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Issue No. 043 · Ramen
Instant ramen on trial +56 points
The GI charts call instant noodles low. My glucose monitor did not agree.
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I love instant ramen.
That salty little brick was my college dinner, my sick-day lunch, and my midnight comfort bowl. Then a diet book told me to throw every packet in the trash.
I believed that book for three years.
So I tested the ramen myself. I cooked one plain packet of chicken ramen on an empty stomach... and watched my glucose monitor.
That bowl of instant ramen raised my blood sugar 56 points in about 40 minutes.
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+56
Point rise from one plain bowl of instant ramen
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Plain instant ramen, empty stomach
One plain packet of chicken instant ramen, eaten alone. Rise from my baseline in mg/dL.
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Personal CGM readings from one person. Responses vary from body to body. This is not medical advice, so talk to your care team before changing how you eat, especially if you take glucose-lowering medication.
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Here is what made me furious. The University of Sydney GI tables list some instant noodles at a GI of 47 to 52. That counts as low.
But a 2022 lab test in Malaysia put plain instant noodles at 76. And Korean brands have been reported anywhere from 71 to 87.
In other words, one food can score low in one lab and high in the next. Brand, frying, and cooking time all move the number.
My body ignored the low score.
The reason is plain. Instant noodles are refined wheat flour that gets steamed and fried into a block. That flour turns into glucose fast, and a bare packet has very little fiber to slow it down.
My doctor never mentioned any of this. He said “cut carbs” and moved on.
Nobody told me there was a middle path between a bare bowl of noodles and no noodles at all.
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So I went looking for that middle path. Four days later, I made the exact same packet again at the same hour.
This time I added two soft-boiled eggs and a big handful of spinach and bok choy. I ate the eggs and greens first. The noodles came last.
Eggs bring protein and fat. Spinach and bok choy bring fiber.
My rise dropped to 31 points.
That is a 45 percent smaller spike from the very same noodles.
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Plain ramen, noodles only
Eggs and greens first, noodles last
One packet of ramen on two different days. Only the toppings and the eating order changed.
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🍜
Plain ramen
+56
Point rise
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-45%
Smaller spike
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🥚🥬
Toppings first
+31
Point rise
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Researchers in Japan saw this pattern on glucose monitors back in 2013. Eating vegetables before carbs lowered glucose swings in people with type 2 diabetes and in people with normal blood sugar.
And a U.S. food-order study found that eating protein and vegetables first cut the glucose peak by about half.
In other words, the fiber and protein reach your gut first. They may slow how fast the noodle starch gets into your blood.
One honest note: this is one body on one monitor. Your numbers will differ, but the direction tends to hold.
Anyway, the ramen stays. Only the order changes.
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⚡ Your mission this week
Toppings first, noodles last
⏱ 10 minutes
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Add a protein
Crack one or two eggs into the pot, or toss in leftover chicken or tofu while the water boils.
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Add the greens
Drop in a big handful of spinach, bok choy, or frozen broccoli for the last two minutes.
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Eat in order
Eat the eggs and greens first. Save the noodles for the second half of the bowl.
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🎯 Your first win
Make one bowl of ramen this week with eggs and greens on top, and eat the toppings first. Ramen stays on the menu.
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Where this comes from: University of Sydney GI database and the International Tables of GI (instant noodles around 47 to 52). Zakaria et al., Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 2022 (plain instant noodles tested at a GI of about 76). Imai et al., Diabetic Medicine, 2013 (vegetables before carbs lowered glucose swings on CGM). Shukla et al., Weill Cornell food-order research (about 54% lower glucose peak with protein and vegetables first). Jackie’s numbers are her own monitor readings from one person, not a clinical trial. |
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They told me to quit ramen.
I just changed the order.
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★ Welcome to the revolution
Jackie
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