Does Your College Kid Love Instant Ramen? You Should Show Them This

When you’re in a pinch and need a quick and easy dinner option, you might turn to instant noodles like ramen.

While these inexpensive noodles have become a staple in college cuisine, they’re not exactly something that many would deem a healthy meal. Just like any other highly processed food, they can be full of salt and other ingredients that have been linked to various medical problems and conditions.

I was never the biggest fan of ramen noodles during my time at college, and now that I’ve read about the heath risks that they carry with them, I definitely won’t be putting them in my shopping cart anytime soon.

Ramen noodles do not digest like most foods. In the video below, you can see the noodles sitting in the stomach hours after being consumed. This can spell trouble for the digestive system, which is forced to work overtime to try to break down the processed noodles.

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Instant noodles also contain a variety of additives that can be harmful to your stomach. One of the most dangerous is tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), an antioxidant that extends the shelf life of products.

TBHQ can be found in cosmetics, perfumes, varnishes, and pesticides, as well. The recommended consumption of the additive varies. According to the FDA, we should not allow TBHQ to exceed 0.02 percent of our total oil and fats consumption. The Codex Commission says that up to 400 mg per day is acceptable.