Classic Chicago Style Pizza (photo by Kenn Kiser, courtesy of morguefile.com)

Could it be true? Could chowing down on pizza make you healthier? That's wishful thinking, but it might be possible to make eating pizza healthier than it is today.

A team of chemistry students from the University of Maryland recently made a presentation at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society maintaining that baking pizza at higher temperatures for longer periods of time can boost its antioxidant levels.

That’s according to a study the students performed under the guidance of Lucy Yu, a professor at the University of Maryland. During testing, the antioxidant levels increased as much as 60% with longer baking times, and as much as 82% percent with higher baking temperatures. The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and grain organizations; not by the pizza industry.

Since it needs more baking, Chicago style, deep-dish pizza could be the healthiest pizza out there with the greatest amount of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are believed to be important for neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals can cause damage to parts of cells such as proteins, DNA, and cell membranes according to Stanford University's Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education.

There are some caveats. The pizza tested was all made with whole wheat flour, thought to hold more antioxidants because it contains the bran removed from refined flour. Your local pizza parlor probably uses refined flour. Whether your favorite pizza maker will adapt to a new, healthier baking method is an open question. You could try making your own healthier pizza right away. Using veggies for toppings is the healthy way to go, as fatty toppings will negate the benefits of baking at a higher temperature.

According to ACNielsen, Americans consume 46 slices or 23 pounds of pizza per person each year. We like the sound of pizza becoming a healthier choice than it is today, but we’ll enjoy our pizza as a special treat. On occasion we might have it with sausage or pepperoni. We may even have a beer or two with those slices!

To read a full article on the topic that appeared in the Guardian click here: From fast food to health food: pizza gets a makeover