Monday, April 20, 2015

The Potential Health Risks of Eating Instant Ramen Noodles

 Ramen noodles began their journey into the world in the countries of Japan and China. In these areas of the world, ramen noodles are handmade fresh daily with homemade pasta, meat broths, herbs, vegetables and tofu. However, the instant ramen noodles you purchase from the grocery store and make up at home with boiling water and instant seasoning packs are unhealthy. In fact, eating these on a regular basis could in fact shorten your life. Therefore, all you collage students eaten ramen for a quick affordable meal might change your mind about eating them after reading this article.

What exactly are instant ramen noodles bad for your health? 

Instant ramen noodles are bad for your health because they contain high amounts of sodium. Consuming a diet high in sodium each day contributes to a variety of different health conditions such as:


  • Heart Disease
  • Respiratory Issues 
  • Inflammation 
  • Water Retention 
  • Chronic Allergies
  • Heart Attack
  • Stroke
  • High Blood Pressure 
  • Excessive Weight Gain 
  • Extreme Nausea 
  • Seizures
  • Cancer
  • Extreme Thirst 
  • Digestive Issues 


Instant ramen also contains monosodium glutamate, which you may know as MSG. This ingredient acts as a flavor enhancer and causes you to crave the food. If eaten often it can actually become addicting. Overtime, as it builds up into your body it can cause behavioral issues such as depression, hypertension, anxiety and panic attacks and confusion. It also has the ability to cause obesity, nausea and vomiting in some people. One of the most common health conditions people suffer from by eating MSG rich foods on a daily basis is migraine headaches, which become so severe medical treatment from a doctor is required.

Along with high amounts of sodium and MSG, the noodles contain unhealthy fats and can actually cause many digestive issues such as chronic constipation, stomach ulcers, digestive diseases and stomach cancers. The noodles alone cause obesity as well when eaten daily. Preventing obesity is essential for preventing diseases such as diabetes and colon cancer.

End Notes for Thought 

Knowing all these health risks about instant ramen noodles hopefully has changed your opinion about eating them on a regular basis as an affordable meal. Just because a meal is affordable does not mean you should eat it. This is especially true if that meal is eaten daily and causes potential health risks for you in the future, which will causes you to have more medical bills and more expenses in the future that you could have avoided by making healthier meal choices. If you love ramen noodles that much and cannot live without them in your diet, you should make the dish homemade using nourishing ingredients that actually provide nourishment to your body.

Friday, April 17, 2015

Ramen Noodles Origin and Health Benefits

Ramen noodles are a typical budget friendly meal almost everyone has heard of and eaten. This is because it contains nourishing wheat noodles served in a meat broth and topped with tofu, seaweed, vegetables, herbs, eggs, or whatever is on hand. The comforting meal not only provides nourishment to the body, but it brings comfort while you eat it.

Where did ramen noodles originate? 

The origin of ramen noodles is not clear, but the places it was made from scratch and served the most was in Japan and China. In fact, the first ramen shop open in Yokohama, China in 1910. Then, throughout areas of Japan and China, ramen was made and served up at cuisine restaurants and even on the side of roads in food stalls to provide nourishing warm food to works during their mealtime. Now, ramen is served all over the world in restaurants, cafes and grocery store soup bars.

Heck, you can even find prepackaged ramen noodles to make at home in the grocery store that you can add your own flavors, meats and vegetables too. However, the prepackaged kind of ramen noodles is not as healthy or as tasty as homemade ones served in homemade broths.

There are even vending machines within the Japan and China areas that you can purchase prepackaged ramen at so you can grab it, take it back to the work break room or home, add water and microwave it until the broth and noodles are cooked, warm and tender.

How is traditional ramen noodles made? 

Traditional ramen noodles are made with homemade wheat noodles that contain wheat flour, salt, water and mineral water that contains sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate. Once the noodles are made, they are placed in a homemade hot meat broth that is made from either chicken broth, fish broth or a beef broth. In rare cases, vegetable broths are used for vegetarian ramen. Then, the noodles are cooked until tender and served up in the broth with tofu, steamed or raw vegetables, slowly roasted meat chunks, marrowbones,  pork bones, herbs, spices, roots or whatever is fresh and in season.

What nourishing nutrients are in ramen noodles? 

The nutrients founds in ramen noodles are antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, protein, fiber, enzymes and carbohydrates. These nutrients provide energy to the body and help keep the organs and systems of the body functioning properly. Due to all the nutrients in ramen noodles it makes the perfect remedy for easing cold and flu symptoms as well as easing nausea and vomiting in some individuals. Pregnant women can also benefit from eating homemade ramen noodles since it provides a good source of protein and many nutrients that can nourish the fetus. So, if you are feeling under the weather or your body needs something affordable and nourishing, yet homemade and comforting ramen noodles is the meal to turn too.

End Thoughts for Ramen Noodles 

If you truly want to experience the art of homemade ramen noodles visit Japan or China and visit a cuisine restaurant or ramen noodle stall the serves them up. You will not be disappoint when you go to eat a homemade bowl that is full of fresh flavor. However, if you cannot get to Japan or China, look up a recipe and make it yourself. It will taste and nourish your body so much better than the prepackaged kind.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

What is Your Best Quality as a Good Friend?

When I think of my best quality when it comes to being a good friend I think about my sense of humor. My sense of humor is one of my best qualities in a friendship because it keeps it exciting, full of laughter and light-hearted, which for me has given me some of the best friendships that I have now. Without my sense of humor, I might not have any friends. 


