Battle of the junk foods

College’s financial pressures, time constraints, and drunken nights provide the perfect opportunity to binge on junk food. As a future health professional with an instant noodle habit I refuse to kick, I started thinking about all of the blatantly unhealthy foods my friends and I consume and how similar ones matched up.

I’ve analyzed eight pairs of alike junk foods so that next time you’re craving something, you can choose the lesser of two evils…because that’s what being healthy is, right?

Maruchen Ramen Noodles vs. Nissin Foods Cup Noodles (Chicken Flavors)

Nutritional Info: Ramen Noodles has 100 fewer calories than Cup Noodles and almost half the calories from fat. Ramen is also lower in total fat and saturated fat, that “bad fat” definitively linked to increasing blood cholesterol and risk of heart disease. Both brands are extremely high in sodium (salt), which should be limited to under 2300 mg/day to prevent high blood pressure and its associated risks. A good figure to aim for is 1500 mg/day. Ramen is the better alternative with 820 mg of sodium, versus Cup Noodles’s hefty 1070 mg.

Ingredients: Refinery 29 recently detailed the nutritional changes Cup Noodles underwent for its 45th birthday. Two noteworthy changes were eliminating added MSG (monosodium glutamate) and artificial flavors. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), MSG is “generally recognized as safe” and scientists have not been able to support consumers’ claims that they are sensitive or allergic to it. While Ramen does contain the food additive, it clearly beats Cup Noodles in caloric, fat, and sodium content.

Winner: Maruchen Ramen Noodles

Cheetos Puffs vs. Wise Puffed Cheez Doodles

Nutritional Info: If you were to compare the nutrition facts on the back of these bags in a grocery store, you’d see little difference between the competitors. Cheez Puffs are minimally higher in saturated fat and sodium, but the same goes for Cheetos in terms of total fat and its related calories. But Cheetos’s deception game is strong…their figures are referring to a serving size of 13 pieces, while Cheez Puffs allows you to binge on 10 more pieces for the same damage.

Ingredients: Wise’s website boasts that their Cheez Doodles have no preservatives, but realistically they do. Their product contains lactic acid, which is a food preservative with flavor-enhancing properties that allow it to be claimed as a flavoring agent instead. Cheetos contain lactic acid as well as sodium diacetate, another preservative. I personally don’t mind consuming common, safe food preservatives. While some health nuts are opposed to ingesting chemicals, I’d take eating preservatives over eating the mold they prevent from growing any day.

Winner: Wise Puffed Cheez Doodles 

Totino’s Cheese Pizza Rolls vs. Three Cheese Bagel Bites

Nutritional Info: Six pizza rolls contain fewer calories than four Bagel Bites but more calories from fat. While Bagel Bites contain 4% more saturated fat (percentages based on recommended daily value), Pizza Rolls contribute an additional 5% to your sodium intake. If you’re looking for a healthy silver lining, Bagel Bites have an extra gram of dietary fiber, a water-retaining compound that Americans should be consuming more of to lower blood cholesterol and prevent gastrointestinal issues.

Ingredients: “Same same but different.”

Tie 

Lay’s Classic Potato Chips vs. Pringles Original

Nutritional Info: The matchup is a pretty even split. I wouldn’t let anything on the Nutrition Facts deter you from following your heart.

Ingredients: This is the decision-making factor. Lay’s contain just potatoes, vegetable oil (sunflower and/or canola oil), and salt. Pringles, however, contain monoglycerides and diglycerides, food additives that are made of fat and will store themselves in our bodies as such.

Winner: Lay’s Classic Potato Chips

Kraft Mac & Cheese vs. Velveeta Shells & Cheese

Nutritional Info: Both products are owned by Kraft, which explains their nutritional similarities. Each cup of Velveeta contains an extra ten calories and a bit more sodium. Kraft Mac &  Cheese is just 5% higher in the recommended daily saturated fat intake, but that 5% can add up quickly with each cup you consume.

Ingredients: Kraft Mac & Cheese has officially rid itself of artificial flavors, preservatives, and dyes, which is why it no longer has a neon glow. If you don’t have a strong preference towards one brand, you should definitely reach for the Kraft Mac & Cheese now that it’s a bit more natural.

Winner: Kraft Mac & Cheese

Doritos Nacho Cheese vs. Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar

Nutritional Info: After my research I felt misled by the “healthy” reputation of Sun Chips. They barely beat Doritos in terms of fat and are equal in calories, saturated fat, and sodium. The Sun Chips serving size does allow you four more chips than Doritos, but I was definitely expecting more.

Ingredients: Sun Chips pride themselves on being 100% whole grain. Whole grains are nutrient-dense unrefined carbohydrates that our population is in desperate need of eating more of. Everyone could benefit by increasing the proportion of whole grains in their carb intake, and doing that with chips is an easy alternative.

Winner: Sun Chips

M&Ms Milk Chocolate vs. Skittles Original 

Nutritional Info: M&Ms have over four times the calories from fat that Skittles do. The tiny chocolate candies also contain 17% more of your daily saturated fat allowance (not that you should be aiming to reach that 100%). In terms of sugar, Skittles takes the lead with 16 g more than M&Ms.

Ingredients: M&Ms obviously contain chocolate, which is good and bad. Health Ambition reports that chocolate has a number of health benefits. Among the many benefits, chocolate supposedly improves skin health and brain function, fight heart attacks and diabetes, reduce the risk of cancer and stroke, and even make you smarter. Apparently the flavanols found in chocolate have antioxidant properties that promote heart health in moderation. Chocolate nonetheless is calorie-dense and not a good idea if you’re suffering from heartburn.

Winner: Skittles

Take 5 vs. Snickers

Nutritional Info: Take 5 is lighter on the calories and sugar. Otherwise the two products are nearly identical, likely because of how similar their main ingredients are.

Ingredients: Take 5 contains TBHQ (tert-Butylhydroquinone), a food additive with FDA limits and a bad reputation. Healthline best summarized the potential dangers of this ingredient, citing studies that have linked it to tumors and paralysis in lab animals and visual and behavioral problems in humans.

Winner: Snickers

None of these foods are good for you. In fact, they’re some of the least healthy foods on the market. There are even better alternatives to all of the cravings listed here, like Lay’s Oven Baked Potato Chips (fewer calories, 0 saturated fat) and Annie’s Macaroni & Cheese (real cheese, organic pasta, non-genetically modified organism ingredients). But if you are truly feeling the need to indulge in some of the above, at least now you can make an informed binging decision.