Instant Noodles May Increase Risk of Heart Disease, Especially in Women

We all know that eating instant noodles, like ramen, may not be the healthiest for us. Now, though, scientists have found that significant consumption of these noodles may actually increase a person's risk for cardiometabolic syndrome, especially in women.

"While instant noodle intake is great in Asian communities, the association between instant noodle consumption and metabolic syndrome has not been widely studied," said Hyun Joon Shin, one of the researchers, in a news release. "I decided to investigate in order to uncover more distinct connections."

In order to better understand how instant noodles might affect a person's health, the researchers focused on South Korea, which has the highest per-capita number of instant noodle consumers in the world. In recent years,  people from this region have experience a rapid increase in health problems, such as heart disease, and a growing number of overweight adults.

In the end, the researchers found that eating instant noodles two or more times a week was associated with cardiometabolic syndrome. This raises a person's likelihood of developing heart disease and other conditions, such as diabetes and stroke. In addition, the scientists found that these results were more prevalent in women.

The fact that the results were more prevalent in women could be attributed to biological differences, such as sex hormones and metabolism. In addition, another potential factor could be the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which is used for packaging the noodles. Studies have shown that BPA can interfere with hormones, specifically estrogen.

"This research is significant since many people are consuming instant noodles without knowing possible health risks," said Shin. "My hope is that this study can lay a foundation for future research about the health effects of instant noodle consumption."

Next time you eat instant noodles, remember not to overdo it. You could be impacting your health.

The findings are published in the Journal of Nutrition.