My kids favorite food would be instant noodles. No further explanation needed.

It is super tasty and easy to prepare asides from being claimed as the king of unhealthy food available for kids (and adults).

But what is actually so bad about it? Many say the overload of MSG or flavor enhancer in it. But is it? Discover instant noodles health risks in details.

Talk About MSG

Of course MSG is in instant noodles. Well, it is actually in everything else that we eat that is not home cooked (unless your kitchen uses MSG also. Hope not!).

Restaurants and almost all types of packaged or processed food on this planet use flavor enhancers.

However, few of us are affected by it. Yes, high consumption of MSG can lead to what people know as the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

The popular belief that MSG can cause headaches and other feelings of discomfort has not been supported by double-blind tests which yielded no evidence. International and national bodies governing food additives currently consider MSG safe for human consumption as a flavor enhancer.^{[Gov. 4]} Under normal conditions, humans can metabolize relatively large quantities of glutamate, which is naturally produced in the gut in the course of protein hydrolysis. The median lethal dose (LD₅₀) is between 15 and 18 g/kg body weight in rats and mice, respectively, five times greater than the LD₅₀ of salt (3 g/kg in rats). The use of MSG as a food additive and the natural level of glutamic acid in foods are not toxicological concerns in humans.^{[Gov. 4]}

Read more on MSG safety and MSG correlation with cancer.

But that is not what I am trying to explain.

What Else is There?

Instant noodles are notoriously known to be high in carbohydrates and fat but very low in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

In short, NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE with crazy amount of sodium.

Instant Noodles Health Risks

Sodium is commonly known as salt. However, high sodium does not always result in salty food. Instant noodles are generally quite salty but check the backside for nutritional contents. You can see for yourself that the sodium content (sometimes listed as natrium) is at an alarming amount of around 40-60% of your daily requirements. Per pack. Imagine!

Read more on high sodium food and its health concerns.

Instant noodles as many other packaged and processed food, contains numerous additives and preservatives. The chicken or beef or whatever taste is artificial, not real in any sense. Just another additives along with more food coloring. No, no.. there is no chicken in there 🙂

So,

next time you want to allow your children to eat instant noodles beware that MSG maybe is not the main problem but more importantly because instant noodles has the little to no nutrition high in sodium plus loaded with preservatives and additives.

Myself?