Feeling hungry during an all-nighter? Or you like eating something while watching a movie or playing games? Perhaps, instant noodles may be your best companion during these moments of your life. It is available at different variants like ramen, yakisoba, and other famous noodles from different cuisines. These are produced as precooked food products which are inexpensive and easier to cook compared to its authentic noodle recipe counterpart. Arguably, in the Philippines, the most popular instant noodles variant for the Filipino community is the Lucky Me Pancit Canton. It is not only highly popular due to its price and taste. It also become a staple snack for many Filipinos especially to teenagers and young adults. By chance, your best moments of your childhood and teenage years are tied with your Pancit Canton meals during those times. Despite the flavorful taste and moments tied in your Pancit Canton meal, it is still a processed food based on chemicals that may harm our health if not eaten in moderation. Of course, we know that the best foods in this world, most of the time, are the worst when nutritional benefits are a concern. With this, is Instant Pancit Canton Noodles bad for our health? How many packs of Pancit Canton is ideal for an individual’s daily consumption? Is there a recommended time interval before you eat another pack? If you are curious as well, you found the right guide. Let's find out.
Is Pancit Canton Bad for your Health?
The short answer is yes. However, everything taken in moderation will not affect your health that much. Lucky Me Pancit Canton does not meet the ideal level of nutrients to make our bodies healthier. In fact, Pancit Canton’s calories may be considered low for the daily required calorie intake of each individual. The minimum daily calories intake is 2,000 to 2,500 depending on the sexuality of the individual. For a pack of Lucky Me Pancit Canton, there is only 360 in each serving. Therefore, if you make this your staple for every meal of the day, your diet will be affected as you will not reach the minimum level of calories you need per day. Technically, your calorie intake dictates your energy capacity for the day. Other than that, it is needed for hearts, lungs and other organs to function. With this, if your calorie intake is below the minimum level, it will affect your energy and the function of your organs in the long run. The immediate effect of low-calorie intake is overeating on your other meals to compensate with the low calories you consumed from your previous meal during the day. If you continue on consuming low-calorie foods, you might experience fatigue and other energy-related side effects which impacts your productivity for a day or a week.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is high in Lucky Me Pancit Canton and other brands of instant noodles. MSG is a variant of sodium and a common flavoring for foods. It is made through fermenting carbohydrate sources like sugar beet, sugar cane and molasses. The taste of MSG is different from other sodium variants in which saltiness is the only flavor present on consumption. MSG’s taste is known as umami as it makes the instant noodles to have a delicious meaty flavor aside from making it salty. Indeed, MSG enhances the flavor of any meal in which it is added. However, high intakes of such may result to problems in your kidney as high sodium intake disrupts the sodium balance in our body making the kidney to not perform well in flushing out excess sodium and fluid in our body. Other studies state that MSG has other negative effects in our body. Although not yet fully proven because of the contrasting studies of different groups of professionals, these are the other effects to watch for like metabolic disorders, decreased brain health, weakness, headache, numbness, and loss of consciousness.
What is the Ideal Number of Pancit Canton to Consume?
This question is not answered by a specific number or range. This is more of knowing your diet or understanding your body. “Having too much of everything is bad.” We always hear this advice when we are on the verge of consuming high amounts of unhealthy foods. As experts say, take everything in moderation. For instant noodles and other unhealthy foods, you can still eat such despite its negative impacts to our health. If eaten occasionally, its effects are negligible to none. With this, there is no ideal number of packs of Pancit Canton to consume but it is better to know how many hours it takes for noodles to be digested by the stomach. For freshly made noodles from Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cuisine like egg noodles or rice noodles, it may take about 2 hours to be digested. Seems favorable, right? But for instant noodles, it takes at least 7 hours. Take note, this is the minimum digestion hours as it may be longer for other individuals due to the difference of our digestive systems. So, fully digesting these quick noodles may take up to 32 hours. Imagine, it may take more than a day for its complete digestion.
Issues about Lucky Me Pancit Canton
Lucky Me, arguably the most popular brand of instant noodles in the Philippines, had a recent finding in some of the European Union. Lucky Me Pancit Canton is found to be containing high levels of ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide is used as disinfectant and a pesticide. As Monde Nissin claimed, this type of chemical is used to control the microbial growth in spices and seeds. However, as tested by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the locally manufactured instant noodles of the brand do not contain ethylene oxide. Those Thailand-made were the products containing such chemicals. Ethylene oxide is not an acceptable chemical for use in European countries. Although the European Union recognizes that the chemical does not pose an acute risk to health, it warned the people of the long-term effects of continued consumption of products containing ethylene oxide.
Why is Instant Pancit Canton Noodles Popular in the Philippines?
Value and convenience might be the best reasons to describe the success of Lucky Me Pancit Canton in the Philippines. Compared to its competitors, it has arguably the best taste and the most flavorful. However, Pancit Canton consumption is not just to satisfy the hunger of its consumers. Eating these noodles is like how Koreans value the time they eat ramyun with their friends. Basically, for every household and friendship, eating Pancit Canton is a bonding time for everyone. For students with low budget, this is their life saver. Usually, Filipinos are not choosy with what they eat. As long as they are together, whatever food is on the table, mealtime will still be enjoyed with laughter and stories.
Lucky Me Pancit Canton is the best alternative that will satisfy your hunger without breaking the bank and a cheap salu-salo for the Filipino community. Many memories can be reminisced as you eat these noodles. It also saved those people who had tight budget or those who went overbudget before the payday. As unhealthy as it may seem, moderation is the key for consuming this food on-the-go. Philippines is a third world country, so it is undeniable that living conditions here are not as desirable compared to other countries. Aside from utility bills, other bills like bank housing loans or rent to own house and lot, may cause our expenses to elevate from our ideal budget. Well, the best short-term solution for this is to adjust other expenses. Mostly, it is with the food we consume. Pancit Canton is a lifesaver that does not give satisfaction to our stomach and taste buds. It is like a food that symbolizes our hardships and best memories in life as we achieve success.
Written by Frank
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