What changes will happen to your body if you eat 1 pack of spicy strips every day? Besides being delicious, are spicy strips really nutritious?

Spicy strips are known as the "national snack" with a unique taste, spicy and chewy, and are very popular in the snack world. They are not only a bridge of friendship for children, but also a social tool for adults.

According to the survey data of iMedia Research, 80% of spicy strips consumers eat spicy strips at least once a week, and 7.4% eat spicy strips every day. Why can people eat spicy strips so much? If we eat a bag of spicy strips every day, what will be the impact on our body? In this article, we will talk about spicy strips and give some tips on eating spicy strips healthily.

Why is eating spicy strips so addictive?

Spicy strips have a rich flavor, with the aroma of spices, the saltiness of salt, the sweetness of sugar, the fatty aroma of oil, and the spicy taste that stimulates appetite.

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The various seasonings mixed together crazily stimulate the taste receptors on the tongue, making us feel "delicious!" The "spicy taste" brought by spicy strips is not a taste, but a stimulating pain that fills the mouth and nose. When the pain receptors are activated, they will also stimulate the brain to actively release endorphins, which in turn promote dopamine secretion and produce pleasure, so eating spicy strips will make people feel very refreshed.

The combination of these tastes and deliciousness makes us more and more "addicted" to eating spicy strips and we can't help ourselves!

Besides being delicious, are spicy strips nutritious?

There are many types of spicy strips. According to the survey data, more than 30% of spicy strips consumers like large spicy slices and spicy sticks, more than 40% like gluten, bean skin and big knife meat, and more than 60% like vegetarian beef tendon spicy strips. This may be because vegetarian beef tendon spicy strips are chewier and can help us relieve stress during chewing.

Image source: iiMedia Research

Regardless of the type of spicy strips, most of them are prepared noodle products with wheat flour as the main raw material, and spices, oil, salt, water, sugar, food additives, etc. are added. Some products are also processed with puffed soy products as the main raw materials.

Image source: Ingredients list of a certain brand of spicy strips

Spicy strips made from wheat flour mainly provide carbohydrates, fat, and sodium, while spicy strips made from puffed soy products as the main ingredient, in addition to providing fat and sodium, have a higher protein content and a lower carbohydrate content.

Figure: Type A (wheat flour), Type B (puffed soy products)

Overall, spicy strips mainly provide us with energy-producing nutrients, and their other nutritional values ​​are very low and their calories are high.

What will happen if you eat 1 pack of spicy strips every day?

Spicy noodles are so delicious that many people can't help but want to have a pack every day. But wait, if you really want to show off a pack of spicy noodles every day, you may face the following problems.

1. Gaining weight

Spicy strips are really high in fat and calories. One pack of spicy strips can consume a day's worth of cooking oil. For example, the fat content of a favorite brand of spicy strips in the picture below is as high as 25g/100g, which almost all comes from the vegetable oil added during the production process. The net content of a pack of spicy strips is 106g. If you eat one pack a day, you will consume nearly 27g of oil.

Figure: Nutritional composition of a certain brand of spicy strips

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that we control the amount of cooking oil used per day to 25-30g. Eating just one pack of spicy strips is almost enough. We also have to eat oily dishes every day, so it is easy to exceed the daily cooking oil intake.

Such high-fat snacks are naturally high in calories, 435kcal/100g. Eating one pack will consume about 461kcal, which is almost equivalent to the calories of one meal. Think about it, in addition to three meals a day, adding "one more meal", it is just around the corner to gain weight.

Figure: Net content of a certain brand of spicy strips

2. Not conducive to blood pressure control

Salt plays a big role in the flavor of spicy strips. The sodium content of spicy strips is generally not low, mostly between 2000~3000mg/100g. For example, the sodium content of the popular spicy strips is 2563mg/100g, which is equivalent to about 6.4g/100g of salt. This pack can consume 6.8g of salt, which is equivalent to the salt of a beer bottle cap.

Figure: Sodium content of a certain brand of spicy strips

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends that daily salt intake should be controlled within 5g, but one pack of spicy strips exceeds this amount. Eating it for a long time is not only not conducive to blood pressure control and increases the risk of hypertension, but also increases the risk of osteoporosis, stroke, gastritis, gastric cancer and other diseases.

Some friends may be curious, spicy strips are not salty, how can there be so much salt! This is because spicy strips also contain a lot of sugar, the sweetness of sugar will cover up the saltiness of spicy strips, so we don't eat salty.

