Often it's not the foods we eat that's the issue, it's the condiments we use to cover the food. Today we're going to be considering one of the primary condiment culprits… ketchup!
I adore ketchup, I put it on almost everything. And so this hits home for me.
Tomatoes are good for your health, aren't they?
Ketchup is basically made out of tomatoes. Therefore you would likely believe that it's not too bad for you. We know that it's also loaded with sugar, still tomatoes are vegetables, right? So at the least you're receiving the nutrients from those.
Well not when you cook them to death!
Ketchup is essentially comprised of very over cooked tomatoes that have lost just about all their vitamins and minerals, some water and a LOT of sugar.
The sugar in ketchup will probably be worth a more detailed look. Because of the fact that, while it begins as sugar (and that is already unhealthy) before it goes into the bottle it's processed into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and that is a lot worse! On top of this, we get flavourings, like MSG, which will make us desire it more.
When MSG won me a kiss!
It appears as though MSG is in pretty much everything everything. I recall many years ago, I was on a date with a girl I'd been obsessing over for the better part of a year. We were eating Malteasers and she challenged me to identify the ingredients.
I said most of the obvious ones, then I rolled the malteaser around inside my mouth like trying to pick up the next flavour, before announcing 'monosodium glutamate?' She quickly checked the ingredients and was stunned by my super-tasting ability, which won me a kiss!!
I'm more than likely the one person on Earth that's actually gotten anything decent from MSG (well me as well as the entire food production industry which use it to make us addicted to their products!)
And so, ketchup is not good for you. Its only decent ingredient has long shed its worth and most of the additional stuff has been linked to many health problems.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is associated with:
- Being overweight
- Diabetes
- Heart Problems
- Cancers
…and it has got absolutely no nutrition. It simply helps make things sweet, and that means you consume much more of it.
Is MSG actually bad for you?
Should you choose to do a quick search on MSG, there are actually plenty of articles declaring that it has a poor reputation but it isn't that unhealthy. Then you'll stumble upon this quote:
“It’s probably one of the most harmful substances that one can eat.”
Michael Galitzer MD
I honestly believe that there's a little bit of a conspiracy going on, attempting to stop the majority of folk from learning the facts about MSG. To make sure that we keep eating foods that happen to be loaded with it.
MSG may cause something named a 'Leaky Gut' which sounds revolting as well as being associated with
- Feeling bloated
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
I have to admit, on more than one occasion I've suffered with all of those, especially after indulging in a fatty takeaway.
Healthy Ketchup substitutes
OK, back to ketchup. We love it. We want to carry on using it. However we don't really want 'Leaky Gut'
The best solution to shop acquired ketchup may be to produce your very own.
Should you fancy giving that a go, you should watch this video tutorial:
Learning to make your very own simple quick and super healthy ketchup
In the event you just don't have enough time to do that, there are a couple of shop purchased ketchups which are a much healthier possibility.
Back in 2010 ConAgra eliminated the HFCS from their ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) but they also added it back a few years after. Why? Well I think that they were hoping to cash in on peoples escalating awareness of the potential risks of HFCS and expecting that their significantly more healthy alternative could earn them a larger share of the marketplace.
I don't for 1 second believe that they actually did it out of concern for human health.
Of course, it didn't work, because they put it back. However the public is increasingly becoming ever more health conscious, so most likely they'll give it a second try if they decide that the public is ready for it. It's surely worth picking up a bottle and checking the ingredients now and again.
Give Tomato Puree a try
One other alternative, though not an incredibly tasty one, is to use tomato puree as an alternative to ketchup. In recipes this works fine, but as a condiment it's honestly not the same. Tomato puree isn't so sweet and has a quite powerful flavour. However spend time with it, add just a little sweeter and see what you can make. I'm quite certain that whatever you do it'll be quite a bit better for you when compared with any branded ketchup!
So long as you don't boil all the nutrients away, cram it with HFCS and lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of this, go crazy, you could even add some (deadly) sugar and you'll probably still end up with a much healthier ketchup compared to the one you're eating now.
Tomato puree (combined with a sweetener) is a great alternative to producing your own ketchup because it can last a good bit longer than fresh tomatoes, needs far less space in your fridge and also its easy to rustle up in a couple of seconds as needed. They it, and let em know how it goes.