Instant noodles – also called ramen – are cheap, delicious and very popular. But the quick meal is tricky for your health.
Sometimes it has to be quick, easy and cheap: Whether you are a student with a small budget or a permanent employee with time problems – instant noodles can sometimes be the savior in an emergency. Bought a portion for less than one euro in the supermarket, pour hot water over it and the meal is ready.
But when it comes to health, you should consistently avoid ready meals. One of the biggest problems with instant noodles is that they contain a lot of additives.
In the list of ingredients for ramen from various manufacturers, the countless E-substances immediately catch your eye. These are mainly antioxidants and preservatives as well as flavor enhancers. The different flavors are also created in most instant noodles by added flavors – so there is no trace of nature.
“Never an acceptable food”
Despite the long list of ingredients, ramen offers hardly any valuable nutrients. As nutritionist Dr. Stefan Kabisch from the German Institute for Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke explained to the “Fitbook” portal that a portion of the noodle soup “has no nutritional benefit”.
The instant noodle ramen also contains comparatively few calories, which may sound good for figure-conscious people at first. However, according to Kabisch, they consist largely of quickly absorbable carbohydrates (such as white flour) and saturated fats. This means that the meal does not fill you up for long and following a short time you are hungry once more – and also very thirsty due to the high salt content.
Nutritionist Kabisch sums it up: Even the occasional consumption of instant noodles is discouraged. “I can’t issue the product with any level of harmlessness for any period of time, it is never an acceptable food,” says Kabisch.
Instant noodles increase risk of cardiovascular disease
A Korean study from 2017 shows that ramen noodles can even be dangerous for your health. A total of 3,397 students between the ages of 18 and 29 who previously had to declare their consumption of instant noodles took part in the study.
The results of the study showed that an increased consumption of ready-made noodles increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in both healthy men and women without previous illnesses. Regular consumption of instant noodles also increased the risk of the female study participants developing metabolic syndrome,
In the case of the metabolic syndrome, certain diseases or symptoms occur at the same time – such as obesity, high blood pressure and sugar and lipid metabolism disorders.
