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Melon bread: everyone’s favorite Japanese snack is actually one of the worst things you can eat

Scott Wilson Sep 15, 2016
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evil-melon-bread-top

If you’re munching on some melon bread right now, you may want to put that thing down.

Melon bread is awesome. Anyone who has ever been to a Japanese convenience store before in need of a quick breakfast or afternoon snack knows that the soft, sweet melon-y bread has no equal when it comes to pure deliciousness.

But all of that tasty goodness comes at a price. If you thought melon bread was just some warm, fluff bread baked with a dash of farm fresh melon, then think again.

According to Japanese nutritionists, melon bread is an “extremely unhealthy food,” even more so than the average sweet snack. There are several reasons for this, but one of the most important is melon bread’s high level of aluminum.

▼ Injesting too much aluminum can lead to liver, kidney, bladder malfunction,
and a giant melon bread slamming into the Earth.

直径10kmの巨大メロンパンが地球に衝突すると、多くの生命が絶滅する。#メロンパンは危険 pic.twitter.com/TvDciOxJ50

— メロンパン (@melonpan_japan) September 13, 2016

Aluminum is found in small quantities in many foods, but is especially high in melon bread. In order to achieve the crispy, cookie outer shell of the bread, bakers use baking powder which has aluminum sulfate in it, making melon “bread” more like melon “cake/donut.”

Now, all this finger-pointing at melon bread may seem unfair. It’s just another unhealthy snack. As long as you’re not eating it every day, who cares? Right?

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happening. In 2011 to 2012, the Japanese Ministry of Health carried out an investigation on melon bread, precisely because of the fact that the number of parents who were too busy to make breakfasts or lunches for their kids and just gave them melon bread instead was increasing dramatically.

Parents usually wouldn’t give their kids cake or donuts for breakfast and lunch every day, but melon bread’s labeling as a “bread” led many to do just that.

▼ Melon bread – a complete breakfast that satisfies all four food groups:
anime, rainbow, kawaii, and oOOoiiishiiiiii.

https://twitter.com/keihin233ura157/status/775487726967664640

But high aluminum levels are only the beginning of melon bread’s unhealthiness. Since there’s not actually any melon in the bread at all (the bread gets its name from merely looking like a melon), additives and artificial flavors are used to achieve melon bread’s trademark taste. Specifically it uses Blue 1 (connected to kidney tumors) and lecithin emulcifiers (which can damage intestines).

But wait! There’s more!

When it comes to just straight up nutrition facts, melon bread is fairly horrendous. The average bun contains somewhere around 400 to 500 calories (a quarter of your daily calories gone in five bites), and those calories are made up entirely of sugar and fat with virtually no vitamins, protein, or fiber to speak of.

Eating melon bread regularly would not just lead to worse health, but could lead to diabetes, high cholesterol, and even osteoporosis due to the high sugar levels eating away at the body’s calcium.

▼ Mmm… tastes like future misery!

秋のマロンパンのシーズン到来（これはメロンパン）
@0m5m1m8 #ポートレート　 #被写体募集　 #被写体　 #写真好きな人と繋がりたい #被写体さんと繋がりたい #portrait pic.twitter.com/jFEq4ypO8X

— でじ (@z_tanaman11) September 2, 2016

Of course, the most important takeaway here is that – like all things – melon bread should be enjoyed in moderation. Even Japanese nutritionists agree that one melon bread every two weeks shouldn’t cause any damage, it’s just when it’s consumed on a regular basis that dietary action should be taken.

Here’s how Japanese netizens reacted to their melon bread dreams being crushed:

“Crap… now I have a horrible craving for melon bread!”
“I knew melon bread wasn’t that great, but geez.”
“Obviously. Anything is bad if you have too much of it. News flash: if you drink a whole bottle of soy sauce you’ll die.”
“Melon bread! How could you betray me like this?!”

Don’t worry friends, we have a plan. What if we put a big slab of healthy cheese on the melon bread? That would make it better, right?

Source: Excite News via My Game News Flash
References: Mercola.com, The Conversation
Featured/top image: Flick/yoppy (edited by RocketNews24)