It is hell week as they call it, deadlines are by the hour and an exam is just around the corner. You get a 30-minute break in between an important lecture and studying for the next exam. You are hungry so you quickly grab a pack of instant noodles from your food stock, heat up some water and in five minutes you get a meal, enough to get you through the rest of the day. It is a common scenario, but before you heat up water for your next instant noodle meal, have you ever stopped to even read the label?
Instant noodles have become a part of the diets of many college students, and the reason why is not really difficult to answer. Instant noodles are accessible and cheap. They range from about a meager P5 to less than P20 at the nearest grocery. Jessie Viloria, a Development Communication (DevCom) sophomore reasons, “Kasi minsan kapos sa budget so yung noodles na lang, t’saka madali lang kasi siya iprepare, e malalate na ako yun, instant noodles na lang.” That is another reason, instant noodles are easy to prepare in a way which is faster than cooking meals and more convenient for students on the go. It also tastes good and easily satisfies a hungry stomach. Fior Casilag, a Biology sophomore, personally terms this as “junkilicious”, “(it is) like the satisfaction you get when eating junk food. Yung madaling mabusog,” she describes. She adds Vienna sausages, hard boiled egg, cut fried potatoes and sometimes tomatoes to make them taste better.
Dr. Lilia Collado of the Institute of Food Science and Technology explains that instant noodles are heavy on the stomach because they contain good quality starch, “starches you have in noodles are digested slowly. Glucose blood sugar is released at a modulated rate or gradually. Hindi ka nagugutom, and you’re satisfied for a long period of time.”
Shelf It!
Instant noodles usually take up a whole shelf at groceries. They come in varying flavors, kinds of preparations, labels and packaging.
A number of companies have found a stable profit in the “instant” industry. Monde-Nissin Corporation is responsible for the labels Lucky Me and Pista Pansit Ulam – this in collaboration with the Department of Health. Nissin-Universal Robina Corporation owns the labels Nissin’s Ramen and Yakisoba, Universal Robina has Payless while Zesto Corporation has Quickchow, and Nestlé Philippines, Inc. owns the Maggi brand.
You can buy instant noodles to get a wet or dry kind of meal. Wet in the sense that the finished product is served with soup and the flavor is added before adding the water. Among these are mamis and ramens that come in chicken and beef flavors. The versions of Japanese or Chinese stir-fried noodles are part of the dry variety, where the hot water is drained before the flavoring is added. Students usually prefer the dry kind and mention Lucky Me Pansit Canton as their favorite. It is the more “in thing” nowadays, observes registered nutritionist-dietitian Aileen de Juras, an instructor at the Institute of Human Nutrition and Food at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
Instant noodles are made instant by frying, Dr. Collado explains. Wheat, flour, water and salts are mixed and massed. Then the dough is rolled flat into sheets and cut. The noodles are steamed before they are fried at high temperatures for them to dry.
Instant noodles don’t have any special type of packaging, one thing which makes them so cheap. After processing, they are just packed and sealed, keeping the elements out. The manner of preparation is reflected in the way they are packed and are priced.
The most common packaging is the pillow pack, which is the cheaper kind. Manufacturers use thin plastic and seal the noodles and their flavorings inside. Instant noodles in pillow packs are cooked over fire for about seven minutes or until the noodles are ready to eat.
The more expensive package needs less time and resources to prepare. Here the noodles are packed in plastic or Styrofoam containers for convenience and sealed with aluminum lids. They are prepared by just adding hot water, and letting it set for about five minutes. Dr. Collado notes these noodles are more cooked during processing and are porous – where water, air etc. easily penetrates them.
Bad for the Health?
You’ve heard it before: Instant noodles are bad for your health. But Ms. de Juras says eating the noodles isn’t bad, what is bad is the preservatives in them. These preservatives contain high levels of sodium, that when accumulated can be a contributing factor to the development of cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Preservatives also contain nitrates which produce nitrosamines from their combination with secondary amines. Nitrosamines are easily oxidized and can lead to cancer. In the chapter Toxicology of Preservatives in the book Developments in Food Preservation edited by RH Tilburg, TJB Gray lists the possibility of nitrates as potent carcinogens. A single molecule of carcinogen is enough to initiate the cancer process.
