It's not necessarily the food which we consume which is the problem, it is the sauce we slather over the food. Today we'll be taking a look at most likely the biggest condiment culprits... tomato ketchup!
I really like tomato ketchup, I put it on almost everythingthat I eat. So this particular one pushes a few personal buttons for me.
Tomatoes are good for you, correct?
Ketchup is mostly made of tomatoes. Therefore you might think that it's not too bad for your health. All of us realize that it's also full of sugar, but tomatoes are wholesome vegetables, right? So at the very least you're going to be getting the nutrients from those...
Unfortunately not when you boil them to death!
Ketchup is basically manufactured using extremely over cooked tomatoes which have unfortunately lost all their nutritional value, some water and a LOT of sugar.
The sugar that you can find in ketchup is worth a closer inspection. Because, although this starts as sugar (which is already pretty unhealthy) before being added to the bottle it is refined into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is a lot more damaging to your health!
As well as this, it's packed with flavourings, like MSG, that make us want to eat more.
So , ketchup is not good. It's only nutritious ingredient has lost any value it once had and everything else has been linked to numerous medical issues, including...
High Fructose Corn Syrup is connected to
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Cancer
.. and contains absolutely no nutritional value. All it does is make food sweet, so people eat more.
Is MSG really bad for you?
If you do a quick search for MSG, there are a lot of articles saying that it has a negative rep but it really isn't that bad for your health. Then you will stumble in to this little insight from Michael Galitzer...
“It’s probably one of the most harmful substances that one can eat.”
I truthfully think that there's a bit of a conspiracy here, trying to avoid most people from finding the truth about MSG. So that we keep eating products which are filled with it.
MSG could cause 'Leaky Gut' which sounds revolting and is linked to...
- Bloating
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
I have to admit, on quite a few occasions I've had all those, specifically after eating a greasy takeaway.
Healthy Tomato Ketchup options
So, back to ketchup. We like it. We want to keep consuming it. But we don't want 'Leaky Gut'.
The healthiest substitute for shop purchased ketchup is to make some in your kitchen.
In case you fancy giving that a go, then check out this video from "Cooking With Plants"
In case you just don't have time for that, a few ketchups which are a more healthy option.
In 2010 ConAgra took out the HFCS from their tomato ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) but unfortunately they added it back a couple of years later. Why? My guess, I think that they were seeking to cash-in on peoples growing knowledge of the dangers of HFCS and hoping that their healthier option would earn them a higher share of the market.
I don't for 1 moment believe that they did it out of genuine concern people's health.
Obviously, it didn't work, simply because they put it back in. But people are constantly becoming more health mindful, so maybe they are going to give it one more go when they consider the public wants it. It's definitely worth picking up the bottle and checking the ingredients every once in a while.
Another option, but not a tasty one, is to use tomato puree. In recipes this will work perfectly, but as a sauce it's a bit strong. Tomato puree isn't as sweet and has a very strong flavour. But it's worth a try, add some sweetener and see what you come up with. I'm pretty sure that whatever you do will be a lot healthier than any shop-bought ketchup!
Simply don't boil all the nutrients away, pack it with HFCS and lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of that, experiment... even adding some sugar will still create a far healthier ketchup than the one you're using now.
Tomato puree (mixed along with a sweetener) will be a good alternative to making your own ketchup since it lasts a lot longer than fresh tomatoes, takes up much less room in your refrigerator and its an easy task to rustle up in a few seconds as required. Try it, and let me know how you get on.