No matter if we are lazy or broke, noodles can always be there to keep our stomachs full. We also know that there are many disadvantages of eating instant noodles too much or too often, but food options are limited. You cannot spend minutes preparing or making healthy food when you are hungry at night. You cannot afford to buy healthy meals when it is the end of the month or when you are saving. However, spending the next several years of your life carrying sickness caused by noodles is even worse, right?
Instant noodles and other types of noodles are popular all over the world because they are easy to find and inexpensive. Not to mention that noodles are very easy and quick to prepare, who wouldn’t have noodles in their cupboards? If we look further, nothing good comes easy. If the food is that easy to prepare and find, it also comes with consequences that you will face. As for noodles, they pose long-term consequences that you will have to live with. Not to distract you from loving noodles, but at least you should know the disadvantages of eating instant noodles. We bring the main 7 for you today, so check them out.
1Effect On Body’s Metabolism
When consuming noodles every day, it will affect the metabolism of the body due to the accumulation of toxic substances. Those substances include food coloring, addictive substances, and preservation that noodles contain. That will lead to weight gain, weight loss, and problems in food digestion of your body. When the metabolism works too fast or too slow, it will affect to your weight and the way your body functions.
2Interfere With Digestion
Compare to most food, noodles are the meal that takes so long to digest which affects your digestive system. Even after two hours of eating noodles, the thing still intact your intestine while causing a lot of effects. During the long digestive time, your stomach gets prolonged exposure to the toxic preservative tertiary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) and other addictive.
For starters, it could be putting a strain on your digestive system which is forced to work for hours to break down. When food remains in your digestive tract for such a long time, it will also impact nutrient absorption. The difference is that there is not much nutrient to absorb from noodles, and that is the bad part. Then the interference with the digestive system will lead to the cause of abdominal pain, heartburn, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.
3Lacking Nutrients
When you eat noodles too often, you will face a lacking of nutrients in your body. When the body is malnourished, it starts experiencing side effects like dizziness, restlessness, fatigue, and loss of strength. Bear in mind that our body needs more than just noodles to keep going with our everyday activities. That means you need to consume food that contains protein, calcium, sugar, vitamins A, C, E, B, and more.
Noodles have an extremely low content of those nutrients, while some don’t even have any at all. That is bad news to who consume noodles as their daily meal in both morning and evening. Lack of nutrients will brings about slow brain development as well as low thinking capacity. It is understandable that some busy people have no choice but to eat noodles because they are easy to make. The advice is to get some fruits and vegetables to support your body with some nutrients so that you won’t get sick easily.
4Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
This substance is used to enhance the flavor of instant noodles so that this 2-minute meal tastes better. Such taste comes with consequences that you cannot see because it affects as long term. For those who are allergic to MSG, consuming noodles as part of the diet will lead to headaches, facial flushing, pain, and a burning sensation. That is one of the reasons why you should avoid instant noodles as much as possible.
More than that, MSG is an excitotoxin which means it overexercises your nerve cells to the point of damage or death. Also, it even causes brain dysfunction and damage to varying degrees while potentially triggering or worsening learning disabilities. Not to mention the substance can also lead you to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and more. The main point is that MSG is the perfect obesity drug, so you should food contains MSG at all costs.
5Noodles Are High In Sodium
A single serving of instant noodles contains 861 mg of sodium, and the entire package actually doubles the sodium amount. Studies have shown that reducing sodium intake could be beneficial for those who are salt-sensitive. Excess consumption of sodium can lead to heart diseases, stroke, hypertension, and kidney damage. More disadvantages of eating noodles are the negative effects that cause an increase in blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.
6Propylene Glycol
Instant noodles contain propylene glycol aka anti-freeze which is an ingredient that is added to make noodles moist. If it accumulates in the body, it leads to the effects of harm to the body organs such as the heart, liver, and kidneys. At the same, it also weakens the immune system which makes you get sick easily as well. Not to mention that your body absorbs this type of ingredient very fast which causes abnormalities and damage to your organs.
7Weight Gain
The consistent eating of noodles can cause weight gain or even obesity in some cases. It is the result of the processing of the noodles that take hours to digest. In the process, Vitamin B which provides the body with just about enough calories needed to work does more than usual. That means the carbohydrate and fat are produced in a larger amount which leads to weight gain if the habit keeps on going.
Another thing is that instant noodles are a prime example of the types of processed foods you should avoid. That is because they make you sick and fat if you indulge too much which is about more than a few times a week. At the same time, processed foods encourage weight gain and chronic disease because they are high in sugar, fructose, refined carbohydrates, and artificial ingredients. Processed foods are also addictive which makes you overeat while encouraging food cravings, and that is one of the reasons for weight gain.
Not to mention you usually add meat, eggs, and other extra ingredients into the instant noodles you make, calories are high. Plus with less exercise, it would be difficult to expect a healthy body from daily food like that.
The good thing is authentic Japanese noodles like soba, ramen, shirataki noodles, and udon noodles are way healthier to try. So at least you can avoid facing bad consequences while eating your favorite meal with these better alternatives.
How To Select The Healthiest Instant Noodles
It is not that you have to completely cut noodles from your diet, that would be difficult at some point. If you enjoy the occasional cup of noodles, there are ways to make it healthier such as:
- Pick instant noodles made from whole grains because they can increase fiber content and boost feelings of fullness.
- Lower-sodium instant noodles are also available, and they can help bring down your sodium intake for the day.
- You can also use your instant noodles as a base and top them with some healthy ingredients to boost the nutrients.
- Don’t forget to throw in some vegetables that are high in protein to enhance the nutrition profile of your instant noodles.
Remember, consuming instant noodles too often is not a healthy habit to repeat every day. Frequent consumption leads to poor diet quality and a risk of metabolic syndrome which is absolutely bad for your health. Also, no matter how hungry you are, never consume noodles at night right a few hours before you sleep. Never consume more than two packages of instant noodles a day, and don’t forget to eat some fruits and do exercise. That way, you will be able to still enjoy your favorite instant noodles while having fewer risks to your health.
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