Why Instant Noodles Are Unhealthy? Best Replacements

June 9, 2021 | by Vaishnavi Vajha | Posted in Nutrition Facts

The most popular processed food consumed is instant noodles as they are easy to cook (2-5 minutes). Some brands of products that are popular in manufacturing these instant noodles are Maggie, Sun feast Yippee, Knorr Soupy Noodles, Top-Ramen, and Weiwei. In this article, we come to know why instant noodles are unhealthy and best replacements.

People mainly children and adults love these noodles and prepare them by using different ingredients. But does anyone know how they are processed before packing them and the ingredients used in their masala or flavored powders?

Processing of Instant Noodles

Instant noodles are pre-cooked to shorten the cooking time, they are steamed, air-dried, or fried in palm oil, lard, butter, or sesame oil. Mostly instant noodles are prepared by using Maida or white flour. To increase the shelf life, they’re processed using preservatives, additives, artificial colors, flavoring powders. And lastly coming to the tastiest masala powder, which is packed with a high amount of salts, monosodium glutamate, sugars, and harmful chemical preservatives like Butylated hydroxyanisole(BHA) and Tertiary butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) derivatives of the petroleum industry.

What Makes Instant Noodles Unhealthy?

  • As earlier said these instant noodles are prepared by using Maida that is devoid of nutrition but full of calories.
  • Fried in palm oil or lard or butter that has high levels of Saturated Fats.
  • Flavoring or masala powder is rich in Sodium. An excessive amount of sodium is not good for health.
  • Regular intake of BHA and TBHQ can cause severe health issues. Mainly long-term consumption of TBHQ may prove carcinogenic.
  • BHA can also disrupt the hormonal system of our body.

Side Effects

There are many health risks caused because of excessive consumption of instant noodles.

  • Regular consumption of Maida or Refined wheat flour results in obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes, and insulin resistance.
  • Oils that have high saturated fats result in a rise of LDL (low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol) levels in the blood.
  • High cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes.
  • Excessive sodium consumption leads to high blood pressure or Hypertension, which results in heart strokes and failures.
  • Long-term consumption of TBHQ causes asthma, anxiety, diarrhea and can adversely affect reproductive organs and the liver.
  • BHA is a chemical that disrupts our endocrine system which leads to immune, neurological and reproductive effects.

So, excessive instant noodle consumption may lead to obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart problems.

In recent years, some companies started the production of Instant Wheat flour Noodles. Do you think these wheat flour noodles are healthier and can be consumed as a replacement for normal instant noodles?

No. Because they are only replacing white flour or Maida with wheat flour, but the preservatives, additives, and flavoring agents are the same as normal instant noodles. They’re just decreasing the amount of Maida by adding wheat flour.

What are the Best Replacements?

There are better noodles available in the Indian Market like Red rice noodles, Multi millet noodles, Nalabagam noodles, etc. These varieties don’t have Maida, flavoring agents, acidifiers, colors, and they are prepared by using fortified wheat flour, millet flour, and minerals. But they are of more cost( starting from 100 INR per 180gm) compared to other instant noodles. They are better than other normally used instant noodles but can’t replace a regular meal.

Summary

  • The most popular processed food consumed is Instant Noodles.
  • Instant noodles are pre-cooked to shorten the cooking time, they are steamed, air-dried, or fried in palm oil, lard, butter, or sesame oil.
  • To increase the shelf life, they’re processed using preservatives, additives, artificial colors, flavoring powders.
  • Preservatives like Butylated hydroxyanisole(BHA) and Tertiary butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) derivatives of the petroleum industry are used in flavoring powder or Masala.
  • Long-term consumption of TBHQ causes asthma, anxiety, diarrhea and can adversely affect reproductive organs and the liver.
  • BHA is a chemical that disrupts our endocrine system which leads to immune, neurological and reproductive effects.
  • Flavoring or masala powder is rich in Sodium. Excessive sodium consumption leads to high blood pressure or Hypertension, which results in heart strokes and failures.
  • Regular consumption of Maida or Refined wheat flour results in obesity, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes, and insulin resistance.
  • Oils that have high saturated fats result in a rise of LDL (low-density lipoprotein or bad cholesterol) levels in the blood.
  • So, excessive instant noodle consumption may lead to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart problems.
  • Wheat flour noodles are not healthier either and cannot be consumed as a replacement for normal instant noodles.
  • There are better noodles available in the Indian market like red rice noodles, multi millet noodles, nalabagam noodles, etc.
  • They are prepared by using fortified wheat flour, millet flour, and minerals. They are better than other normally used instant noodles but can’t replace a regular meal.

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