Nutrients, Calories, Benefits of Instant Coffee, Dry

Instant noodles are the second "genius" invention after sliced ​​bread. Fast and convenient. This simple dish is loved by many, as it takes no more than two minutes to prepare. But is the saved time worth the health?

Many people do not realize that the cheap noodles they eat in the office, at home and even give to their children are dangerous for our health.

By 2015, China, Indonesia and Japan were ranked as the countries with the highest consumption of instant noodles in the world. The main advantages of this product are low cost and low calorie content (usually about 142 calories per 100 g).

There is a common myth that adding vegetables to instant noodles increases their nutritional value, however, vegetables and fruits cannot counteract the negative effects of any unhealthy product.

We have compiled a list of problems that can be caused by using instant noodles.

Instant noodles overload the digestive system, forcing it to digest a highly processed product for hours. In addition, it affects the level of sugar in the blood and the release of insulin. In the process of slow digestion, the product remains in the body, releasing toxic chemicals and preservatives, which often leads to excessive exposure to butylated hydroxyanisole (E320) and tert-butylhydroquinone (E319).

E320 and E319 are added to products to increase their shelf life by several months. Both chemicals are actually carcinogenic. This means that they can cause cancer, asthma, diarrhea and other diseases.

If instant noodles are your go-to snack that you eat several times a week, then you might want to pay attention to the following fact. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that women who consumed instant noodles had a significantly higher risk of metabolic syndrome than those who did not. Regardless of overall diet or exercise, those who ate instant noodles more than twice a week were 68% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome, which includes a cluster of symptoms such as obesity, high blood pressure, and low HDL cholesterol, increases the chance of heart disease, diabetes, or stroke.

Why is this happening? Mainly due to deep frying - part of the production process of preparing such noodles. During frying, the product loses its nutritional value and increases the content of saturated fats.

We all know about the effect of a large amount of salt on our body. In a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension in 2014, high dietary sodium intake was identified as one of the main contributors to high mortality in 23 case studies. Excess sodium increases blood pressure, which in turn leads to heart disease.

Monosodium glutamate, often found in take-out, is a flavor enhancer popular in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine. Health and nutrition data collected in the China Health and Nutrition Review indicate that high consumption of E621 over a long period of time leads to overweight. Monosodium glutamate is sometimes called the "obesity drug."

Yes, sometimes there is no time for a snack at all, and we choose food, the preparation of which will not take more than five minutes. However, before you make a choice in favor of instant noodles, remember its effect on the body and give preference to something more useful and tasty.

It is often demonized: along with cola and chips, instant noodles are considered almost poison. Meanwhile, 44 billion packages of these noodles are eaten around the world every year. Does it threaten massive gastritis, ulcers, strokes and cancer? Let's see what the research says.

This is what such noodles are usually made of:

• Wheat flour of the highest grade;
• Palm oil;
• Modified starch;
• Salt;
• Food supplement emulsifier (sorbitol, soybean oil, lecithins);
• Gluten;
• Complex food supplement "premix" (potassium carbonate, guar gum, sodium polyphosphate, riboflavin);
• Dried kelp;
• Seasonings (sugar, yeast extract, vegetable protein, onion, soy sauce powder);
• Dye "beta-carotene".

Scientists of the Siberian State University analyzed the composition. And this is what they came up with:

It is based on the most useless (but not dangerous) type of wheat flour. It has a lot of calories, but almost no fiber and vitamins.

Noodles contain preservatives and flavor enhancers: potassium sorbate, benzonate and monosodium glutamate. These supplements are harmful if consumed in large amounts. But there are very few of them in vermicelli: less than in a regular steak.

Palm oil in reasonable quantities is also not dangerous. We talked about it in detail in the article "Palm oil - friend or foe?".

Modified starch has nothing to do with genetic engineering and is allowed even in the production of baby food. It is needed to make the product thicker.

Well, gluten is a vegetable protein, which is abundant in bread.

A healthy person can. Sometimes. It does not bring any particular harm, but there is practically no benefit in it either, and, therefore, with constant use, the body will lack useful substances.

In addition, Japanese scientists warned: the dish contains too many unnatural components. They believe that because of this it is difficult for the stomach to digest it.

And Harvard experts found out: women from South Korea have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Scientists believe that Korean women eat noodles too often - that's why it happens. But such risks were not found in men.

People with any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart and kidneys. It is not the noodles themselves that are dangerous, but the broth: it contains a lot of hot pepper and salt.

Instant noodles cannot replace regular fresh food. If you eat it constantly, a deficiency of proteins, fats and microelements is formed in the body - and this can provoke an illness. Therefore, natural products should always be a priority.

Otherwise, it is not so harmful. Scientists have not yet found any confirmation that the rare consumption of such noodles is harmful to health.