Health Eating ramen three or more times a week linked to higher mortality

Bad news for ramen aficionados, but, honestly, we knew it: Researchers in Yamagata Prefecture, northern Japan, have found that consuming ramen three or more times per week raises the risk of death by roughly 1.52 times. Yamagata City, which has led the nation in household spending on ramen for three consecutive years, was the focus of the study, carried out jointly by Yamagata University and Yamagata Prefectural Yonezawa University of Nutrition Sciences.

According to the team, the study targeted 6,725 people in the prefecture aged 40 and over who underwent health checkups. Results were based on data from a "Yamagata cohort study," which tracked individuals from 2009 to 2023. Subjects were categorised into four groups based on how often they ate ramen: "fewer than once a month," "once to three times a month," "once or twice a week", and "three or more times a week." The team studied the relations between the frequency of ramen consumption and mortality risk. Those who consumed ramen "three or more times a week" had a 1.52 times higher mortality risk compared to the "once or twice a week" group. However, the results were reportedly not statistically significant enough to declare it a "definite danger."

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The heightened risk may be linked to the usual lifestyle factors: high salt intake, alcohol use, and smoking. Additional analysis indicated that the increased mortality risk was particularly pronounced among men, individuals under 70, those who frequently consume most of the soup, and regular drinkers. According to the 2024 Family Income and Expenditure Survey, published in February by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Yamagata city has held the highest household spending on ramen among prefectural capitals and designated cities nationwide for three consecutive years.

I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like ramen! Overly salty, slick of fat floating on top of the dashi, a few noodles etc I don't understand the fuss.

Ukigumo said:

I think I'm the only person in the world who doesn't like ramen! Overly salty, slick of fat floating on top of the dashi, a few noodles etc I don't understand the fuss.

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There are many types of ramen. That's like saying you don't like "salad."

mdchachi said:

There are many types of ramen. That's like saying you don't like "salad."

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But they're all overly salty and have slick of fat floating on top of the dashi, and a few noodles.

I thought you were vegetarian. Have you even tried much ramen? Unless it's a specialty shop, none of the broths are vegetarian.
Minimally you should try shio, tonkotsu, shoyu and miso ramen. Maybe gyuu-nyuu ramen too (which I've never tried myself).
Miso ramen tends to be my favorite.

mdchachi said:

I thought you were vegetarian. Have you even tried much ramen? Unless it's a specialty shop, none of the broths are vegetarian.
Minimally you should try shio, tonkotsu, shoyu and miso ramen. Maybe gyuu-nyuu ramen too (which I've never tried myself).
Miso ramen tends to be my favorite.

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Yes, I am a strict vegetarian. I acknowledge that's probably why I find ramen a bit dull. In Japan I'm usually served ramen without the broth, in UK restaurants, a shitake/kombu broth which lacks...something. I played sanshin for a little group recently, and one of the invited guests was actually a ramen chef who was going to cook for us. I assumed the host had relayed my dietary requirements, but she hadn't and the chef asked, "You're ok with katsuo boshi, aren't you?" Thank goodness I'd brought a variety of cracker snacks along.
It's my choice and I accept it.

However, I have to admit, this news about the health-sapping effects of ramen has elicited a hugely satisfying sense of schadenfreude withing me! Slurp it up, ramen gobblers!

I'm sure ramen could be made healthier. Perhaps reducing the overall NaCl and increasing KCl, using leaner cuts of meat and replacing all ingredients with lettuce/broccoli/kale

Reducing ramen comsumption by 50% reduces joy in life by 68.9%. It must be true because of the numbers and percentages