Sometimes it's not the food we eat that's the issue, it's the products we put on to the food. Today we're gonna be looking at one of the primary condiment culprits… ketchup!
I like ketchup, I slop it over everything. And so this one hits home to me.
Tomatoes are good for you, aren't they?
Ketchup is mostly made of tomatoes. Which means you would reckon that it's not too unhealthy. We realize that it's also filled with sugar, yet tomatoes are vegetables, right? So at least you're gaining the nutrition from those.
Well not if you boil them to death!
Ketchup is basically made from very over cooked tomatoes that have lost every bit of their nutritional value, some water in addition to a LOT of sugar.
The sugar in ketchup will probably be worth a more detailed look. Due to the fact that, whilst it begins as sugar (and this is already undesirable) before it is added to the bottle it's processed into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and this is significantly worse! As well as this, we get flavourings, including MSG, which will make us desire it more.
How MSG earned me a kiss!
It seems that MSG is in almost everything. I remember several years ago, I was on a date with a stunning girl I'd been admiring for the better part of a year. We were sharing Malteasers and she challenged me to name the ingredients.
I gave her a few of the obvious ones, and then I rolled the malteaser around in my mouth as though attempting to pick up a different flavour, before announcing 'monosodium glutamate?' She immediately checked the ingredients and was stunned by my super-tasting powers, which earned me a kiss!!
I'm most probably the only person on the planet that's ever gotten anything good out of MSG (well me along with the whole food processing industry who use it to get us addicted to their products!)
So, ketchup is not good for you. The sole healthy ingredient has long lost its value and most of the additional stuff has been associated with numerous medical issues.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is connected to:
- Weight problems
- Diabetic issues
- Hypertension
- Cancer
…and it consists of no real nutrition. It just makes stuff sweet, to make sure you eat much more of them.
Is MSG really harmful?
If you do a search on MSG, there are a number of articles declaring that it has a bad reputation but it really isn't that harmful. And then you'll stumble upon this quote:
“It’s probably one of the most harmful substances that one can eat.”
Michael Galitzer MD
I truthfully feel as if there's a little bit of a conspiracy happening, hoping to prevent most folk from knowing the facts about MSG. To make certain that we keep eating products which are abundant in it.
MSG can cause a little something named a 'Leaky Gut' which sounds horrible and is linked to
- Bloating
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
I have to acknowledge, on many occasions I've had all of these, especially after eating a fatty takeaway.
Nutritious Ketchup solutions
OK, going back to ketchup. We love it. And we want to keep having it. However we don't want to get 'Leaky Gut'
The most excellent alternative to store acquired ketchup can be to make your very own.
For those that fancy giving that a go, you should check out this video tutorial:
Making your own simple rapid and very nourishing ketchup
If you simply don't have the time to do that, you also have one or two store bought ketchups that happen to be a much healthier selection.
Back in 2010 ConAgra took out the HFCS from their ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) however they put it back a few years later. The reason why? Well I feel that they were trying to cash in on the publics increasing awareness of the potential risks of HFCS and anticipating that their healthy alternative would win them a better piece of the market.
I don't for one second feel that they actually did it because of concern for our wellbeing.
Apparently, it didn't work, because they put it back. But people are increasingly getting more health aware, so quite possibly they'll give it another try after they decide that the public is ready for it. It's clearly worthwhile picking up a bottle and checking the ingredients every now and then.
Why not try tomato puree?
One additional alternative, though not a very tasty one, could be to use tomato puree as an alternative to ketchup. In recipes this will work fine, however as a condiment it's certainly not as good. Tomato puree isn't so sweet and also has a really strong flavour. But spend time with it, put in some sweeter and see what you can make. I'm pretty sure that whatever you end up with it'll be a good deal healthier as compared with any branded ketchup!
So long as you don't cook all the nutrients away, load it with HFCS or lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of this, you can go crazy, you could even add some (deadly) sugar and you'll probably still have an improved ketchup in comparison with the one you're using now.
Tomato puree (blended with a sweetener) is an effective alternative to making your own ketchup because it lasts a good while longer than fresh tomatoes, needs considerably less room in your fridge and also it is effortless to rustle up in a couple of seconds when you need it. They it, and let em know how it goes.