Many people say that instant noodles are junk food, but some experts say that instant noodles are a food with all five major nutrients. Which of these two statements is more correct? How should you eat instant noodles? To answer these questions, we must start with the raw materials and ingredients of instant noodles. ...

The ingredients of instant noodles are very simple. Noodles are made from refined white flour. They are first steamed and then quickly fried in palm oil to remove the fat attached to the surface. They are then packaged and bagged. The ingredients package usually has at least two bags, one is a liquid seasoning oil package, or a sauce package with a lot of animal oil added; the other is a powder package made of salt, flavoring agents, spices, seaweed and shrimp skin. If there's a third, it's usually a tiny bit of dehydrated vegetables. At this point, everyone can understand that fried instant noodles are actually flour plus oil. They are not essentially different from fried pancakes. The only difference is that the frying temperature is lower, the time is shorter, the color is whiter, and there are fewer harmful substances such as acrylamide. , the nutritional loss is also less. ...

The fat content of instant noodles is usually between 16% and 20%, the protein content does not exceed 10%, and the remaining ingredients are mainly starch. The B vitamins and minerals come from flour, but unless additional additions are made, the content of these substances in instant noodles is lower than that in flour. It can be seen that in terms of nutritional value, the nutrient level of instant noodles is lower than that of ordinary pasta such as steamed buns and pancakes, while the fat content is much higher than that of ordinary steamed noodles. There are also a few instant noodles that are not fried, some are wet noodles sold directly, and some are hot air dried instead of fried and dehydrated. But in essence, it is nothing more than unfried noodles with ingredients. The noodles are not much different from traditional noodles and cut noodles. ...

The number one ingredient in the package is fat. In the case of sauce buns, the fat content usually exceeds 50% and tends to clump at room temperature, indicating a high proportion of saturated fat. If it is an oil package, it contains more than 95% fat, mainly unsaturated fat. The powder packets contain too much salt, a large amount of flavoring agents, and other raw materials such as dried shrimps, seaweed, and spices. ...

The nutritional value is between fried fried noodles and fried noodles. The main raw material of instant noodles is refined white flour plus oil. The nutritional value is between fried fried noodles and salty fried noodles. At the same weight, it can provide more calories and fat than steamed buns and rice, making it a good energy food. Generally speaking, a set of 100 grams of bread and ingredients can provide about 450 kcal of energy. A steamed bun made from 100 grams of flour can only provide about 360 kcal of energy. From this point of view, instant noodles are not without merit. ...

To put it bluntly, instant noodles are actually just a staple food with added oil and salt, and cannot replace vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, milk and other foods. To say that instant noodles are nutritionally unbalanced does not mean that they are useless as a staple food, but that the nutrients contained in instant noodles cannot fulfill the nutritional responsibility of a meal. If instant noodles are often substituted for a meal with a rich variety of food, it will cause problems such as nutritional imbalance and a lack of various micronutrients. In emergency or abnormal situations such as travel, wilderness, disaster relief or rescue, instant noodles can temporarily replenish people's energy and save lives. But in normal life, eating instant noodles can only be an occasional stopgap and should not be a regular meal replacement choice. ...

Five tips for eating instant noodles 1. Try not to use instant noodles for dinner and late-night snacks, because people have less demand for high-fat foods at this time. 2. If you must use instant noodles as a meal replacement, you should add vegetables and fruits, preferably an egg or a small amount of soy products. 3. The soup stock of instant noodles is often too high in fat and too much salt. You should add as little as possible, preferably no more than half of the amount provided. ...

4. If you use fried instant noodles for lunch, you should reduce fat and eat more vegetables, fruits and other light foods as a supplement for dinner. 5. Pay attention to the freshness of instant noodles. Instant noodles contain a lot of fat and tend to become rancid due to fat oxidation, so manufacturers usually add antioxidants to them. If consumers smell a stale smell after opening the package, they should be highly vigilant about fat oxidation and should not eat it.

...