Everyone knows that instant noodles are not really nutritious but because this food is cheap, has a very long shelf life, and is easy to cook, many of us have enjoyed this as meal. This especially holds true to a lot of poverty-stricken families who need to prepare cheap food that everyone in the family can share.
But even college students and young workers have depended on instant noodles and other processed foods at some point. And believe it or not, a lot of middle class families continue to stock up on instant noodles in their shelves for emergency purposes and also because they actually like to eat this food.
Scientists, however, warn of the dangers of eating processed food such as instant noodles because this could be detrimental to our health!
Seeing that instant noodles contain Terriary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a common preservative used in cheap processed food, Dr. Braden Kuo of Massachusetts General Hospital hypothesized that the body would have a difficult time processing this food.
So, using high-tech pill-sized cameras, Dr. Kuo made an experiment wherein one person ate instant noodles and another ate freshly prepared noodles. Both subjects were then asked to swallow the pill-sized cameras which would record what happens to the noodles.
Two hours into the experiment, Dr. Kuo noted that a lot of the fresh noodles have been digested while the instant noodles remained unchanged. After two hours, most of the fresh noodles were gone but the instant noodles still remained undigested.
Dr. Kuo had anticipated that such would happen but nothing prepared him for the shock of discovering that after 32 hours, the instant noodles still remained mostly intact and that the subject’s stomach appeared to be having difficulties digesting the food!
“What we’re seeing here is a stomach contracting back and forth as it’s trying to grind up the ramen noodles,” Dr. Kuo explained.
He added that though eating small amounts of TBHQ is not fatal, it can have a dangerous long-term effect on the body. Because the body has a difficult time processing the food, this could lead to weakening of the organs and even lead to the onset of tumors and cancer.
The study is too small to be considered conclusive in the scientific community but Dr. Kuo hopes that more studies can be done to determine the long-term effects of processed food in the body. While waiting for that study to come out, however, Dr. Kuo advises people to try to avoid eating processed food.
Watch part of the experiment here:
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
But even college students and young workers have depended on instant noodles and other processed foods at some point. And believe it or not, a lot of middle class families continue to stock up on instant noodles in their shelves for emergency purposes and also because they actually like to eat this food.
 |
| Stock photo by Pixabay |
Scientists, however, warn of the dangers of eating processed food such as instant noodles because this could be detrimental to our health!
Seeing that instant noodles contain Terriary-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), a common preservative used in cheap processed food, Dr. Braden Kuo of Massachusetts General Hospital hypothesized that the body would have a difficult time processing this food.
 |
| Photo credit: jazzy smith / YouTube |
So, using high-tech pill-sized cameras, Dr. Kuo made an experiment wherein one person ate instant noodles and another ate freshly prepared noodles. Both subjects were then asked to swallow the pill-sized cameras which would record what happens to the noodles.
Two hours into the experiment, Dr. Kuo noted that a lot of the fresh noodles have been digested while the instant noodles remained unchanged. After two hours, most of the fresh noodles were gone but the instant noodles still remained undigested.
 |
| Photo credit: jazzy smith / YouTube |
Dr. Kuo had anticipated that such would happen but nothing prepared him for the shock of discovering that after 32 hours, the instant noodles still remained mostly intact and that the subject’s stomach appeared to be having difficulties digesting the food!
“What we’re seeing here is a stomach contracting back and forth as it’s trying to grind up the ramen noodles,” Dr. Kuo explained.
He added that though eating small amounts of TBHQ is not fatal, it can have a dangerous long-term effect on the body. Because the body has a difficult time processing the food, this could lead to weakening of the organs and even lead to the onset of tumors and cancer.
 |
| Photo credit: Food Beast |
The study is too small to be considered conclusive in the scientific community but Dr. Kuo hopes that more studies can be done to determine the long-term effects of processed food in the body. While waiting for that study to come out, however, Dr. Kuo advises people to try to avoid eating processed food.
Watch part of the experiment here:
— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express
