The FOODbible Team
Scientists have issued a shocking health warning to anyone who eats instant noodles every day.
Beloved by students, office workers on a lunch break and arriving home late, or indeed anyone who wants something quick, cheap, and hot.
It's easy to see the appeal of instant noodles - in the time it takes to boil a kettle, plus a couple of minutes, you can can tuck into a comforting hot meal.
But while they might be cheap, palatable, and quick and easy to make, it turns out that instant noodles are - whisper it - not actually very good for you.
I'll give you a minute to pick your jaw up off the floor.
This shocking news comes as scientists warn people about the risks of eating instant noodles too much.
A recent study by the National Library of Medicine found that consumption of noodles was 'positively related' to metabolic syndrome in Korean adults, though the paper did caveat that further study would be required 'to identify a causal relationship'.
The study looked at 10,505 adults who ate the dish multiple times a week, and compared rates of noodle consumption with rates of metabolic syndrome in the group.
It suggested that people in the group with the highest noodle consumption had a 38 percent higher risk of hypertriglyceridemia, having excessive fats in the blood, compared to those who don't.
There are other factors involved in any one individual's risk for a health condition, such as age, family history, fitness level, body weight, and even mental health.
However, despite these caveats the study did find that there was an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, which means you are more likely to develop heart conditions.
And given the contents of a lot of instant noodles, it's perhaps not surprising.
Often instant noodles contain high levels of sodium, itself very bad for you, as well as having a lot of additives.
All that considered it's probably not a surprise that a diet of instant noodles will leave you feeling sluggish, low on energy, and just generally not great.
However, this doesn't mean you should immediately cast aside the kettle and the plastic noodle bowls - having instant noodles sometimes is fine, they're just not something you should live off.
And even if you are regularly eating them, you can use them as a base to add in other things.
With a few steamed or sautéed vegetables or a boiled egg suddenly that's a quick and easy meal.
So in short, having a pot of instant noodles sometimes during a quick lunch break or after a long day is fine - just don't make them your primary source of food.
Words by Kit Roberts