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August 31, 2005
Ramen
I was finishing up a very good bowl of Ramen and about to start my chem reading when I thought it'd be cool to know a little more about this fascinating food. So after a quick search on google I came about an entry in "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Here's just a little section:
"Despite some health concerns, ramen is a popular food item among college students due to its ease of preparation and extremely low cost—as of 2004, one packet could be bought for as little as 10-15 U.S. cents. Ramen is also very resistant to spoilage and can be easily prepared with boiling water, making it a favorite of backpackers."
One might read this and say, "hey, I didn't know there were health concerns! Tell me more!" Well if you're one of those people, the website also stated:
"Being a popular dish, ramen has often been criticized for its potential health risks. Some of these claims are justified, while others could be made against any diet which contains too much of a particular food.
A serving of ramen noodle is high in carbohydrates and low in vitamins and minerals, so eating a cup of instant ramen with only an egg as topping for every meal is not a wise choice. Adding a serving of boiled spinach or cabbage to ramen improves its nutritional value.
Ramen soup, especially the instant variety, contains a high amount of sodium. Ramen noodles themselves contain very little sodium so one can avoid drinking the soup if a low-sodium diet is recommended for health reasons. Many Japanese people also believe that ramen soup contains a high amount of fat and also that pre-fried fat from the noodles seeps into the soup. However, a typical serving of ramen, even when drinking all of the soup, has less food energy than a fast-food menu consisting of a hamburger, soda, and fries.
Some brands of instant ramen use hydrogenated vegetable fat (ie. trans fat), which is known to be harmful to the body."
There also seem to be an abnormally high amount of MSGs as well...
OK, so there may be a few reasons not to enjoy a brick of ramen, but my view is: life is short, eat Ramen. It is cheap, salty, and if you eat it quick enough after adding the water, it's crunchy too. I hope we all learned something from this experience, I sure have.
Posted by agutwin at August 31, 2005 05:34 PM
Comments
hey! I just paid good money to Cornell to feed you!! or did you buy it with some of those Cornell food dollars? Well - i guess - maybe you can afford them on your $100./semester budget....
Posted by: mom at September 1, 2005 05:26 PM
hey! I just paid good money to Cornell to feed you!! or did you buy it with some of those Cornell food dollars? Well - i guess - maybe you can afford them on your $100./semester budget....
Posted by: mom at September 1, 2005 05:27 PM