Why Your Takeout Pho Could Be a Toxic Health Hazard
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle takes a bit of intention, especially when eating out. Depending on your demographics, your options are plentiful or sparse. Regardless, if your way of life involves preserving a wholesome diet, you are careful about the food you eat.
Pho is one of my favorite dishes. I found a restaurant that makes a good bowl of pho, and it’s within a ten-minute drive from my home. Rarely do I eat in the restaurant, but I will order take- out in a pinch, especially on a Friday.
If you have never eaten Pho, I suggest you try it. Pho is a soup but more like a meal where you don’t need sides. Pho is a Vietnamese dish prepared with broth (vegetable, beef, or chicken), rice noodles, meat (Vegan or Vegetarian style), and fresh signature herbs and vegetables like carrots, broccoli, mushroom, ginger, onions, cilantro, star anise, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, and more.
An eclectic blend of exotic flavors, the soup is beautiful and nothing less than delightful to the pallet. I love pretty food. Colorful meals are an indicator of the variety of nutrients you are consuming.
So, what could be unhealthy about Pho? Depending on how the broth is cooked, it can be high in sodium. If you have hypertension, ask about the broth. If you are vegan or vegetarian, ask the restaurant about the broth because you may get a meat-based broth if you don’t request a vegetable broth.
The more significant health issue is the Styrofoam cup that the broth is poured into for take-out orders. I hope that more restaurants use glass or at the least, plastic that endures high heat.
After picking up our food, we drove straight home. I had a few things to do for my Namaste Thursday class, but within 15 minutes, I sat down to eat.
Pho is served with the vegetables and noodles in a bowl; the broth is separated in a cup. Customers pour the desired amount of hot broth into the bowl and mix it with the food. I never use all of the broth.
When I picked up the styrofoam cup, it was still sweltering. The cup felt fragile, like it was going collapse, but it did not. I poured about one-quarter of the cup into my bowl.
I was curious and examined the inside of the cup. Visible along the sides of the cup was the evaporation and deterioration of the styrofoam. I could see small rays of light peeking through from the outside. Immediately I begin to think about the chemicals and toxins that had seeped into the broth.
I was curious about what happened, so I conducted a little research. The findings give me goosebumps. Unless the restaurant serves the pho in a different container, I will no longer order from them or any other restaurant that uses styrofoam.
The Findings
Styrofoam is a public health hazard and is banned in many cities.
It is a hard plastic known as polystyrene foam.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services and the International Agency for cancer research, polystyrene is believed to be a carcinogen, which is cancer-causing.
Exposure can cause irritation of the skin, eyes, the upper respiratory tract, and the gastrointestinal tract. Chronic exposure results in more severe effects, including depression, headaches, fatigue, weakness, hearing loss, and disrupted kidney function.
Hydrocarbons are used in the manufacturing of polystyrene. “These hydrocarbons are released into the air and react with nitrogen oxides to produce ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant. Ground-level ozone can impair lung function and lead to respiratory illness.”
The toxic chemical can affect the development of young children. Their immune systems are still developing and cannot fight off the damaging effects of the chemicals.
Currently, 12 cities and counties band the use of polystyrene foam in foodservice products, including take-out containers, bowls, plates, trays, cups, and cutlery. Georgia is not one of them. I plan to contact Georgia’s health department about this crucial issue and suggest you check on your city or county’s policy.
The takeaway is when styrofoam is heated, carcinogens can leach from the product. According to several health agencies, never put hot food or beverages in styrofoam and never microwave styrofoam or plastics.
I learned about the dangers of heating plastics and styrofoam many years ago, and I do my best to prevent my family from doing so.
When I ordered dinner, I did not think about food containers. However, In the future, when I order takeout, I will ask the restaurant about the type of containers used because I want a healthy, not toxic bowl of pho.
When you fully engaged and are present in the moment, you notice the small details (good and bad) in everything around you. Mindfulness is also an opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty in your world but also the conscious mind to recognize areas of your life that require greater attention.
Additional Readings
Styrene Exposure Exposure and Risk of Cancer
World Health Organization Finds Increased Cancer Risk For Chemical Found in PlasticsYikes! The World Health Organization Just Upgraded the Human Cancer Risk for Styrofoam