What Happens To Your Body If You Only Eat Instant Ramen

1. It's truly a comfort food

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Nothing hits quite like a bowl of instant Ramen. Of course, there are delicious, more sophisticated foods out there. But if you've had a bad day, it's rainy and cold, or it's just... a Tuesday, Ramen is a super cheap staple you probably have in your cupboard for a quick hit of rich, bold flavors.

2. So, what if you eat it every day?

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Ramen may bring your soul comfort, but not so much your body. There's a lot of stuff in there like HIGH sodium, saturated fat, and a LOT of preservatives. If you only chow down on it occasionally, then it's no worries, but if it's your go-to every day, then please check this out!

3. Your blood pressure might increase

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Did you know that the flavor packet that comes with Ramen has approximately 1820 milligrams of sodium?! So, yes, it's bursting with flavor, but it also means you shouldn't consume any additional sodium throughout that day or else your body will overload. Too much sodium leads to high blood pressure, which can cause serious long-term issues. You can always ditch the flavor packet and use your own seasonings.

4. Consequently, you increase your risk of heart failure

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Maybe you just went through a breakup and to mend your broken heart, you opt for a bowl of delicious Ramen. But eating too much of it might break your actual heart ! High blood pressure and high cholesterol make you more at risk for heart failure, and the high levels of sodium and fat make you a prime candidate... only if you eat it EVERY DAY. And funnily enough, these issues are more pronounced in physically active women. So even if you work out regularly, don't consume noodles on the daily.

5. They can cause major vitamin deficiency

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Ramen noodles have synthetic nutrients like iron and B vitamins to make them slightly more nutritious. Made up of wheat flour and these synthetic forms of nutrients, they are still seriously lacking in things like protein, fiber, vitamin A, C and B12. There is also little to no calcium, magnesium or potassium present.

6. You will feel fatigued

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Because of the lack of nutrients and high sodium, your body will likely feel fatigued when consuming instant Ramen regularly. Especially if you're not consuming enough water to counteract the sodium amount, you're likely to feel dehydrated and lethargic. Your body isn't getting the right energy sources it needs to function at max capacity.

7. Instant Ramen can actually mess with your eyesight!

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If you consume Ramen every day and notice that your vision seems a little wonky, it might not just be in your head. Visual impairment after eating Ramen on the regular is a known and proven effect. It's not a super common problem, but it's caused by the preservative that's used in the instant Ramen.

8. It can cause depression

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When your body is lacking in nutrients and feeling lethargic from consuming too much instant Ramen, you could find yourself falling into a depressive state. People have reported that due to the dehydration and fatigue, they found themselves feeling less motivated throughout the day which resulted in depression.

9. You might experience more food allergies

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While consuming this not-great-for-you (albeit delicious) food, you could be putting yourself at risk for an increase in food allergies. Yes, it sounds kind of wild, but because your body is working so hard to process the preservatives, it's damaging your immune system and releasing proteins that can cause food allergies to develop.

10. You WILL gain weight

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Every body is beautiful, that is for sure. But if you're trying to lose weight, then Ramen probably isn't the way to go. One packet contains at least 14 grams of saturated fat, which is 40% of what you need every day. This is due to how the noodles are steamed, fried and dehydrated. If you're eating this as a snack while still consuming your normal meals, you can definitely expect to see an uptick on the scale.

11. It could cause you to have a stroke

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If you eat Ramen every day, you are raising your risk of having a stroke. This is particularly true for women. The worst part, all of the bad stuff... the high saturated fat and sodium... is what makes it so addictive! Experts say a bowl of instant Ramen now and then won't hurt you, but you would have to keep in mind your other food intake that day. The best option is to eat fresh Ramen or make it on your own!

12. You're trashing your immune system

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When you eat instant Ramen, you're not giving your body what it needs to protect itself. It's been proven that the ingredients in instant Ramen can actually affect immune cell proteins and even decrease the effectiveness of imperative vaccines you may need.

13. It freaks out your digestive tract

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Similar to your liver, instant Ramen is really hard for your digestive system to break down. You wouldn't think this to be the case with a bowl of soup, but there have been studies that show the vast difference between consuming instant Ramen and fresh. Fresh noodles can be digested within 1-2 hours, while the instant ones stayed intact and undigested for several hours. Footage has shown the consumer's stomach moving back and forth working vigorously to digest the instant noodles.

14. Your body doesn't get the right nutrients

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Even though a bowl of instant Ramen can feel super filling, if you're eating it as a main meal every day, your body probably isn't getting the nutrients it needs. As we've discussed, a bowl isn't that nutritious, and then with the added salt and fat, it ends up not providing you what your body needs to run effectively.

15. If it's the only meal you're consuming, you can expect all sorts of illnesses

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You will lack in protein and essential amino acids if you're only consuming Ramen every day. You can develop a whole host of ailments and because of the lack of nutrients, experts say that at some point your body will essentially start cannibalizing your muscles and peripheral nerves. No thanks!

