What Happens If Children Often Eat Instant Noodles?

Medical Video: After Watching This Video You Will Never Eat Instant Noodles Again

Besides being easy to get, easy to serve, and tastes good, instant noodles are one type of food that is consumed by both adults and children. Unfortunately, instant noodles are categorized as unhealthy foods because they contain lots of salt, preservatives, and coloring. These ingredients are said to have a detrimental effect on health, but can the same effect occur in children?

Additive substances can make children more hyperactive

Instant food is one type of food that contains various kinds of additives ranging from preservatives to dyes. A study in the United Kingdom found that removing additives (preservatives and dyes) from the food of a group of 3-year-olds can reduce children's hyperactivity. Parents report that their children are not too hyperactive, different when preserved foods are re-included in children's food. Based on the results of this study, the researchers concluded that if there were 15% of children who had hyperactive behavior-related problems, removing additives in food would reduce the prevalence by 6%.

The concept of a diet to reduce behavioral problems in children became famous after in 1970, an allergist Benjamin Feingold, MD, introduced a diet that limits more than 300 types of additives to treat hyperactivity. Since then research related to the effects of additives and behavior has continued to be developed.

Instant noodles are usually high in fat

Instant noodles and other instant foods are usually high in fat, especially saturated fat. Children really need fat. Fat functions to form nerve tissue and hormones. The body also needs fat as an energy reserve. Fat in food serves to give taste and texture, but fat is also high in calories. The amount of excess fat will cause various health problems, especially because it can cause weight gain and increased levels of bad fats in the blood.

Children are not impossible to have high cholesterol. High cholesterol in children can mainly lead to future health problems associated with the heart. Too much cholesterol can inhibit blood flow to the heart, so it causes the heart not to get enough oxygen-rich blood. This cholesterol buildup does not occur in a short time. So if since childhood children already have high cholesterol levels, it is not impossible heart attack and stroke can occur at a relatively young age later.

Children can also experience hypertension

One of the dangers of instant noodles is having a relatively high salt content. Try to check what percentage of sodium or sodium levels are in one pack of instant noodles. If this amount is large enough for an adult, this amount may exceed the daily requirement of sodium and sodium. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 6 children aged 8 to 17 have high blood pressure. Although the effect is not immediately apparent, high blood pressure is one of the risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

Salt works by making the body hold water out of the body. This excess water then results in high blood pressure and stress in the kidneys, arteries, heart, and brain. Too much salt consumption can cause tension in the arteries. To overcome this tension, the muscles in the arteries will then become stronger and thicker. This causes the space in the arteries to get narrower and has an effect on increasing blood pressure.

This process can occur for years until then the arteries are unable to cope with the situation, and lead to rupture of blood vessels or obstruction of blood flow due to the narrower size of arteries. If this happens, the organ that receives blood from the problematic vessels will lack the necessary oxygen and nutrients so that it can cause damage or failure to work the organs.

What if the child is forced to eat instant noodles?

If the child does not have a choice of food other than instant noodles, take care of the dangers of instant noodles by including other vegetables and side dishes in the meal portion. Reduce the portion of instant noodles served, for example, only half a pack and combine with boiled vegetables. Don't give children too often to eat instant noodles or other instant foods.

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