Italian scientists are said to have developed a new type of pasta, Italy's national dish, which prevents consumers from having heart attacks.

The scientists, working at Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Toscana, produced a type of pasta by mixing wheat flour and whole grain barley meal.

During their studies on mice, the scientists discovered that the possibility of heart attack was less among mice which were fed the beta glucans-rich pasta than the mice which ate regular pasta.

According to the article published on "Scientific Reports," the hearts of the mice that eat this new type of pasta are much healthier than the others.

The leader of the scientific team, professor Vincenzo Lionetti, said this new type of pasta "makes the body more resilient to stress and coronary diseases."

High levels of beta glucans are believed to be massively important to heart health