Most of the time, we hear about avoiding processed foods because they'll make us fat. But a new video of what happens in your body when you eat Top Ramen and Gatorade vs. homemade noodles and drinks gives us a whole new reason to avoid it: We can't even digest it properly.
TEDxManhattan 2011 Fellow Stefani Bardin's video, below, shows what happens in your body when you eat processed foods vs. homemade versions of similar foods, using a tiny "M2A" (that stands for Mouth to Anus, and it's trademarked, mind you) LED/camera capsule. The project looks at two subjects eating two similar meals: one composed of processed foods (gatorade, ramen, and gummi bears); the other of homemade versions (hibiscus drink, homemade broth with noodles and gummi bears made of juice). What happens to the foods is drastically different; possibly because, as Bardin puts it, Top Ramen is made to survive armageddon, while homemade noodles are made to be eaten.
Warning: It's best to watch this video after you've eaten your breakfast.
Related on HuffPost:
Loading Slideshow
Castoreum
<strong>What it is:</strong> Extract from <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/castoreum" target="_hplink">beaver perineal glands</a>
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> "Natural flavoring is defined by the FDA as any substance extracted, distilled or otherwise derived from 'natural' materials, such as plant or animal matter," Bradley explains. "In the case of strawberry and raspberry flavorings, some natural berry flavors may actually be enhanced by castoreum." It's also sometimes taken (intentionally) in <a href="http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-315-CASTOREUM.aspx?activeIngredientId=315&activeIngredientName=CASTOREUM" target="_hplink">supplement form</a>.
Ammonium Sulfate
<strong>What it is:</strong> A salt compound <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ammonium sulfate" target="_hplink">comprised of nitrogen</a>
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> In <a href="http://w3.uwyo.edu/~dwwilson/pamphlet.html" target="_hplink">some fertilizers </a> -- and in some breads, like the <a href="http://www.subway.com/Nutrition/Files/usProdIngredients.pdf" target="_hplink">rolls at Subway</a>.
Chemicals with ammonia are typically added to neutralize a food that's too acidic, says Doyle, which can affect texture. It's safe in the amounts it is used in foods, he says, but admits it will certainly be startling to many people, who may only be familiar with it as a heavy-duty cleaner.
L-Cysteine
<strong>What it is:</strong> An amino acid made from human hair or duck feathers
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> Used as a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/processed-food-ingredients_n_1441700.html#s890346&title=KFCs_Chicken_Pot" target="_hplink">dough conditioner</a> in some bread products, Bradley says, which can improve the texture and feel of products, as well as prolong their shelf life.
Feathers and hair are readily-available waste products that would cost more money to dispose of, says Doyle, and since both are protein, they can be digested down to amino acids.
Silicon Dioxide
<strong>What it is:</strong> Also known as silica, it's most often present as <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/silicon+dioxide" target="_hplink">quartz or sand</a>
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> Various fast food options, like <a href="http://www.wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf" target="_hplink">Wendy's chili</a> and <a href="http://www.good.is/post/silicon-dioxide-and-smoke-flavor-taco-bell-s-definition-of-meat/" target="_hplink">Taco Bell's meat filling</a>.
It's added to foods as an anti-caking agent, to keep them from clumping, explains Doyle.
Titanium Dioxide
<strong>What it is:</strong> A chemical related to the mined metallic element <a href="http://www.rodale.com/gross-food?page=2" target="_hplink">titanium</a>, according to Rodale
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> Sunscreen. It's a UV light absorber, says Doyle, but also works as a lightener in foods. It's often used to whiten skim milk, which, after the fat is removed, can appear slightly blue, he says. It may also be used in <a href="http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slide/3-salad-dressing" target="_hplink">salad dressings</a>, coffee creamers and frosting, according to <em>Men's Health</em>.
Azodicarbonamide
<strong>What it is:</strong> A <a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/jecfa-additives/specs/Monograph1/Additive-049.pdf" target="_hplink">processing</a> agent
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> <a href="http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/27/why-lovin-the-mcrib-isnt-a-heart-smart-idea/" target="_hplink">Plastics, like yoga mats</a> and the soles of your shoes, according to <em>TIME</em>'s Healthland -- as well as <a href="http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf" target="_hplink">hamburger buns</a>.
Shellac
<strong>What it is:</strong> <a href="http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20588763_5,00.html" target="_hplink">Secretions from a bug native to Thailand</a>, Health.com reports
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> Coating your favorite shiny sweets, like jelly beans. Look for it on ingredients lists as "confectioner's glaze."
Bone Char
<strong>What it is:</strong> Charred <a href="http://www.peta.org/about/faq/Are-animal-ingredients-included-in-white-sugar.aspx" target="_hplink">cattle bones</a>
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> While it's used less and less in foods these days, says Bradley, it was historically used to filter sugar appear to make it appear whiter and more pure.
<em><strong>Clarification:</strong> Language has been added to indicate that bone char was used in the refining process, not as an additive.</em>
Cellulose
<strong>What it is:</strong> <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834804576300991196803916.html" target="_hplink">Wood pulp</a>
<strong>Where you'll find it:</strong> In shredded cheese, salad dressings, chocolate milk and more, according to the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>. It's added to foods to keep them from clumping by blocking moisture, and can <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703834804576300991196803916.html" target="_hplink">thicken foods in the pace of oil or flour</a>, which cost more.
