It's not necessarily the food we eat which is the problem, it's the sauce we slather over the food. Today we'll be taking a look at most likely the guiltiest condiment culprits... ketchup!
I enjoy ketchup, I put it on pretty much everything. So this one is very personal for me.
Tomatoes are nutritious, aren't they?
Ketchup is primarily produced from tomatoes. Therefore you'd believe that it's not that bad for you. We all know that it's also full of sugar, but tomatoes are natural veggies, correct? So at least you're going to be getting the nourishment from those...
Unfortunately not when you boil them to death!
Ketchup is essentially manufactured from incredibly over cooked tomatoes that have pretty much lost all their natural value, some water and loads of sugar.
The sugar that you can find in ketchup is worth a closer look. Because, although this starts as sugar (which is already pretty unhealthy) before being added to the bottle it is processed into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is much more damaging for your health!
On top of this, it's stuffed with flavourings, such as MSG, that make us want to consume more.
So , ketchup is not a good idea if you want to eat healthy. It's only decent ingredient has been stripped of any value it once had and all of the additional stuff has been linked to a great number of medical issues, like...
HFCS is connected to
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Cancer
.. and contains absolutely no nutritional value. All it does is make stuff sweet, so you eat more.
Is MSG really bad for you?
When you do a little research for MSG, you can find numerous articles saying that it has a poor rep but it isn't really that bad for you. Then you will stumble in to this from Michael Galitzer...
“It’s probably one of the most harmful substances that one can eat.”
I truthfully feel that there's a bit of a conspiracy here, trying to prevent the majority of folk from obtaining the truth about MSG. So that we keep eating products that are full of it.
MSG can trigger 'Leaky Gut' which sounds revolting and is associated with...
- Bloatedness
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
I have to admit, on several occasions I've had all those, especially after eating a greasy Chinese takeaway.
Healthier Tomato Ketchup alternatives
So, let's get back to ketchup. We really like it. We would like to keep consuming it. But we don't want 'Leaky Gut'.
The best alternative to shop bought ketchup is to make some in your kitchen.
If you fancy giving that a go, then watch this video from "Cooking With Plants"
In case you basically don't have time for that, there are a couple of shop-bought ketchups which are a much healthier option.
Back in 2010 ConAgra removed the HFCS from their ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) but sadly they put it back a couple of years later. Why? My guess, I feel that they were trying to cash in on many peoples growing concern of the dangers associated with HFCS and expecting that their much healthier option would earn them a higher share of the ketchup market.
I don't for 1 minute think that they made the decision out of genuine concern the public's health.
Obviously, it didn't do the job, simply because they put it back. But men and women are constantly becoming more health conscious, so maybe they will give it another go when they decide the public will prefer to buy it. It's definitely worth picking up a bottle and looking at the ingredients every now and then.
One more option, but not a very tasty one, is to switch out your reglular ketchup with tomato puree. In recipes this works perfectly, but like a sauce it's a bit strong. Tomato puree isn't as sweet and has an extremely strong flavour. But give it a try, add a little sweetener and it'll be much more agreeable. I'm pretty certain that anything you do will be a great deal healthier than any kind of branded ketchup!
Simply don't boil all the nutrition away, fill it with HFCS and lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of that, go crazy... possibly even adding a touch of (deadly) sugar will still produce a much healthier ketchup than the one you're likely using now.
Tomato puree (mixed with a sweetener) will be a great option to making your own ketchup since it lasts a great deal longer than fresh tomatoes, occupies less room inside your fridge and its easy to rustle up in a few seconds when required. Try it, and let me know how you get on.