It's not always the food we consume which is stopping us from losing weight, it's the stuff that we add to the food. Today we will be looking at most likely the biggest condiment culprits... ketchup!
I love ketchup, I put it on everythingthat I eat. So this particular one hits home for me.
Tomatoes are nutritious, correct?
Ketchup is mostly produced of tomatoes. Therefore you would think that it's not too bad for your health. We all know that it's also filled with sugar, but tomatoes are wholesome veggies, right? So at least you are going to be getting the nutrients from those...
Unfortunately not when they've been boiled to within an inch of their lives!
Ketchup is basically made using incredibly over cooked tomatoes which have pretty much lost all of their organic value, some water and a LOT of sugar.
The sugar that you can find in ketchup may be worth a closer inspection. Because, although this starts out as sugar (which is already pretty unhealthy) before it's added to the bottle it is refined into high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) which is much worse!
On top of this, it is packed with flavourings, like MSG, which make us want to use more.
Therefore , ketchup is bad. It's only healthy ingredient has been robbed of its value and all of the additional stuff has been linked to numerous health issues, such as...
HFCS is connected to
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Cancer
.. and contains absolutely no nutritional benefit. It just makes things sweet, so people eat more.
Is MSG really bad for your health?
If you do a quick search for MSG, you will find lots of articles saying that it has a bad reputation but it really isn't that bad for you. Then you'll stumble into 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 little bit of a conspiracy here, hoping to avoid the majority of people from obtaining the truth about MSG. So that we keep eating products which are packed with it.
MSG could cause '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 indulging in a greasy takeaway.
Healthier Tomato Ketchup alternatives
Anyway, 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 healthiest substitute for shop bought ketchup is to make it yourself.
In case you fancy giving that a go, then watch this video from "Cooking With Plants"
In case you basically don't have time for that, a few ketchups which are a healthier option.
In 2010 ConAgra removed the HFCS from their ketchup (Hunt's Ketchup) however they put it back a couple of years later. Why? Well, I believe that they were seeking to cash-in on many peoples growing understanding of the dangers associated with HFCS and expecting that their more healthy option would earn them a greater share of the market.
I don't for one second think that they did it out of concern the public's health.
Obviously, it didn't work, simply because they put it back in. But folks are constantly becoming more health conscious, so maybe they'll give it an additional go when they think that the public is ready for it. It's well worth picking up a bottle and looking at the ingredients every once in a while.
One more option, but not really a tasty one, is to switch out your reglular ketchup with tomato puree. In recipes this will work perfectly, but like a condiment it's a bit strong. Tomato puree is not as sweet and has a very powerful flavor. But play with it, put in a little sweetener (such as Stevia) and see what you come up with. I'm pretty certain that anything you do will be a great deal healthier than any kind of shop-bought ketchup!
Just don't boil all the nutrition away, fill it with HFCS and lace it with 'gut-leaking' MSG! Aside of that, experiment... even adding a little bit of sugar will still produce a more healthy ketchup compared to the one you're using now.
Tomato puree (mixed with a sweetener) will be a good alternative to making your own ketchup as it lasts a great deal longer than fresh tomatoes, takes up much less room within your refrigerator and its simple to rustle up in a few seconds when needed. Try it, and let me know how it goes.