There are few events that bring such diverse groups as farmers, professors, activists, CEOs and small business owners together into one room. But perhaps even...
While HuffPost Style has been appreciating Harper's Bazaar's new look with cover girl Gwyneth Paltrow, we couldn't help but notice her attitude toward fitness and...
Should sugar be regulated like alcohol? That's the premise of a new position paper, published today in the journal Nature by three leading obesity researchers...
According to Japanese scientists, a daily Mediterranean-style diet could potentially halve the risk of Parkinson’s disease. The study, by the University of Tokyo, studied the...
Listening to some foodie types, you would think that anything that has been remotely industrially processed was as deadly as nerve poison. Yet even food snobs eat plenty of processed food. It's just the right kind of processed food.
For more than 2,800 years, the concept of eating plants in their whole-food form has struggled to be adopted as a way of life. However, recent evidence shows that a plant-based diet is not something to be ignored.
For more than two decades, many commentators have discussed and cussed so-called low-fat diets and gotten away with talking nonsense. It is time to look at some facts.
For decades, not only have the food companies been selling us speed, so have the media. "That's what people want!" argue editors and publishers I've spoken with.
In two days I managed to taste the widest difference in sources and processing possible. Synthetic to sustainable, totally processed to minimally processed, commodity to local.
It turns out that many foods sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain mercury. Worst of all, the FDA has known about this potential toxin and has continued serving it up since at least 2005.
Been eating organic food for about 6 mos. and had a pack of ramen noodles the other day (because of an unexpected situation and needed to eat). The best illustration I can use for it is the feeling in one's mouth after taking a BC Powder...it was a layer of a very salty bitterness coupled with (in the way I can only describe as) what I think WD-40 may taste like, and all cleverly masked (or, at least the attempt) with beef broth.
Again, this is not some attempt to assuage anyone's opinion, but merely share an experience of being reintroduced to processed food. There is a difference, and noticeably more having been away for some time, and unregrettably so.
judahbenhuer: Been eating organic food for about 6 mos. and had
So basically the person on the left takes more time digesting their food while the person on the right gets hungry and eats more and eventually looks like Carnie Wilson?
Joel_Taylor: So basically the person on the left takes more time
okay, ramen noodles have been popular since the 1950s and an american AND japanese staple. it has not killed anyone in the 60 years its been eaten in both countries. according to logic EVERYTHING is bad for you. beef, diet coke, mcdonalds, blah,blah, blah, either dont eat or drink virtually anything and stay indoors, or grow a pair and make choices that are best for YOU.
deetergirl: okay, ramen noodles have been popular since the 1950s and
I don't think that these subjects should be worried as much about eating the Ramen noodles as they should be worried about ingesting something that runs on battery power- this M2A mouth to anus capsule. I wouldn't want to be swallowing some type of camera. That CAN'T be good for the digestive tract!!
cam1976: I don't think that these subjects should be worried as
I really dont agree with this. Did the subject chew the ramen noodles or swallow them whole?! How do the noodles look exactly like they came out of the bowl? Something about this is bias because there is no way that many whole strings are still in your stamach after chewing them up. It should already be a mush before it even hits the stomach.
BreBre_Dha_Bhest: I really dont agree with this. Did the subject chew
exactly. most people pretty much slurp it down cause it is hot and hardly chew it. if you dont chew your food obviously it is still gonna look the same in your stomach.
deetergirl: exactly. most people pretty much slurp it down cause it
This is gross, and just re-affirms why I read the labels on just about everything I buy now, and pretty much only stick to the stuff that is fresh. Anything in a can or box can be made very easily from scratch and usually cost's less and taste's better too. My boyfriend hates grocery shopping with me.... ;-) Don't get me wrong, I still understand the necessity of having quick easy foods, and I still love to snack, but I also know how to balance that and only eat processed foods minimally.
aerojls85: This is gross, and just re-affirms why I read the
They say you are what you eat. OMG no thanks. I'll stick with real food and drink. I'm in the process of planting our organic garden and I won't have to worry about stuff like this. Yeah !
ruthtruth: They say you are what you eat. OMG no thanks.
1. Ramen means "Noodles in broth" but Top Ramen is a brand.
2. Mr. Noodles noodles are made of enriched wheat flour, palm oil, guar gum, salt, sugar and garlic powder. Other "ramen" I have contain similar ingredients.
3. Gatorade has been proven as a viable and powerful rehydration tool. It was developed by the University of Florida in order to better hydrate, and thus give an advantage to, their football team, the Florida Gators. It originally came in orange and green.
.'. they have specifically found the worst possible examples to compare to their best possible examples in order to "prove" a point. I don't remember if that's Straw Man or what, but it's crappy science at best.
Greg_Wotton: 1. Ramen means "Noodles in broth" but Top Ramen is
Despite this article, I am about to eat Ramen noddles right now. Though the film completely grossed me out, hopefully the Ramen noodles I am about to eat will make me feel better. Hahahehe!
quester03: Despite this article, I am about to eat Ramen noddles
Loading comments… 
First Posted: 02/09/2012 6:33 am EST Updated: 05/28/2013 10:24 am EDT