Many times it's not the food which we eat that's making us put on weight, it's the condiments that we put on the food. Today we'll be taking a look at probably the biggest condiment culprits... ketchup!
I really like tomato ketchup, I use it everythingthat I eat. So this particular one pushes a few personal buttons for me.
Tomatoes are good for you, correct?
Ketchup is mostly produced using tomatoes. Therefore you would believe that it's not that bad for you. All of us know that it's also packed with sugar, but tomatoes are lovely wholesome veggies, correct? So at the very least you're getting the nourishment from those...
Well not when they've been boiled to within an inch of their lives!
Ketchup is essentially made from incredibly over cooked tomatoes that have shed all of their natural value, some water and a LOT of sugar.
The sugar added to ketchup will be worth a closer look. Because, although this starts as sugar (which is already pretty unhealthy) before it goes into the ketchup it's processed into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is much worse!
As well as this, it is packed with flavourings, like MSG, which make us want to consume more.
Therefore , ketchup is not a good idea if you want to eat healthy. It's only healthy ingredient (tomatoes) has lost any value it once had and all of the additional stuff has been linked to a great number of health issues, like...
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is linked to
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Cancer
.. and contains absolutely no nutritional worth. It just makes food sweet, so people eat more.
Is MSG really bad for your health?
If you do a quick search on MSG, you will discover numerous articles saying that it has a poor rep but it really isn't that bad for your health. Then you'll stumble upon this little insight from Michael Galitzer...
“It’s probably one of the most harmful substances that one can eat.”
I honestly think that there's a bit of a conspiracy here, attempting to prevent the majority of people from discovering the truth about MSG. So that we keep eating products which are packed with it.
MSG may lead to 'Leaky Gut' which certainly sounds revolting and is associated with...
- Bloatedness
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
I have to admit, on numerous occasions I've had all those, specifically after scoffing a yummy takeaway.
Healthy Tomato Ketchup options
Anyway, let's get back to ketchup. We really like it. We would like to keep consuming it. But we don't really want 'Leaky Gut'.
The healthiest substitute for shop bought ketchup is to make some in your kitchen.
If you fancy giving that a try, then check out this video from "Cooking With Plants"
If you basically don't have time for that, a few shop-bought ketchups that are a healthier option.
In 2010 ConAgra eliminated the HFCS from their tomato ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) but sadly they added it back in a couple of years later. Why? Honestly, I believe that they were trying to cash-in on many peoples growing awareness of the dangers of HFCS and hoping that their much healthier option would earn them a greater share of the market.
I don't for a single moment think that they did it out of genuine concern public health.
Obviously, it didn't work, because they put it back in. But folks are constantly getting more health conscious, so maybe they will give it an additional go when they think the general public will prefer to buy it. It's definitely worth picking up a bottle and going through the ingredients every once in a while.
Another option, but not a very tasty one, is to use tomato puree. In recipes this works perfectly, but like a condiment it's really not too nice. Tomato puree isn't as sweet and has an extremely strong flavor. But give it a try, add a little sweetener and it'll be much more agreeable. I'm pretty sure that whatever you do will be a lot healthier than any branded ketchup!
Simply don't boil all of the nutrition away, cram it with HFCS and lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of that, experiment... even adding a few spoons of (deadly) sugar will still produce a far healthier ketchup compared to the one you're likely using now.
Tomato puree (mixed with a sweetener) is a good option to making your own ketchup as it lasts a lot longer than fresh tomatoes, takes up less room inside your fridge and its easy to rustle up in a couple of seconds when required. Try it, and let me know how you get on.