Remember that feeling in college where you had 30 dollars a week to spend on food, and all you could eat were noodles.
If you want to recreate that feeling but with just a touch more class, egg noodles are the way to go.
Now, if you’re on the paleo diet, well, you might want to rethink your decision.
It’s hard always sticking to more or less the same food every day and spicing things up here, and there isn’t the worst thing ever.
But, can you eat egg noodles on a paleo diet? Is that spicing things up too much?
We’re here to find out; let’s get into it.
Can You Eat Egg Noodles On A Paleo Diet?
Well, our paleolithic reader, unfortunately, you can’t eat noodles on a paleo diet for a number of reasons.
Paleo diet is called that way because it sort of ‘mimics’ the food our ancestors ate during the paleolithic era.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but noodles weren’t really a thing back then.
To really drive this point home, we’ll look at some facts about egg noodles in general.
Egg Noodles (In General)
Egg noodles are just noodles with eggs, nothing more, nothing less.
Before we start hammering away at them, let’s look at their nutrition chart.
Nutrition Facts for 1 cup (160g) Calories 220.8 (Calories from Fat 29.8):
| Nutrient | Amount | % Daily Value |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | 3.3 g | 5% |
| Saturated fat | 0.7 g | 3% |
| Monounsaturated fat | 0.9 g | |
| Polyunsaturated fat | 0.9 g | |
| Trans fat | 0 g | |
| Cholesterol | 46.4 mg | 15% |
| Sodium | 8 mg | |
| Potassium | 61 mg | 2% |
| Carbohydrates | 40.3 mg | |
| Net carbs | 38.3g | |
| Sugar | 0.6g | |
| Fiber | 1.9g | 8% |
| Glucose | 0.1g | |
| Maltose | 0.5g | |
| Sucrose | 0.1g | |
| Protein | 7.3g | 8% |
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s analyze this not-so-healthy food and see why it doesn’t fit in your typical paleo diet.
So Much Carbs
The Paleo diet is not nearly as severe in restricting carbs as, for example, the keto diet.
However, the carbs you are allowed to eat mostly come from sources like fruits and vegetables.
As we can see in the chart, 160 grams of noodles have 40 grams of carbs.
Oh my God, I’m just shocked how every student on campus isn’t morbidly obese.
Jokes aside, though, that’s not such a small amount.
The type of carbs that are in egg noodles is not the ones you want in your diet.
Foods that contain carbs and are also rich in fiber satiate more and also provide better nutritional value.
Next time you’re thinking of sweets and soda or white bread, maybe consider fruit and vegetables.
Since vegetables and fruit are more or less allowed on a paleo diet, it means you should be covered in this respect.
Also, carbs get your blood sugar up.
In the worst-case scenario, this can result in a serious health condition called diabetes; you’ve probably heard of it.
But a more common thing that happens is putting on weight and even getting obese.
Although your blood sugar rises when you eat almost anything, how high it raises depends on the food.
Carbs, especially unhealthy carbs, result in steeper sugar spikes, making you hungrier, and the more food you eat, the fatter you get.
But you don’t need us to tell you that.
Subpar Quality
Noodles or egg noodles are cheap for a good reason.
First of all, noodles are made from low-quality white flour.
Besides the fact that white flour is definitely not considered paleo, it’s also known to have some dire consequences on health. Read more about this in Can you eat wheat bread on paleo?
Things like obesity, cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, bad digestion have all been linked to white flour.
So definitely try and stay away from it if you can and find healthier alternatives.
Next are all the additives and preservatives that basically make the noodles last forever.
The crazy thing about them is that they don’t just make them last longer, but they impact their flavor and even how they look.
I know, that’s how noodles look after the artificial ‘makeup’ imagine how they would look without it.
The Paleo diet relies on freshness first and foremost.
Sure, you can freeze something like meat or fish, but most of the food considered paleo wouldn’t survive a week in the pantry.
Where Is Has All The Fiber Gone
Lastly, egg noodles are not very rich in fiber.
Although some experts are starting to question the importance of fiber, the general opinion is still that it’s vital for proper digestion.
Eating noodles all the time can cause some gastrointestinal issues, mostly constipation.
So, unless you’re into that sort of thing, stay away from this stuff.
Some Potential Benefits Of Egg Noodles
Now, just for the sake of playing devil’s advocate, we can talk about some benefits as well.
Alternative
We said that noodles are made from white flour.
However, egg noodles can be made from wheat flour as well.
Now, these will probably cost more, but they are definitely worth mentioning.
That still doesn’t make them paleo, though, at least not if you’re trying to be serious about it.
Protein
The next thing to note is the amount of protein they have compared to something like rice noodles.
If you’re a student struggling to reach that daily protein intake and do it on the cheap side, egg noodles are a financially reasonable option.
The egg gives them that extra punch, and they have just enough calories to justify themselves to someone who’s hitting the gym regularly.
However, if you’re struggling with the protein intake while on the paleo diet, you’re doing something wrong.
Food like meat and fish should be more than enough for even the most hardcore athletes.
Can You Eat Egg Noodles On Paleo – Conclusion
This one was somewhat predictable.
You can’t eat egg noodles if you’re a practitioner of the paleo diet.
As we said, the paleo diet implies you’re eating the food that our ancestors ate ten thousand years ago.
To no one’s surprise, noodles didn’t exist at that time.
But, that important fact aside, there are a few more reasons why this isn’t your typical paleo food.
It’s made from flour; now, even though there are variants made from wheat flour, which makes the whole dish a lot more desirable, at the end of the day, it’s still flour.
Whatsmore, noodles are full of additives and preservatives that can negatively impact your health in the long run.
Add to that the fact they’re loaded with carbs, carbs that get your blood sugar up and make you fatter, and it’s really a no-brainer.
Now, they are egg noodles, after all, so a significantly higher protein count than regular noodles can attract some weightlifters out there.
But the paleo diet is so rich in protein as it is, adding a not-so-healthy option is entirely unnecessary.
Lastly, they’re so low in fiber that even the above-average protein count can’t help them that much.
To Conclude: you can’t eat egg noodles on paleo; if you plan on sticking to this diet, don’t include them on your daily menu.