Picked up these noodles at my local Asian market to use with my homemade miso broth. I was shocked to see how much sodium was in the noodles alone. Is this normal for ramen? I know ramen is never a low sodium option by any means but I always figured all of the salt came from the broth or seasoning packets.
by chicago_2020
15 Comments
That’s an insane amount per serving.
Yes, it’s normal. There’s a reason you’re not supposed to eat these too often.
If that’s just for the noodles then it’s excessive. Usually you see sodium levels like this with the prepackaged stuff that includes the seasoning.
Or have the noodles themselves been the culprit all along? Now I’m confused 🤔
Yep, unfortunately most are this bad
That’s insane for noodles.
Ramen is generally very salty, especially instant ramen, but most of that comes from the seasoning (where, unsurprisingly, the salt is).
4g of salt for 90g of noodles with no seasoning, I’m pretty certain this has to be a typo.
My favourite brand of instant ramen is 4.2g salt for 100g of noodles, and that’s almost all in the soup, not the noodles.
Ramen have kansui in them, which gives them their texture, slipperiness and flavor. Since that is sodium bicarbonate, you end up with a lot of sodium. I’m not really sure if your body uses it similarly to salt though, so no idea if the sodium amount here has some real relevance.
Ramen noodles are made with salted water (not the cooking part, the actual noodle-making part; the cooking water should be unsalted). Some of that salt will leach into the cooking water. Since this doesn’t indicate “as prepared”, that amount of sodium is present in the raw noodle. I’m afraid I don’t know how much sodium is present in the cooked noodle, nor am I entirely sure how to determine that (without evaluating the sodium content of the drained cooking liquid).
Not unusual, and that’s a good brand of noodle.
Kansui makes up a good part of it, but the sodium breaks down and enters the bloodstream similarly.
I think the west has drawn more correlation than causation for sodium and heart issues. Incidentally, if your sodium gets too low (hyponatremia), you have the same cardiac symptoms as too high (hypernatremia).
The Japanese eat more salt than we fo on average, and their life expectancy is 2nd best in the world (HK is first, and I don’t mean the folks who made the MP5).
So while I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this every day, unless you have a warning from a doc to keep your sodium consumption down, I would ‘t give it a second thought.
That seems high. That’s like instant ramen level with the packet. Plain instant ramen isn’t that high. But it may get diluted when boiled like others have said
Soba noodles are low sodium and delicious for ramen.
It seems a bit excessive. Cheap instant ramen here goes for 1200mg of sodium per packet, and cups go between 800-1300mg
This sodium level (1,570mg per 90g dry serving) is normal for authentic ramen-style noodles​​, though it is indeed very high. Traditional ramen noodles contain potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate (listed in the ingredients). These alkaline salts are critical for:
– Giving ramen its signature springy, chewy texture.
– Creating the noodles’ yellow hue.
– Extending shelf life.
This is ​​fundamental to authentic ramen​​, not just a preservative choice.
Besides, salt is added directly to the noodle dough to strengthen gluten and enhance flavor, contributing significantly to sodium content.
If you are concerning about sodium DV limit, rinsing or briefly boiling the noodles and discarding the water before adding broth can reduce sodium by ​​20–30%
yes and I promise all the people advising you to stay away from eating too many of these is a freak who is a scared of everything. Just be a healthy person, drink water and you can chow down on these everyday if you want to
Clearly 68% is a typo, it reads 1570 mg for a 90 gr serving and 1570 mg which is 1.570 gr is not 68% of 90!
That’s a 0,001575 gram per 90g of noodles.
How’s this excessive?
Your typical kansui (often 50/50 sodium/potasium) is around 1% of your noodles.