A new American research has linked the South Korean staple, instant noodles, to multiple health hazards and is now prompting Korean residents to cry foul. The study was conducted by researchers from the Baylor Heart and Vascular Hospital and claims that instant noodle consumption may be linked to several health conditions including increasing the risk for heart disease.
South Koreans are the leading consumers of instant noodles and consume more of the product per capita than anywhere else in the world. Despite the release of the report, many of its citizens that participated in a nationwide survey have said that they did not plan to quit eating the food. There was a good percentage of people who participated in the survey that said that they tweaking their diets to be able to make up for consuming so much instant noodles. Their methods include using less seasoning when cooking the noodles, adding vegetables to a noodle-based dish, avoiding the soup that comes with the noodles, and taking regular doses of omega-3. Many have also just ignored the report saying that it is quite irrelevant that a "cheeseburger-gobbling" country like the United States is releasing a health report. Instant noodles have been deeply rooted in the South Korean culture since they first emerged in the market during the 1960s when the country was starting to make it's way out of the destruction and poverty brought about by the Korean War. Since then, South Korea has developed and has now become the fourth largest economy in all of Asia.
The United States-based health study collected data between the years 2007 and 2009 while observing the eating habits of over 10,000 adults aged 19 to 64. Researchers found that subjects those diets were comprised mainly of soda, meat, and fast food articles, including instant noodles, have a significantly increased risk for obesity, elevated levels of bad cholesterol, and metabolic syndrome.
