A lot of people can’t live without ketchup. They need it on anything and everything they eat. But studies have shown that if you have ketchup for a long period of time, it is extremely unhealthy for you. You might argue that ketchup is simply made of tomato puree and “other stuff”. Well, it’s those other stuff which makes ketchup bad for you. Lets stat with why it is harmful for you.
Well, for starters ketchup contains a whole lot of sugar which is basically fructose, which is basically not a good thing for you. What fructose does is that it increases your hunger and also the craving which you get for all other types of sweet items. It reduces the hormone which suppresses hunger and increases the one which induces it. Ketchup is also quite high in sodium which is harmful to those to have high blood pressure. And finally for all you weight watchers out there, ketchup also has high amount of fat. So if you want to lose weight getting rid of ketchup on your list might help. But there are a few substitutes to this favourite condiment.
1. Salsa
Salsa is extremely healthy when you compare it to ketchup. In fact, if you can make your own salsa then there is nothing better. Salsa is basically a mix of a lot of tomatoes and pepper. Which means you get lots of vitamins and minerals which are essential for a healthy body.
Also if you have any type of a cardio vascular problem then you can try putting garlic in the salsa. Again another constituent of salsa is olive oil which we all know is probably the healthiest oil present on the face of the earth. If you can’t make your own salsa then try and buy one which has low levels of sodium in it for a more healthier option.
2. Sun Dried Tomato Hummus
This isn’t really your conventional substitute for tomato ketchup but it really does work. You can use it on hamburgers and even on fries. This is a lot like salsa with a lot of olive oil and beans (either garbanzo or pinto). Hummus helps in preventing that frequent hunger urges.
You can actually find a lot of different varieties of tomato hummus in the stores but again like salsa, the best one is the one which you make at home. Mainly because these contain less preservatives. The only reason we say tomato hummus is because the sun dried tomatoes help in giving that flavour of ketchup to it.
3. Low Sodium Barbeque Sauce
Finally we have barbeque sauce which is the second favourite in most countries after ketchup. Although this can be used as a ketchup substitute you need to keep in mind that this contains a lot of sugar and salt as well.
So the usual BBQ sauces aren’t better than ketchup. But if you use ones which have lot sodium content then you get a healthier option. So you need to look for these types in the supermarkets.