Shin Ramen
Ramen Health Risks
Ramen (라면) is a fast food of South Korea, perhaps the fastest food that a Korean can consume. Within seconds of purchasing your favorite cupped-variety, Ramen can be prepared and slurped by puckered lips and deft chopsticks. Hoards of young and aged Koreans can be found polishing off these timely treats as an afternoon snack or overdue dinner. Ramien qualifies as the epitome of convenient.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, however, and if it is under 1,000 won, it definitely pays to be wary.
Momofuku Ando, the creator of Nissin Foods, hatched the idea in 1958. Twenty years later, Nissan introduced the Cup Noodles. Japan later introduced South Korea to instant ramen in the 1960s. Ramen found instant success with its minimal preparation and cheap price. Even now, ramen is hailed as the greatest Japanese creation of the 20th century (beating karaoke and headphones by a landslide). Ramen continues to find its way into the mouths of 98 billion people each year, with South Korea consuming the most out of every country.
Unlike American Ramen, which tends to be savory, Korean Ramen noodles are on the spicy side and seasoned with chili peppers. Adjacent to the standard beef-flavored ramen, also stand other indigenous takes on this instant classic, such as shiitake, seafood, kimchi and cheese.
As with most fast foods, however, stands the question of health. Amidst a culture of fresh vegetables and rice dishes, ramen pales in nutritional value.
Consider the noodles. They are extremely high in carbohydrates and are usually deep fried. Of the two main components of Ramen, however, the seasoning packets pack a far worse health punch. These packets include excessive amount of sodium. An average packet of Nong Shim, a leading manufacturer of Ramen, contains 1050 milligrams of sodium, which is almost half of your total intake for a day. The seasoning packets are also problematic with its liberal use of MSG. Monosodium glutamate is a food additive that is often found in some Asian food. Although MSG is a cheap and an effective way to create the taste of meaty and savory flavorings, some studies have found some unsavory side effects of MSG. The side effect list is long: starting with minor complications like nausea, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, the symptoms quickens to extreme, including seizures and paralysis.
With almost-as-convenient Korean foods such as kimbap and bipbimbap, healthier (perhaps not nearly as quick) food options exist in Seoul. If you prefer eat your meals in seconds rather than minutes, however, opt to use only half of the ramen seasoning packet. Using half of the flavor will cut half of the sodium intake as well as the MSG. Another option is to seek out ramen that is MSG free, or contains healthier ingredients. Nong shim has several that are MSG-free and contains unfried noodles, which have 25 percent less calories than the original variety. Samyang also released MSG-free ramen, although the instant noodles remain fried to saturated fat perfection.
Lindsey Huster a writer who usually hails from Chicago. She enjoys listening to music,wearing cardigans and generally anything vegetarian.
Ramen (라면) is a fast food of South Korea, perhaps the fastest food that a Korean can consume. Within seconds of purchasing your favorite cupped-variety, Ramen can be prepared and slurped by puckered lips and deft chopsticks. Hoards of young and aged Koreans can be found polishing off these timely treats as an afternoon snack or overdue dinner. Ramien qualifies as the epitome of convenient.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, however, and if it is under 1,000 won, it definitely pays to be wary.
Momofuku Ando, the creator of Nissin Foods, hatched the idea in 1958. Twenty years later, Nissan introduced the Cup Noodles. Japan later introduced South Korea to instant ramen in the 1960s. Ramen found instant success with its minimal preparation and cheap price. Even now, ramen is hailed as the greatest Japanese creation of the 20th century (beating karaoke and headphones by a landslide). Ramen continues to find its way into the mouths of 98 billion people each year, with South Korea consuming the most out of every country.
Unlike American Ramen, which tends to be savory, Korean Ramen noodles are on the spicy side and seasoned with chili peppers. Adjacent to the standard beef-flavored ramen, also stand other indigenous takes on this instant classic, such as shiitake, seafood, kimchi and cheese.
As with most fast foods, however, stands the question of health. Amidst a culture of fresh vegetables and rice dishes, ramen pales in nutritional value.
Consider the noodles. They are extremely high in carbohydrates and are usually deep fried. Of the two main components of Ramen, however, the seasoning packets pack a far worse health punch. These packets include excessive amount of sodium. An average packet of Nong Shim, a leading manufacturer of Ramen, contains 1050 milligrams of sodium, which is almost half of your total intake for a day. The seasoning packets are also problematic with its liberal use of MSG. Monosodium glutamate is a food additive that is often found in some Asian food. Although MSG is a cheap and an effective way to create the taste of meaty and savory flavorings, some studies have found some unsavory side effects of MSG. The side effect list is long: starting with minor complications like nausea, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, the symptoms quickens to extreme, including seizures and paralysis.
