Instant noodles cannot be digested within 32 hours?

Rumor

American scientists used capsule endoscopy to compare the eating conditions of "processed food" and "food without additives" and found that hand-pulled noodles It has been completely digested after 32 hours, while instant noodles still have residue and have not been completely digested. Instant noodles are difficult to digest because they contain a variety of antioxidants, additives, etc., which are harmful to health if consumed for a long time.

The Truth

The capsule endoscopy images mentioned in the rumors are real, but their interpretation is incorrect. Moreover, this shooting is not a rigorous scientific experiment, and it cannot be concluded that instant noodles are difficult to digest or harmful to health.

What is the digestion image captured by the capsule?

"Using a photography capsule to capture the digestion process of noodles" is indeed a thing. This is a project by media practitioners Stephanie Bardeen and Filming project in collaboration with doctor Braden Guo, who studies gastrointestinal science. In this project, two volunteers ate two different groups of food (one ate instant noodles, the other ate handmade noodles, and the two also ate different types of drinks and gummy candies), and then swallowed Capsule endoscopy is performed to record the conditions inside the digestive tract.

In fact, Stephanie Bardeen’s video clearly stated that the two types of noodles were basically digested more than 2 hours after eating, and the complete noodles were no longer visible. Only instant noodles were still intact. You can see a little bit of instant noodles. Moreover, the capsule endoscope used for filming can only record images for 8 hours per person at a time, and cannot record the digestion of noodles for 32 hours continuously. Therefore, there is no basis for the rumor that "instant noodles are still not digested after 32 hours."

In addition, there were only two samples recorded in this shooting, and there was no strict experimental design. The image obtained in this way is really difficult to explain. What's more, "incomplete digestion" and "harmful to health" are two different things. Otherwise, wouldn't we be able to eat enoki mushrooms?

Do we need to worry about additives in instant noodles?

Rumors It was also mentioned that instant noodles contain tartaric acid used to make laxatives and whitening agents, tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), an ingredient used in contact lenses and lighters, and BHT (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4- (methylphenol) and other antioxidants, these antioxidants make noodles difficult to digest and are harmful to health. Is this true?

In order to prevent the oxidation of oil, antioxidants are indeed added to fried instant noodles. Currently, there are more than 20 commonly used antioxidants in the world, among which BHT and TBHQ are the two most commonly used. According to my country's national standard "GB 2760-2011 National Food Safety Standard Food Additive Usage Standard", the maximum allowable usage amount of BHT and TBHQ in instant noodles is 0.2 g/kg. JECFA, the International Codex Committee on Food Additives, has assessed that the safety value of TBHQ is 0-0.7 mg per kilogram of body weight, while the safety value of BHT is 0-0.3 mg per kilogram of body weight. These antioxidants do not cause cancer. Generally speaking, when used reasonably and legally, antioxidants will not have an impact on human health.

The tartaric acid mentioned in the rumors is an antioxidant synergist. It exists in many natural fruits, so there is no need to worry about its safety. Tartaric acid can be used in various foods as a processing aid and does not require safety regulations. And it can also improve the effectiveness of antioxidants and reduce dosage.

Editor: admin