Preservatives+Additives Is Instant Noodles Junk Food？

　　Various rumors about instant noodles, such as carcinogenicity and toxic packaging, have never stopped on the Internet. Instant noodles have been questioned from the inside out, from the high oil content, unhealthy preservatives and additives, to the fact that the "wax" on instant noodles in bowls will adhere to the stomach wall.

　　Today, Qian reported to an authoritative expert in related fields to prove one thing — — Is instant noodles junk food?

　　Palm oil, preservatives and additives

　　Are instant noodles junk food because of them?

　　Many people classify instant noodles as junk food, largely because of palm oil, preservatives and additives in the ingredient list.

　　Let’s start with palm oil.

　　It is rumored that palm oil in instant noodles has the worst quality among vegetable oils. Long-term consumption will lead to excessive intake of saturated fatty acids in human serum, which will lead to the increase of cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein, thus causing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which is not conducive to human health.

　　Fan Zhihong, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, College of Food Science, China Agricultural University, and a doctor of food science and director of China Nutrition Society, explained that palm oil is relatively high in saturated fatty acids and has good frying stability and oxidation stability. The national standard stipulates that the acid value of edible frying oil should not exceed 5%, and the standards of some enterprises are far higher than this standard. "Some studies show that palm oil and olive oil have the same regulatory effect on human blood lipids, and saturated fatty acids are not related to death caused by heart disease, ischemia and type 2 diabetes."

　　Let me talk about preservatives.

　　The function of food preservatives is to inhibit the reproduction of microorganisms such as bacteria and molds. If the food itself does not contain bacteria or mold, there is no need for preservatives. "Instant noodles have been fried and dried by hot air, and the water that can be used by microorganisms has been removed, so even without preservatives, it will never rot, unless it is wet again in storage, it is possible to grow mildew." Fan Zhihong said that it is true that the advertisement for instant noodles mentioned "no preservatives".

　　Finally, additives.

　　"There must be food additives in instant noodles, such as antioxidants. However, as long as the additives meet the national standards, they will not have such a strong impact on human health. Otherwise, many things sold can’t be eaten. " Fan Zhihong said.

　　Professor Wang Huiming, director of the Department of Food Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, also said that the price of instant noodles is not high, so it is not necessary to put a lot of additives.

　　Is instant noodles indigestible and carcinogenic?

　　Eating spicy instant noodles for a long time is easy to get gastric ulcer.

　　In many rumors, instant noodles are not easy to digest and easy to cause cancer, which is the most alarmist. What is the fact?

　　Is instant noodles not easy to digest?

　　Wang Huiming attacked this view in a more straightforward way. "Almost everyone has eaten instant noodles, a bag or a bowl, and basically they will feel very full. Not long after, I will feel hungry again. Does this digestive ability need to be questioned? "

　　On September 9th, Professor Shen Qun from the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University expressed his attitude at the "Conference on the Rumor of Convenient Foods" sponsored by Xinhuanet China Food Rumor Alliance and chinese institute of food science and technology. Through the research experiment of opposite millet flour and raw wheat flour, it was found that the fast digestible starch can be digested in human body in only 20 minutes, while the slow digestible starch takes 2 hours to digest, and the digestion speed of heated millet flour and wheat flour increases. The raw materials of instant noodles and cakes are mainly millet flour and wheat flour.

　　Is instant noodles carcinogenic?

　　Another rumor that instant noodles cause cancer says: "Starch will produce a harmful substance called acrylamide after being operated at high temperature above 120℃, and relevant organizations have said that this substance has potential cancer risk to human body."

　　In fact, the acrylamide content in both the former instant noodles and the present non-fried instant noodles is very low.

　　Yang Jianfeng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Gastroenterology, Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, said that the occurrence of cancer is caused by a combination of factors, including genes, environment, diet and so on. "There have been reports before that some people have suffered from stomach cancer by eating instant noodles continuously. In fact, there is no direct basis for this. Maybe this person happens to be a high-risk group. " He said.

