Choreographer Bae Yoon-jung, who successfully lost 13kg, revealed her secret to eating ramen without gaining weight.
Bae Yoon-jung recently ate ramen during an Instagram live broadcast. She said, "I had been refraining from eating ramen because I was gaining weight," and added, "It's been a really long time since I had it." Despite her successful diet, she still maintains a slim figure and mentioned, "I usually finish it in under 5 minutes, but today I will eat slowly." Will eating ramen slowly like Bae Yoon-jung help prevent weight gain?
Ramen is High in Calories and Sodium
Ramen is a food to avoid when weight control is necessary. A single pack of ramen contains an average of about 500kcal. Since flour is a refined carbohydrate, it quickly raises blood sugar levels, leading to easy weight gain. When blood sugar spikes and then drops rapidly, the brain perceives a state of energy deficiency and releases the hunger hormone ghrelin, causing feelings of hunger. This false hunger can lead to the consumption of more food, creating a vicious cycle of rising blood sugar levels.
Attention should also be paid to the sodium content in ramen. Excessive sodium intake increases the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular issues. It is closely related to obesity as well. Sodium speeds up the movement of the digestive system, causing food to be digested quickly. This triggers hunger, leading to the consumption of more food. Sodium has the property of retaining fat, which also hinders the removal of body fat.
Chewing Ramen Thoroughly and Adding Plenty of Vegetables Can Help with Dieting
What if you eat ramen slowly like Bae Yoon-jung? The longer food is chewed, the less you consume, which helps with weight control. Eating slowly activates the satiety center, naturally preventing overeating. The satiety center does not activate immediately at the beginning of a meal; it takes about 20 minutes to become active.
According to a study published in the 《Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics》, participants chewed their food 100%, 150%, and 200% more than usual. The study found that regardless of body type, those who chewed their food 40 times consumed 12% less than those who chewed 15 times. The levels of energy intake and hunger-promoting hormones also decreased. The study included 40 American adults.
In addition to eating slowly, reducing the amount of noodles by half or substituting with konjac noodles or tofu noodles is also effective. Most of the calories in ramen come from the noodles. Adding plenty of vegetables like onions and bean sprouts to ramen is also beneficial. Quercetin, abundant in onions, breaks down triglycerides and helps improve cholesterol levels. Bean sprouts are rich in fiber, which increases satiety and aids in dieting. Bean sprouts also contain 298mg of potassium per 100g, which helps excrete sodium from the body.
