 0.04) than for whole wheat flour porridge.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-10-02
5. smfl-r6-02 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   Pasta in the context of low-GI dietary patterns significantly reduced body weight (MD=-0.63 kg; 95% CI -0.84 to -0.42 kg) and BMI (MD=-0.26 kg/m2; 95% CI -0.36 to -0.16 kg/m2) compared with higher-GI dietary patterns.
   BMJ Open, 2018 · checked 2026-10-02
6. smfl-r6-07 · randomized controlled trial
   FMD in the SCF40 condition (10.3% ± 1.2%) was greater than the SEM100 condition (7.9% ± 0.8%, p = 0.02).
   Physiol Int, 2019 · checked 2026-10-02
7. smfl-r6-08 · uncontrolled clinical trial
   12 patients underwent OIT protocol that comprised of two phases: the first with semolina flour and the second with spaghetti.
   Immunotherapy, 2017 · checked 2026-10-02
8. smfl-r6-06 · randomized controlled trial
   Patients reported lower overall symptoms scores after eating Senatore Cappelli pasta than standard pasta (p = 0.03) and also significantly lower scores in several specific gastrointestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms after eating Senatore Cappelli pasta than standard pasta
   Nutrients, 2019 · checked 2026-10-02
9. smfl-r6-05 · randomized controlled trial
   We found no evidence of difference in GI between sbeIIa/b-AB pudding and the WT control, but the starch digestibility was significantly lower in sbeIIa/b-AB pudding compared to the WT control in vitro (C90 = 33.29% and 47.38%, respectively).
   Food Funct, 2020 · checked 2026-10-02