　　However, he also said that long-term consumption of spicy instant noodles will stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, and in severe cases, it will cause gastric ulcer, which is medically justified.

　　"Wax" on the Packaging of Barreled Instant Noodles

　　Will it adhere to the stomach and intestines?

　　The packaging of barreled instant noodles is also the focus of everyone’s questioning. "A layer of wax is attached to the instant noodle bowl. Because the stomach can’t digest wax, it will adhere to the stomach wall. "

　　The engineer surnamed Huang from Zhejiang Quality Supervision Bureau told the truth. Instant noodle bowls are generally made of paper. To be more professional, they are coated paper and cardboard with a layer of film. Such a package must have water resistance, even if it is filled with hot water at 95℃, it can’t leak.

　　"Under normal circumstances, the paper for making instant noodle bowls is all new paper. If it is made of waste paper, the color will be yellow and dark. In order to ensure the appearance, fluorescent agents will be used, which is forbidden in food packaging. If it is found in daily monitoring, we will ban it in time."

　　The film that feels like wax is mainly made of polyethylene, a kind of plastic, which is insoluble in water and will not enter the stomach.

　　"For all instant noodle packaging manufacturers, whether it is the production of cardboard or film, they need a license and will be supervised by the regulatory authorities." Huang Gong said that in the daily spot check, after all, very few problems were found.

　　Instant noodles are a competent staple food

　　It is unhealthy, and it is true in three aspects.

　　In Fan Zhihong’s view, "as a staple food, instant noodles are competent. It is a good energy food. In some emergencies, such as travel, field, disaster relief or emergency rescue, instant noodles can temporarily replenish energy for people and save lives. "

　　By comparison, the main components of a qualified fried instant noodle are roughly as follows: 100 grams of instant noodles contain 8 grams of water, 9 grams of protein, 20 grams of fat, 3 grams of minerals (including 2 grams of salt), 1 gram of dietary fiber, and about 59 grams of digestible carbohydrates (starch). According to the calculation, its total energy output is 452 kilocalories. Eating 100 grams of instant noodles, compared with the same weight of millet porridge (less than 50 kcal /100 grams), full-fat sweetened yogurt (90 kcal /100 grams), baked sweet potato (about 100 kcal /100 grams) and other foods, fried instant noodles contain much more energy, which is of course easy to make people full.

　　In fact, the unhealthy instant noodles lie in three points:

　　Low fat content is too high.

　　Fan Zhihong explained in detail: The oil content in the fried instant noodles is usually 18%~24%, and the protein content is 8%~10%. Except for water, minerals and dietary fiber, the rest is starch.

　　The first ingredient in the package is fat. If it is a sauce bag, the oil content exceeds 50%; If it is an oil package, it is usually more than 95% fat, but mainly unsaturated fat. Among the powder packets, there are too much salt and a lot of flavor agents without exception.

　　● Uneven nutrition

　　"Although, in a pack of instant noodles, there are basic fats, protein and carbohydrates, but it is not balanced, with too much fat and too little protein. In addition, the content of trace elements is also very small, and it is definitely not possible to eat for a long time. " Wang Huiming said.

　　Professor Meng Yuecheng, director of the food engineering department of Zhejiang Gongshang University, said: "The human body needs more than 40 kinds of nutrients every day. Are there vitamins, minerals and trace elements in instant noodles?" He further explained that there are B vitamins in wheat grains, but there is not much left after frying.

　　Low salt content in seasoning bag is high.

　　"The sodium content in a pack of instant noodles is enough to meet a person’s sodium intake for a whole day. In other words, a bag of instant noodles allows you to eat the salt in three meals in a few minutes. " Yang Jianfeng said. According to a large sample survey, people who eat pickled products and high-salt products for a long time and eat less green food have a higher probability of developing gastric cancer than those who eat a light diet.

　　Zhang Pianhong, director of the Nutrition Society of China and director of the Nutrition Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, concluded: "Instant noodles are not junk food, but eating them for a long time will cause malnutrition."