As a group of people who pay attention to health and nutrition, will dietitians eat instant noodles?
Yes!
After all, instant noodles are so convenient that you can eat them at any time during your trip, when you are busy at work, or even during home isolation.
Moreover, instant noodles basically do not require any technique, even if the cooking skill is zero, it can be made very delicious.
But to this day, there are still many people who have a negative attitude towards instant noodles, mainly worried that instant noodles will "hurt their bodies".
This article, Zhimei will find a nutritionist to have a good chat, how "unhealthy" is instant noodles?
Is instant noodles completely "junk food"?
This is not the case! Take a closer look, instant noodles and noodles are actually similar in nutrition.
If you don't believe me, you can look at the following table. We selected 7 kinds of noodles and noodles that are often eaten and put together their nutritional content data:
It is certainly not difficult for you to find that the nutritional composition of instant noodles and noodles is somewhat similar, both mainly provide carbohydrates, and contain a certain amount of protein, fat, dietary fiber, vitamins, and other minerals.
In contrast, the sodium content and fat content of fried instant noodles will be slightly higher.
Therefore, whether it is instant noodles or noodles, everyone is half a pound and eight or two, and no one can say who is not nutritious.
Some people may want to say: even if the nutrition is almost the same, but there are many instant noodle additives, it is said that eating instant noodles once will "detoxify" for 32 days!
In fact, these "poisonous things" that everyone is worried about are really not much in the noodles.
1
In instant noodles, there are not so many preservatives
The reason why the dough cake can survive for a long time is not because it contains ultra-high doses of preservatives, but because the noodle cake is made by frying or drying and dehydrating the technology [1].
Therefore, the moisture content of instant noodle cake is extremely low, which is not conducive to microbial survival [2], and there is no need to add preservatives.
The vegetable packets and spices used in the instant noodles are dehydrated vegetables, which also have a low moisture content and use irradiation sterilization techniques, making it impossible for microorganisms to survive [3] and there is no need to add preservatives.
The only most likely to have preservatives is the sauce package, but internationally it is allowed to add safe doses of preservatives to pickled products, and the amount of additives will be strictly controlled before leaving the factory, and if the excess is not allowed to enter the market [4].
2
In the instant noodle bucket, there is no paraffin wax
The "film" on the instant noodle bucket is generally a food grade polyethylene (PE) coating. Polyethylene has a melting point of about 110 °C [5], and even if it is freshly boiled water, the temperature is only 100 °C at the highest, and it is impossible to melt it.
Taking a step back, polyethylene is a common food packaging material around the world, really don't worry too much!
The disadvantages of instant noodles are actually two: one is high oil and high salt, and the other is single nutrition.
High oil and high salt: A pack of instant noodles, may eat a day's worth of oil and salt
(Source: Self-made)
The picture above is a nutritional ingredient list of instant noodles taken at a supermarket.
First look at the "fat" column, 100 grams of instant noodles have 24.2 grams of fat (other instant noodles, fat content is basically about 20%), and the "2016 Edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that adults consume 25 to 30 grams of cooking oil per day [6].
Looking at the sodium content, it is not low (sodium content per 100 grams of instant noodles, basically 2000 to 3000 mg), but the 2016 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents recommends that adults should not exceed 6 grams of daily salt (2400 mg sodium) [6].
If the net content of a serving of instant noodles is 130 grams, then the fat and sodium contained in a portion of instant noodles can easily reach or even exceed the daily needs.
Single nutrition: can only be eaten occasionally, long-term eating is easy to cause nutrient deficiency
The nutrients in instant noodles are mainly carbohydrates and fats, the protein content does not exceed 10%, and vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber are even more minimal.
Simply put, instant noodles are a staple food with salt and oil.
Such a meal, once in a while, is fine, but if consumed for a long time, it is easy to cause a lack of multiple nutrients [7].
We have summarized 4 tips for you to make instant noodles a "nutritious meal", and learn them next time you eat instant noodles!
Choose "non-fried" dough
(Source: Self-made)
Choosing non-fried dough cakes can reduce fat by about 10 grams compared to choosing fried dough cakes.
If you have food blotting paper at home, you can also use blotting paper to remove part of the grease on the surface of the bubble noodles, and there is less fat.
Add an egg, add some vegetables, add some meat
Don't just eat noodles.
If you have the conditions to cook noodles, you can cook a handful of fresh vegetables or mushrooms (such as a handful of rapeseed, a small handful of enoki mushrooms, etc.), and then beat an egg, preferably with a small amount of meat.
There is no condition to cook noodles, but you can also accompany some vegetarian dishes, cold dishes, boiled eggs, etc., to enrich the food diversity of this meal.
When eating instant noodles, you can also eat them in the order of vegetables- eggs - meat - noodles, which can increase the feeling of fullness while controlling energy intake.
3
Only half or one-third of the spice packs are placed
When cooking noodles, do not put the seasoning package in full, half or one-third is enough, which can reduce the intake of fat and salt by more than half.
If you feel that the taste is light, you can try flavoring it with natural ingredients such as vinegar and millet spicy.
4
Try not to drink soup, drink up to 1 to 2 sips
People who love to drink instant noodle soup, it's okay to drink a sip or two. But don't forget that there are still a lot of purines in the noodle soup, and people with high uric acid are best not to drink, and ordinary people should drink less.
As dietitians, we follow the mantra of "no bad food, only bad combinations".
As long as it meets the food safety, and then eat it in moderation, and add a little "transformation" when conditions permit, instant noodles can be convenient and healthy.
Have you learned? Don't forget to give zhimei a "watching" Oh!
Reviewer
Lin Chen | a dietitian in the Department of Clinical Nutrition, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Affiliated to Capital Medical University
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[4] GB 17400-2015. National Standard for Food Safety. instant noodle.
Lu Gang. Performance characteristics of polyethylene plastics and their injection molding process[J].Plastic Packaging,2017,27(6):51-54.
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