For example, the other day my friend came to school balling her eyes out. I always being prepared for everything pull out a small package of travel tissues, but these tissues were not just any kind of tissues. My tissues have these funny sayings on them just because when someone is crying out of sadness you do not want to hand them just any kind of tissue. Oh no, you want to hand them a tissue that says, “Wipe here, blow there!” As soon as I handed her the tissue, she stopped crying and starred at it with a blank face. Then, laughter came unexpectedly and she could not stop giggling. She asked where I had gotten them and I said from the oddball store in the mall. She thought those tissues were the funniest, but then again they came from me and even in the most serious of moments I cannot be too serious. 


My humor doesn’t just stop there in a friendship. Oh no, when you need something and cannot find it anywhere I will make it my mission to find it. When I do find it, I grab as many as I can. For example, my friend had been looking for those silly bingo ink stamps for a poster project for the science fair. He couldn’t find them anywhere so I went looking myself. Of coarse me, I find a boat load of them at a reasonable price at the local discount department store and grab like the entire box. I go to school the next day and place them all inside his locker before he got there. As soon as he got to school and open his locker all the bingo ink stamps fell out everywhere and he started laughing. 


When it comes to my friends my sense of humor is the most important quality. It keeps us all laughing and having a good time. Most importantly, they can count on me for a good smile all the time.

Monday, April 6, 2015

What are The Causes of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome can occur in anyone of any age. You can develop the disorder by over using your wrist improperly doing repeated activities or from a medical condition that prevents proper blood flow through the wrist such as arthritis, gout, thyroid disorder, diabetes, lupus or bone spur. With that said, it is more common for carpal tunnel to develop in individuals that commonly use their wrist and hands in the same repetitive motions each day such as knitting, painting, drawing, typing, writing, working vibrating machinery and using hand tools. In fact, developing carpal tunnel because of a particular health condition is rare, but it can occur.

What exactly is carpal tunnel syndrome?

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that involves too much pressure on top of the nerves within your wrist. When these nerves are under pressure, your hands will experience tingling sensations and even numbness. Sometimes even weakness and pain are present in severe cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. Thankfully, several treatments are available to help correct syndrome so you do not have to suffer from it if you do have it. However, you will not know you have it unless you visit your doctor for an exam so he or she can properly diagnoses your condition.

What are the treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome? 

Carpal tunnel syndrome is treated based on the severity of the condition. For example, for minor carpal tunnel syndrome home treatments are useful and for more severe cases surgery is sometimes necessary. To help provide you with more insight take a look at the treatment options below.


  1. Home Treatment: Sometimes simply changing up how you use your wrist movement can aid in the healing of the condition. Your doctor might even recommend that you wear a wrist splint while working or doing tasks. 
  2. Medicines: In mild to moderate cases, doctors will often prescribe to you no steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to help relieve the pain, inflammation and discomfort that comes with the syndrome. In rare cases doctors will inject or prescribe corticosteroid medication to help relieve the symptoms of carpel tunnel.  However, medications do not cure carpal tunnel. 
  3. Surgery: In severe cases where the nerves no longer function properly surgery is necessary in order to relieve carpal tunnel syndrome. 


End Notes to Keep in Mind 

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome such as numbness, painful discomforts, lack of mobility or tingling sensations in your wrist or hands it is wise to set up an appointment with your doctor for an exam. Your doctor will be able to help diagnose the condition and provide you with proper treatment so you do not have to suffer.

Is Bad Posture Causing Your Headaches?

“Sit up straight!” is a phrase you often heard from your parents, grandparents or Old Aunt Lucy as you were slouching away in the old classic dinner booth, chicken table or resting upon the sofa, but this phrases was often said for good reason. If you do not know already, your parents were trying to prevent you from having future health issues. Slouching is one of the main causes of not only neck, back and shoulder pains, but also those gnarly headaches too. In fact, the good old slouching position you so love sitting in has this fancy medical term known as, “Upper Crossed Syndrome,” which merely means, “Bad Headache.”

So why does bad posture cause headaches? 

Bad posture causes headaches because tension forms along the spine from not sitting up straight. It also causes pressure on the nerves, which leads to neck and shoulder, discomforts. When there is tension on the neck and shoulders there is usually pressure along the crown of the head due to poor circulation around the nerves. Poor circulation around the crown of the head leads to headaches. Some of the worst types of headaches you can get from sitting in a slouching potion for an entire day every day or even just a short period are:


  1. Migraines: This type of headache causes blurry vision, nausea and severe pain all over the head.
  2. Tension Headaches: This headache causes aches at the crown of your head into your neck and shoulders. 
  3. Cluster Headaches: These headaches go away and come back often causing at least two to five headaches each day. 
  4. Rebound Headaches: This form occurs daily from sitting in poor posture and taking medication to ease the pain you are feeling in your neck, shoulders and back instead of simply correcting your posture. 


What are the best ways to correct bad posture? 

In order to remedy the headaches you have been receiving from sitting in bad postures you must correct the bad posture by:


  • Sitting on a ball at the office desk instead of a computer chair
  • Laying straight on the floor for 20-minutes each day
  • Exercising and training your muscles through body building workouts or yoga postures so your spine can align properly and hold you up the way it was design to while you are in a sitting position
  • Visit your chiropractic for an alignment so you can sit up properly 
  • Practice sitting and standing straight up in front of a mirror often
  • Practice walking with good posture 
  • Sleep on a firmer mattress or floor for a couple of nights until your spine aligns 
  • Sit at an office desk and chair that forces you to sit up straight