Typically it's not the foods we eat that's the issue, it's the stuff we put on to the food. Right now we're going to be checking out one of the primary condiment culprits… ketchup!
I really like ketchup, I lavish it over almost everything. So this one hits home to me.
Tomatoes are good for you, right?
Ketchup is mainly composed of tomatoes. Which means you might presume that it's not too unhealthy. We are all aware that it's also full of sugar, but tomatoes are vegetables, right? So at the least you're receiving the nutrients from those.
Well not once you boil them to death!
Ketchup is actually made out of extremely over cooked tomatoes which have lost every bit of their nutrition, some water and a LOT of sugar.
The sugar in ketchup is really worth a deeper look. Because of the fact that, though it starts off as sugar (and this is already unhealthy) before it enters the bottle it's refined into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is a good deal worse! In addition to this, you have flavourings, like MSG, that make us need it a lot more.
When MSG earned me a kiss!
It seems that MSG is in absolutely everything. I remember several years ago, I was on a date with a super hot girl I'd been attracted to for the better part of a year. We were eating Malteasers and she challenged me to list the ingredients.
I gave her one or two of the obvious ones, and then I rolled the malteaser around in my mouth like looking to indentify a different flavour, before saying 'monosodium glutamate?' She immediately scrutinised the contents and was stunned by my super-tasting powers, which won me a kiss!!
I'm more than likely the only guy in the world that's actually got something good from MSG (well me along with the whole food production industry who use it to get us addicted to their products!)
So, ketchup is bad. Its only good ingredient has long lost its worth and all of the additional ingredients have been linked with many health issues.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is connected with:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Cancers
…and it includes absolutely zero nutritional value. It simply makes stuff sweeter, which means you consume more of them.
Is MSG genuinely unhealthy?
Should you choose to do a quick search on MSG, you will discover a considerable amount of articles saying that it has a poor reputation but it isn't that bad for you. And then you'll disover this quote:
“It’s probably one of the most harmful substances that one can eat.”
Michael Galitzer MD
I actually feel as if there's a little bit of a conspiracy going on, attempting to stop most people from knowing the facts about MSG. To ensure we keep eating foods that are full of it.
MSG can lead to something named a 'Leaky Gut' which sounds disgusting and is associated with
- Feeling bloated
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
I have to acknowledge, on many occasions I've suffered from all those, particularly after treating myself to a greasy takeaway.
Wholesome Ketchup alternatives
OK, let's get back to ketchup. We all love it. We want to carry on using it. But we don't really want 'Leaky Gut'
The best alternative to shop bought ketchup might be to cook your own.
If you should fancy giving that a go, then take a look at this video tutorial:
Steps to make your very own simple quick and very healthy ketchup
In case you just don't have the time to do that, there are some store purchased ketchups that are a much healthier choice.
In 2010 ConAgra took out the HFCS from their ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) however added it back a few years after. The reason? Well I would say that they were intending to cash in on public growing awareness of the health risks of HFCS and anticipating that their healthy option would win them a bigger share of the market.
I don't for 1 second feel that they did it due to concern for our wellbeing.
Apparently, it didn't do the job, because they put it back. But the public is constantly becoming more health aware, so quite possibly they'll give it a second try once they believe that the public is ready for it. It's definitely worth picking up a bottle and reviewing the ingredients every once in awhile.
Why not try tomato puree?
A second alternative, but certainly not a very tasty one, is to use tomato puree instead of ketchup. In recipes this works perfectly, however as a condiment it's simply not the same. Tomato puree isn't as sweet and also has an exceptionally powerful flavour. But play with it, include some sweeter and just see what you can come up with. I'm pretty sure that whatever you produce it'll be a lot healthier as compared with any branded ketchup!
Just don't cook all of the nutrients away, load it with HFCS or lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of that, you can go nuts, you could even add some (deadly) sugar and you'll still have an improved ketchup compared to the one you're eating now.
Tomato puree (coupled with a sweetener) is an excellent alternative to producing your own ketchup as it will last much longer than fresh tomatoes, requires much less room in your cooler and its easy to rustle up in a couple of seconds when needed. They it, and let em know how it goes.