Often it's not the food which we eat that is stopping us from losing weight, it is the sauce we slather over the food. Today we'll be looking at probably the guiltiest condiment culprits... tomato ketchup!
I love ketchup, I put it on everythingthat I eat. So this particular one is very personal for me.
Tomatoes are good for you, correct?
Ketchup is primarily made using tomatoes. So you would believe that it's not too bad for you. We all realize that it's also packed with sugar, but tomatoes are vegetables, correct? So at the very least you'll be going to be getting the nourishment from those...
Unfortunately not when you boil them to death!
Ketchup is essentially produced from very over cooked tomatoes that have pretty much lost all their nutritional value, some water and plenty of sugar.
The sugar in ketchup will be worth a closer look. Because, although it starts as sugar (which is already unhealthy) before it goes into the ketchup it is refined into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is much more damaging for your health!
On top of this, it's crammed with flavourings, like MSG, that make us want to use more.
Therefore , ketchup is bad. It's only decent ingredient (tomatoes) has lost its value and everything else has been linked to a great number of health issues, for instance...
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is linked to
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Cancer
.. and contains absolutely no nutritional value. All it does is make things sweet, so you eat more.
Is MSG really bad for you?
When you do a quick search for MSG, you can find a great deal of articles saying that it has a poor rep but it really isn't that bad for you. Then you'll stumble upon this quote 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, hoping to avoid the majority of folk from discovering the truth about MSG. So that we keep eating products that are filled with it.
MSG could trigger 'Leaky Gut' which sounds disgusting and is related to...
- Bloating
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
I have to admit, on quite a few occasions I have had all those, specifically after eating a yummy takeaway.
Healthy Ketchup options
Anyway, back to ketchup. We adore it. We would like to keep eating it. But we don't really want 'Leaky Gut'.
The best substitute for shop purchased ketchup is to make it yourself.
If 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 that are a more healthy option.
Back in 2010 ConAgra removed the HFCS from their ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) but unfortunately they put it back a couple of years later. Why? My guess, I think that they were wanting to cash in on many peoples growing awareness of the dangers of HFCS and hoping that their much healthier option would earn them a larger share of the ketchup market.
I don't for 1 moment believe that they made the decision out of genuine concern the public's health.
Obviously, it didn't do the job, because they put it back. But people are constantly getting more health conscious, so maybe they are going to give it an additional go when they determine that the public will prefer to buy it. It's definitely worth picking up a bottle and checking out the ingredients every so often.
One more option, but not a very tasty one, is to switch out your reglular ketchup with tomato puree. Within recipes this will work perfectly, but like a sauce it's a bit strong. Tomato puree is not as sweet and has a very strong flavour. But it's worth a try, include a little 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!
Just don't boil all the nutrition away, stuff it with HFCS and lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of that, go crazy... possibly even adding a touch of sugar will still produce a better ketchup than the one you're using now.
Tomato puree (mixed with a sweetener) will be a great alternative to making your own ketchup because it lasts a lot longer than fresh tomatoes, takes up less room inside your fridge and its easy to rustle up in a few seconds as needed. Try it, and let me know how you get on.