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Look Before You Slurp

Hakodate National College of Technology

A: Hello, everyone. We are students of Hakodate National College of Technology. I am Ryusei SEGAWA, and my hobby is playing the guitar.
B: I am Asuka TANEDA, and I like benzene.
C: I am Shou SHIMAZU, and I want to be a scientist.

C: By the way, do you know there have been accidents caused by pot noodle eaters in our school?
A: Yes. Some mess up the school hall with the noodle soup, others throw leftovers into the toilet and block them. The school newspaper once pointed that out.

C: Oh, that’s the article. I wonder how many of the students in our school actually eat pot noodles for lunch.
B: We wanted to know that. Therefore, we conducted a survey on fourth year students of Hakodate National College of Technology in the form of a questionnaire. We asked 198 students from five different departments if they eat pot noodle for lunch.
A: In the survey, it was clear that 135 students out of 198 have eaten pot noodle for lunch. This is about 70% of all students. Furthermore, 11 students eat pot noodle almost every day for lunch.

C: Why do they keep eating pot noodle for lunch?
（Slide: the graph of the questionnaires）
B: The most common reason is “Without any definite reason.”

C: Why?
B: Well, to investigate the reason why they keep eating pot noodle without having any special reason, we have done research on human’s taste sensors. When a taste cell of a human gets activated, it requires protein material, and the production of a protein is controlled by zinc spelter.
A: However, phytic acid and polyphosphoric acid included in pot noodles combine with zinc spelter and prevent zinc from being absorbed into the human cells.

B: As a result, pot noodle eaters poorly absorb zinc when eating pot noodles, and they gradually suffer from taste disorder. Moreover, they lose sense of taste and require stronger flavors and eat more pot noodles. This is a vicious cycle, so to say.

C: So, you mean they are trapped by the strong taste of pot noodles but they actually don’t realize it. That’s why they answer, “No reason to keep eating pot noodles for lunch.”

B: I guess so. We have found another interesting data about stress. According to the data, animals intake more salt when they are stressed. According to an experiment, a rabbit with a straitjacket increased the intake of salt 10 times as compared with a rabbit without a jacket.

A: I see, those 11 students might be stressed out. Actually, the fourth-year students have more report assignments than any other students in our school. We have to complete an internship as well.

C: I see. Then, are pot noodles associated with significant adverse effects on school work? How about grades? Is there a correlation between student’s grades and their pot noodle-eating habit?

（Slide: graphs）
B: As you can see, the more someone eats pot noodles, the lower their grades. Besides, pot noodle-eaters are likely to eat more strong tastes. If they continue eating pot noodles, they can’t help eating them. Then, that leads to lower grades. This is a vicious cycle.

C: Well, now I know some negative effects for pot noodle eaters. Are there any other negative effects on others caused by pot noodles?

A: Actually, the pot noodle soups thrown out as residential waste contain too many chemicals that the sewage plant equipment can’t purify the overabundance of chemicals perfectly. Then, that unpurified water is drained off into oceans and contributes to water pollution.

C: That’s terrible. Do pot noodles have only bad points?

B: No, they do have good points, too.

B: Students love pot noodles because they are easy to cook, quickly served, inexpensive, and have good keeping quality. Hokkaido is very cold in the winter. So people love to eat pot noodles in the winter. They warm us up. In fact, our school store enjoys strong
sales of pot noodles in the winter. Even in our teaching faculty, there are pot noodle lovers.

A: I am sorry for them. They might be stressed out.

C: Well, what should pot noodle eaters do to have a better life? Do you have any tips to give them?

A: Yes, I do. I’m willing to tell you some tips!

A: First, it is good for your health to eat blue-skin-fish, such as sardines, whitebait, and anchovies or drink black oolong tea with pot noodles.

C: Why?

A: Well, DHA in blue-skin-fish and black oolong block the absorption of fat contained in the pot noodles. Canned fish is effective.

B: Then, the absorption of zinc is important. Liver, sea squirts, beef, oysters, and cocoa supply you with some zinc.

A: Vinegar is good.

(C happens to have a vinegar bottle in the pocket of his jacket and shows the bottle from to the audience.)

A: Vitamin C in vinegar has beneficial effects on reducing stress.

B: If you can’t have those foods during lunch time, maybe you should take some nutritional supplements.

A: It is important to read the ingredient label of a pot noodle and check the calories or salt quantity of the ingredients. Sometimes, you should choose non-fried noodles.

C: How about decreasing the frequency of eating?

B: If you eat pot noodle every lunch, you should gradually reduce the times you eat them. Besides, you should take time eating noodles. Chewing food enough protects your tongue from taste disorder.

C: Pot noodles have good points and bad points.

B: Depending on your mind-set, this food changes from being a poison to a lifesaver.

A: Please think about your nutritious balance before pouring hot water.

A&B&C: Thank you for listening.