Eating this Japanese soup more than once a week could considerably harm your health. At least that is what a new study asserted, published in the Journal of Nutrition, Health and Ageing.
A very salty dish
Did you know? The ramen, this comforting dish based on hot broth, pork, vegetables and noodles would be much less healthy than it seems. Researchers have indeed discovered that this specialty would be associated with a risk of “premature death”.
For this, they previously questioned more than 6,500 participants – 2,361 men and 4,385 women – aged 40 and over, residing in the Yamagata region in Japan, and classified them in four groups according to the amount of ramen consumed (less than once a month, one to three times a month, once or twice a week, and three times or more per week).
Result ? After a certain period of time, they discovered that 145 people died, including 100 of cancer and 29 of heart disease.
Data that confirms the researchers’ hypothesis: participants who regularly consumed this broth seemed to be exposed to a greater risk of death. And those who tasted ramen more than three times a week (with alcohol) even presented a risk of death three times higher than the others.
“Ramen contains a high salt content. Therefore, frequent consumption of this dish (…) can increase the risk of diseases related to sodium, such as cerebral vascular accidents and gastric cancer”, underline scientists.
Note: people who regularly consumed this Japanese dish were most often young men, smokers, alcohol drinkers and overweight. They also presented an increased risk of comorbidities, such as diabetes or hypertension.
Ramen: A dish to avoid to stay healthy?
Asked about this, our dietitian-nutritionist is not very convinced by the composition of this dish.
“Ramen is actually very salty. However, our consumption of salt in France is already too high – it goes far beyond official recommendations. Concretely, this sodium increases the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and in the long term, it can even damage the renal function”, warns Alexandra Murcier.
“”DIn some ramen, noodles are also fried, which increases the rate of “bad” cholesterol, promotes chronic inflammation and can increase atherosclerosis“, Specifies the expert again.
This dish is also very rich in carbohydrates, “This leads to a sharp increase in blood sugar and significant production of insulin, promoting weight gain and the risk of diabetes in the event of regular consumption.” Finally, the ramen are too poor in fiber, however essential to regulate blood sugar and “trap” bad cholesterol, as well as vitamins.
“Some ramen also contain glutamate, an additive which can be potentially harmful in the event of too frequent consumption”, concludes Alexandra Murcier.