3. Acne and reduced appearance

Eating spicy food frequently may cause acne on our face, which will reduce our appearance. Many people think that acne is caused by eating spicy food. In fact, eating spicy food does not directly cause acne on our skin. There is no evidence that there is a direct relationship between acne and eating spicy food. However, eating too much spicy food may aggravate facial inflammation, causing acne that was not obvious to become redder and more obvious.

What really causes us to get acne is the sugar and fat in spicy strips. It is currently believed that there is a close relationship between insulin resistance and acne. A high-sugar, carbohydrate diet can cause insulin resistance and promote acne. High-fat, greasy foods can also cause acne.

4. There may be potential health hazards

High-temperature cooking steps in the production of spicy strips, such as extrusion and puffing, and seasoning oil preparation, may cause polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution. PAHs have the "three-hazard" effects of carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, and mutagenicity, which can endanger our health.

Some researchers have conducted monitoring and analysis on the risk of PAHs in spicy strips. A total of 79 batches of samples were tested, of which 67 batches were found to contain PAHs, with a total detection rate of 84.8%. The detection rate of PAHs in spicy strips purchased around the campus is generally higher than that in spicy strips purchased by manufacturers and supermarkets. Eating such spicy strips frequently is a potential health hazard to the human body.

Tips for eating spicy noodles healthily

Even though eating spicy strips frequently is unhealthy, there is no need to "break away" from them. Just follow the following suggestions and you can enjoy the delicious taste of spicy strips without worry!

1. Choose a big brand

There are often incidents of abuse of preservatives and excessive total bacteria count in spicy strips. Therefore, for food safety, try not to choose unpackaged spicy strips placed outdoors on the street or spicy strips produced by small workshops to avoid excessive total bacteria count and improper use of additives. Eating them may cause diarrhea and even further endanger your health.

The spicy strips produced by big brands are subject to stricter testing in various aspects, which can ensure the factory pass rate and make them safer to eat.

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2. Choose a relatively healthy one

Comparing the nutritional composition tables of different spicy strips, it is recommended to choose one with relatively low calories, fat and sodium content.

3. Occasionally satisfy your cravings

Although spicy strips are not junk food, they are not healthy snacks either. They are high in calories, oil, salt, and sugar, so they are not suitable for regular consumption. Try to eat less, just to satisfy your cravings occasionally, or buy a pack of spicy strips and share them with others, which can also enhance friendship. Children, the elderly, people with chronic diseases, and people with weak gastrointestinal function should eat less.

4. Reduce oil and salt in your diet

If you eat spicy noodles during the day, you should pay attention to reducing salt and oil in your diet. Also, don't eat other snacks, such as potato chips, French fries, rice crust, instant noodles, small cakes, etc.

In addition, I have to remind you: it is not recommended to mix spicy noodles with rice! Eating like this for a long time may cause malnutrition!

Summarize:

At present, although eating one pack of spicy noodles a day is a source of happiness for many people, it will gradually harm health, so we should be cautious. In 2019, the State Administration for Market Regulation issued an announcement on "Strengthening the Quality and Safety Supervision of Flavored Noodle Products", advocating the reduction of salt, oil and sugar in spicy noodles. We hope that spicy noodles will gradually become healthier in the future.

References

[1] iiMedia Research | 2023 China Spicy Noodles Food Industry Innovation and Consumer Demand Insight Report

[2] Lu Lingyi, Lai Huiying, Ju Qiang, et al. Research progress on the correlation between acne and insulin resistance[J]. International Journal of Dermatology and Venereology, 2017, 43(1): 35-38. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1673-4173.2017.01.010.

[3] Ju Qiang. Chinese acne treatment guidelines (2019 revised edition)[J]. Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2019(9):6.

[4] Liu Pingyu, Qiu Huali, Jiang Wenjun, et al. Risk monitoring and analysis of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in spicy strips[J]. Modern Food, 2023, 29(05): 200-204. DOI: 10.16736/j.cnki.cn41-1434/ts.2023.05.052.

[5] Deng Yuxiu, Zhu Xiuju, Huang Haixia, et al. Analysis on the current status of preservatives used in spicy strips[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality, 2020, 11(06): 1969-1972. DOI: 10.19812/j.cnki.jfsq11-5956/ts.2020.06.050.

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center