16. It's pretty hard on your liver

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Ramen contains a lot of preservatives, because it's intended to have a long shelf-life. Being hard to destroy on the shelf means that it's also hard for your body to break down and digest it. Your liver has to work overtime to process even one bowl of instant Ramen, and you only get one liver, so keep that in mind!

17. It can put you at risk for tumors

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Studies have shown that the preservative TBHQ can increase incidents of tumors being present. While TBHQ is approved as a food additive, most health experts consider it a substance to be avoided when it comes to consumption. While most of these studies where tumors were present were done in a lab on non-human specimens, it's believed the effects would be the same for people.

18. The effects can happen pretty quickly

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If you're consuming instant Ramen for every meal daily, or even just one meal daily, you'll likely start to see these types of effects we're discussing in as quickly as a week! Some have even said within 3-5 days, they started noticing the fatigue setting in. If you're already in poor health for other reasons, then consuming this diet lacking in basically everything is probably not for you!

19. It can cause changes in your behavior

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The preservative that's used, TBHQ, has actually been linked to symptoms of ADHD. Studies have shown that removing this preservative and other processed foods from your diet can actually alleviate ADHD symptoms. So if you notice changes in your behavior, you might wanna lay off the daily bowl of Ramen.

20. Some say it can cause scurvy

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There are people who have reported consuming only instant Ramen during time in college or when money was tight, since Ramen is super affordable. However, after two months on this diet, some have reported being diagnosed with scurvy. If you don't know what that is, it's caused by a vitamin C deficiency that results in swollen and bleeding gum and healed wounds reopening! Doesn't sound pleasant.

21. You're at higher risk for metabolic syndrome

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Why do women often get the short end of the stick?! If you are a woman and eat instant Ramen on the reg, you are at a way higher risk of metabolic syndrome. This is a nasty combination of high cholesterol, high blood sugar, blood pressure, and obesity. Doesn't sound like a good time and it puts you at risk for heart attacks, diabetes and more.

22. It will eventually leave your body feeling hollow

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Beyond the repetitive meal, your body will start to feel like a shell of itself. Because its needs aren't being satiated, paired with the dehydration from the sodium, you'll likely start to feel sick to your stomach on a regular basis. You'll also feel "empty" even after eating a big bowl.

23. You will be thirsty all the time

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Again, because of the sodium and dehydration, it probably goes without saying that eating Ramen regularly will make you incredibly thirsty at all times. Your body will literally crave water, because it's in overdrive trying to break down what you've consumed. It also causes your blood vessels to swell which can increase thirst as well.

24. It might help reduce your risk for cancer? But probably not

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The jury's still out on this one, but the main preservative used is called TBHQ. It is an artificial antioxidant that some studies show can act as an anti-carcinogen and lowering your risk for cancer. However, other studies show that regular consumption of this preservative actually INCREASES your cancer risk. The preservative is also used in paints and varnishes, so you be the judge.

25. Ramen makes you super bloated

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Beyond the calories, because of the sodium, instant Ramen causes fluid retention and subsequently, bloating. If you eat your Ramen the traditional way by slurping, you're only contributing to it because you're swallowing a lot of air, which can leave you feeling gassy. One solve to this is adding fiber-dense vegetables to your bowl of noodles to help with digestion.

26. Your kidneys also take a serious hit

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From what we've seen so far, instant Ramen is hard on basically every organ of your body. Kidneys are no exception. Again, the high levels of sodium raises your risk for kidney disease and kidney stones since Ramen contains nearly two-thirds of the recommended daily sodium intake. Salt increases calcium in your urine which is how kidney stones form. So when you do eat Ramen, make sure you drink a lot of water!

27. It can make you grumpy

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We already discussed that instant Ramen on the daily can mess with your behavior. But, consuming too much of this stuff can actually make you grumpier. With a combination of the fatigue, bloating, and lack of nutrients, it's a prime set up to put you in a bad mood from the moment you wake up.

28. You'd just get bored

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At the most basic level, if you consume the same thing every day, at some point, you're going to get mentally, emotionally and physically sick of it. It could be your body's way of crying out for appropriate nutrients, but what's meant to be a one-off savory treat has now become something bland and boring.

29. You might notice more frequent headaches

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The high sodium in instant Ramen can trigger headaches because the volume of your blood increases with the large quantities which means your blood vessels have to stretch to accommodate. A bowl of instant Ramen also contains MSG which is known to cause headaches and other ailments.

30. To sum it all up

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The ~occasional~ bowl of instant Ramen won't kill you, so don't worry if you have it every now and then. But in the long-term, it's not something you want to be eating daily. This is true of most processed foods. It's just nearly impossible to get the nutrients you need to function properly, while you're simultaneously consuming a lot of things that are hard on your body!