If you’re a struggling college student, it’s very likely you’ve turned to instant noodles, such as Ramen Noodles or Cup of Noodles, for an inexpensive meal. Along with filling your stomach up, however, these instant noodles also fill your body with toxins that are dangerous. In fact, there is hardly any nutritional value in these instant noodles. Instead of nutritious ingredients, instant noodles have ingredients like MSG and TBHQ. MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) is a food additive that can cause over stimulation of the brain, producing an addictive reaction to the food that it is in, making a person want to eat more and more of it. MSG’s reaction in the body helps make people want to come back and continue to eat the food with MSG, as it “creates a drug like rush” (The Dangers of MSG).
There is also TBHQ in instant noodles. TBHQ (Tertiary Butylhydroquinone) is a chemical preservative used in many processed foods. TBHQ is believed to affect human behavior. If you are suffering from ADHD, you should really try to avoid it. TBHQ has also been found to cause vision disturbances and liver enlargement (Schaefer, Anna). Another thing you should know is that instant noodles made in a cup have packages made with BPA (bisphenol A). “BPA is an industrial chemical that has been used to make certain plastics and resins since the 1960s. BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles.” (Bower, Brent A.). Research has shown that BPA from certain containers can seep into the food. BPA has been shown to disrupt hormones in the human body.
Along with that, BPA is also thought to be a carcinogen (Bird, Susan). Lastly, the sodium content in one serving of Top Ramen Noodles gives you more than half the recommended amount of sodium for a day! As a young college student, you may not be concerned with the amount of sodium in the food you consume, but you probably should be because high sodium foods contribute greatly to high blood pressure, and even kidney disease (Nadia Haris). We all need to take care of our bodies today to live a healthy life tomorrow!
Sources:
Bird, Susan. “Did You Know Instant Ramen Noodles Were This Bad For You?”Did You Know Instant Ramen Noodles Were This Bad For You? | Care2 Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Bower, Brent A. “What is BPA? Should I be worried about it?”Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Haris, Nadia. “The Dangers of Sodium.”Healthy Eating. SF Gate, 13 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Schaefer, Anna. “The Potential TBHQ Dangers.”Healthline. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
“The Dangers of MSG.”FOOD MATTERS®. Food Matters, 18 Feb. 2017. Web. 27 Feb. 2017.
Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_noodle
About the Author
Andrew Fullington
Student - Spring 2017