However, it is wrong to say that a person will get cancer because they ate instant noodles, reminds Ms. de Juras. We cannot blame cancer solely on eating instant noodles. A person may have a genetic predisposition, or have no form of exercise, or it may be in something else they eat. As Dr. Collado advises, “Everything should be taken in moderation.”
Reading the Label
Looking at the back of instant noodle packs, we find the ingredients. This is helpful for people who have certain diseases and must avoid certain additives in foods. Ms. de Juras observes people are not fond of reading labels, but stresses that we should. Labels contain not only the brand, manufacturer, and preparation, but also the ingredients used to make the instant noodle and its flavoring.
The following are just a few of the ingredients listed on instant noodle packs which may strike anyone who is unfamiliar with them:
· Palm or vegetable oils are used to deep fry the noodles and dehydrate them. This contains a lot of saturated fat which can clog up in the arteries and cause CVD.
· Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are classified as antioxidants which inhibit the growth of bacteria and have anti-microbial activities in the chapter New Preservatives and Future Trends by JL Smith and Nicholas Pinatauro.
· The yellowish coloring of the noodles is brought about by food colorings. The ingredients FD&C yellow #5 and 6 are examples of these.
· Xanthan gum is just an extender says Ms. de Juras.
· Sodium Benzoate is the preservative which is the culprit of hypertension, Ms. de Juras explained, along with disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate which are both used for flavoring. The seasoning contains soy sauce which is high in sodium plus it already has monosodium glutamate (MSG) and iodized salt. This is why instant noodles have such high sodium content. High salt content can cause kidney stones, asthma and heart disease.
· The small bits of vegetables in instant noodles are dehydrated and no nutrients can be absorbed because the juices of the vegetables where the nutrients come from were taken away and only the fiber is left. This dehydration is done so that water is unavailable for the growth of microorganisms.
· Dietary fiber helps in flushing out toxins from our body. Insoluble fiber found in vegetables increases fecal weight and promotes bowel movements.
Some brands of instant noodles are fortified with a vitamin premix which contains Vitamin A (Retinol), Vitamin B12 (Cobalamine), Vitamin E, Vitamin D3, Folic Acid, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Calcium and others. Ms. de Juaras explains that in fortification, vitamins and minerals are added to staple foods usually consumed by the masses.This not only masks the sodium content and preservatives but counters the bad effects it may have on health. Vitamin A, for example, is an antioxidant which can help prevent cancer. Fortification is done by the DOH and other agencies as a way of preventing diseases caused by deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. Fortification takes several processes of incorporating vitamins and minerals into food products.
Labels also carry Nutrition Facts. Most brands in the market have them, 12 out of the 15 instant noodle varieties have the Nutrition Facts itemized on their labels. But according to Ms. de Juras, nutrition facts help only if you understand them. Instead of looking at the total fats and claiming that to be the reason of their weight gain, we should look at the calories. Calories are the energy value of food. We should also look out for high sodium content and fat. Saturated fat has been studied to cause cancer.
Better Eating Habits
The best advice is going back to eating rice, ulam and vegetables. Rice is our staple, Ms. de Juras explains, and eating other forms of carbohydrates like pasta only makes us eat more because we feel that we are not yet full. Instead of eating just one cup of rice which contains about 200 calories, we take more than one serving of instant noodles where one serving contains about 300 calories.
However, we can make preparing instant noodles less risky to health. Dr. Collado personally buys instant noodles with packets of flavoring rather that those premixed to control the amount of flavoring that goes into her family’s meal. Another thing that could be done to make instant noodles healthier is adding vegetables, says Ms. de Juras. You could add carrots, beans, also meats and other protein based foods. But she encourages adding vegetables because it is lacking in the student diet. Adding vegetables also means adding anti-promoters to CVD and cancer.
Students will always have constraints in money and time, and will not give up eating instant noodles anytime soon. When asked if she would ever stop eating instant noodles, Fior gave a shrug and said, “I don’t thinks so.” Jessie is aware of the possible effects of eating too much instant noodles, though he still eats them at an average of five times a week. He adds vegetables like pechay and cabbage, and sometimes he adds an egg.
Now that you have read the label and know a little bit more about your ready-to-eat meal, it doesn’t mean you have to stop and throw it away altogether. You won’t die of eating instant noodles, but experts warn us that we shouldn’t eat too much, too often. A good complete meal is still the best to get you going for the day.
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