PHClocktower
Eternal Poster
Will Eating Instant Noodles Every Single Day Give Me Cancer?
How unhealthy could it really be?
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The Facts: There's one main reason that people think instant noodles are so bad for your health: ingredient number E621, otherwise known as monosodium glutamate (MSG)—the main "flavor enhancer" of all processed food in Asia. But others also believe that the noodles themselves are dangerous because of an alleged wax coating that can damage your digestive tract.
So is MSG bad for your health? Not at all. The US Food and Drug Administration said that MSG was safe for consumption—and this is in a country that is so afraid of MSG that Chinese takeouts routinely advertise "NO MSG" on their menus. In the 1960s, when Chinese food was first spreading across the United States, diners started to complain that all the MSG was causing numbness and headaches. The press quickly dubbed the phenomenon "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" but, in reality, there was no such thing.
And MSG itself isn't always an additive. It's naturally found in cheese and tomatoes. MSG is a chemical in the same way that water and oxygens are chemicals, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. to an expert quoted by the Guardian. Today, MSG is often used as a "supersalt"—an additive that gives food umami instead of just saltiness.
So where did the cancer myth come from in the first place? I called up Della Rachmadia Annur, a nutritionist at the Prawijaya Women and Children's Hospital, to try to figure out why people think instant noodles cause cancer.
"Instant noodles can trigger cancer cells to be active, but so does all processed food—stuff like corned beef and chicken nuggets," Della told me. "Both the noodles and the packets of flavoring contain preservatives, which means that they contain a large amount of sodium. Instant noodles can be dangerous for people who already have diabetes or high blood pressure, but it definitely does not directly cause cancer, especially on its own."
The same thing can be said about the "wax coating." Instant noodle companies say they don't coat their noodles with wax and numerous nutritionists agree, although even if they did, it wouldn't really cause a problem. Plenty of fruits and vegetables contain wax on their skin too and no one argues that apples give you cancer.
The worst that will happen: Well, instant noodles might not give you cancer, but that doesn't mean they're healthy either. One You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. found that the regular consumption of instant noodles can cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body far, and abnormally high levels of cholesterol. The same is true for all foods that are high in sodium and saturated fats.
How unhealthy could it really be?
by You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now.
The Facts: There's one main reason that people think instant noodles are so bad for your health: ingredient number E621, otherwise known as monosodium glutamate (MSG)—the main "flavor enhancer" of all processed food in Asia. But others also believe that the noodles themselves are dangerous because of an alleged wax coating that can damage your digestive tract.
So is MSG bad for your health? Not at all. The US Food and Drug Administration said that MSG was safe for consumption—and this is in a country that is so afraid of MSG that Chinese takeouts routinely advertise "NO MSG" on their menus. In the 1960s, when Chinese food was first spreading across the United States, diners started to complain that all the MSG was causing numbness and headaches. The press quickly dubbed the phenomenon "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" but, in reality, there was no such thing.
And MSG itself isn't always an additive. It's naturally found in cheese and tomatoes. MSG is a chemical in the same way that water and oxygens are chemicals, You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. to an expert quoted by the Guardian. Today, MSG is often used as a "supersalt"—an additive that gives food umami instead of just saltiness.
So where did the cancer myth come from in the first place? I called up Della Rachmadia Annur, a nutritionist at the Prawijaya Women and Children's Hospital, to try to figure out why people think instant noodles cause cancer.
"Instant noodles can trigger cancer cells to be active, but so does all processed food—stuff like corned beef and chicken nuggets," Della told me. "Both the noodles and the packets of flavoring contain preservatives, which means that they contain a large amount of sodium. Instant noodles can be dangerous for people who already have diabetes or high blood pressure, but it definitely does not directly cause cancer, especially on its own."
The same thing can be said about the "wax coating." Instant noodle companies say they don't coat their noodles with wax and numerous nutritionists agree, although even if they did, it wouldn't really cause a problem. Plenty of fruits and vegetables contain wax on their skin too and no one argues that apples give you cancer.
The worst that will happen: Well, instant noodles might not give you cancer, but that doesn't mean they're healthy either. One You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. found that the regular consumption of instant noodles can cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body far, and abnormally high levels of cholesterol. The same is true for all foods that are high in sodium and saturated fats.