With almost-as-convenient Korean foods such as kimbap and bipbimbap, healthier (perhaps not nearly as quick) food options exist in Seoul. If you prefer eat your meals in seconds rather than minutes, however, opt to use only half of the ramen seasoning packet. Using half of the flavor will cut half of the sodium intake as well as the MSG. Another option is to seek out ramen that is MSG free, or contains healthier ingredients. Nong shim has several that are MSG-free and contains unfried noodles, which have 25 percent less calories than the original variety. Samyang also released MSG-free ramen, although the instant noodles remain fried to saturated fat perfection.
Lindsey Huster a writer who usually hails from Chicago. She enjoys listening to music,wearing cardigans and generally anything vegetarian.
I think your readers must be throwing out all the ramen in the cupboards after reading the side effects of MSG! It is a controversial topic - I think at very least you should quote your source.
ReplyDeleteI agree Ramen is no-doubt in the eat-in-moderation camp. Good tip to not use all the seasoning packet, good to also reduce the water in that case. You can also add some veg and protein to make it more balanced nutritionally and make it taste better. Kimchi, egg and green onion are my fav.
I also heard of some people boiling the noodles and discarding the water first to get rid of some of the fat in the fried noodles. The lengths that Koreans will go to in order to enjoy one of their favorite fast foods!
MSG is kind of like salt and sugar... it's ubiquitous in foods, it makes food taste better and too much of it will probably be bad for us. Beware also that there is probably hidden MSG in the MSG-free products!
happy slurping :-)
Dear Alice,
ReplyDeleteI think that it's common knowledge that MSG is not good for you. I mean there are people that have serious allergies to the stuff.
I've heard about the boiling and discarding the water as well. Also, some people boil in milk to get rid of "face swelling." I'm not sure if it works, but it sure is interesting.
Thanks for commenting^^
Any chance that us Korean-challenged readers could get some pix of the non-fried, no MSG varieties? I definitely have to shop by the pictures! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteglobalmom, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteHi Dan,
ReplyDeleteMSG being bad for us is a common PERCEPTION by most people who are not really aware of what it is and how common it is in the foods we eat.
Most people don’t know that MSG is a naturally occurring substance in many foods such as tomatoes, parmesan cheese, seaweed, soy sauce, fish sauce, meat, just to name a few. It is the element that brings us the savory taste or umami, which was only discovered in the last 100 years by a Japanese scientist. Since then, scientists have discovered the physiological taste receptors on the tongue and have begun to understand the basic mechanisms, making “umami” known as the fifth basic human taste.
For your readers who are interested, here's a very simple Q&A on MSG from Health Canada that addresses safety concerns and why it's used in foods:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/addit/msg_qa-qr-eng.php
Or for more in-depth technical safety assessment published by Foods Standards Australia:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/MSG%20Technical%20Report.pdf
Interesting article published by just-food.com, UK based, a more foodie spin quoting Harold McGee, famous author of "On Food and Cooking" (which I highly recommend) and Chef Heston Blumenthal of Fat Duck restaurant:
http://www.just-food.com/article.aspx?id=94272
Similar kind of foodie article from the Wall Street Journal, including Jean-Georges Vongerichten's 'umami bomb' of Parmesan custard and white truffles:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119706514515417586.html?mod=weekend_leisure_banner_left
Finally, here is one of the many internet sites that is AGAINST MSG. I'm not a believer in their views but you can make your own decision. Anyone wondering what foods contain MSG, I'm sure this will be an EYE-OPENER. The emphasis is on American foods, and their list includes malted barley in beer and milk powder in baked goods, and a host of restaurant foods and processed foods. So it's not just in Asian foods...
http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm
The real bad culprit in ramen is the high sodium content (with some containing nearly 100% of daily allowance), the high saturated fat content, and it being relatively high in calories while lacking any essential nutrients. If someone feels unwell after eating this, it may not just be the MSG...
Just wanted to offer up the other savory side of MSG.
Alice
seoulkitchen.wordpress.com - anecdotal Korean cooking in Seoul, MSG-free