Noodle enthusiasts keeping up with the latest viral Buldak noodle trend might cut back on their noodle consumption after a woman on TikTok said eating too much Buldak ramen sent her to the emergency room.
Lucy (@lucymourad) uploaded a quick video of herself from her bed in the hospital with the caption, “RIP to buldak, I’ll miss you but my kidneys won’t.”
In the six-second video, the TikToker quickly pans the camera around the room before pointing it at herself.
“POV all the Buldak noodles you ate did indeed send you to the ER,” reads the text overlay on the video.
The video received 1.5 million views, and prompted a number of questions from concerned fans of the packaged ramen noodles.
“Hey girl can I ask you how many buldak noodles you were eating per week or day so I know what the limit is?” one person wrote.
Lucy responded, “So to answer your question just listen to my bf, I clearly am [in denial] of my buldak addiction.” She also posted a follow-up video.
Lucy’s boyfriend, who is off camera, can be heard saying, “10 a week,” to which she responds, “No, I was not eating 10 a week.”
Her boyfriend argues that she was eating one every other day, which she also denies. However, they both agree that she was eating a lot of the ramen seasoning with other foods.
While ramen is an easy meal for many, “the flavor packets that come with packaged ramen are often very high in sodium (up to 90% of the Daily Value).” High sodium intake is responsible for a number of health issues like high blood pressure, kidney disease, and nerve imbalances.
@lucyymourad rip to buldak, ill miss you but my kidneys wont #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #kidneystones #er #buldakcarbonara #buldakramen #mukbang ♬ SeKret Valentines Day – Se’Kret
Some commenters wondered if Buldak noodles were the only contributing factor in Lucy’s trip to the emergency room. She later informed viewers that she had an underlying condition that may have been exacerbated by her increased intake of ramen.
“I [had] kidney stones back when I was like 18 or 19,” she says.
“I got surgery for them, got them removed, but they do come back,” Lucy continues to explain. “If you aren’t careful with your diet, they can come back.” She adds that with her condition, kidney stones can “just happen” if she’s not careful.
Lucy says the fact that she had been eating more ramen noodles was a huge contributing factor to her developing kidney stones again, which is credible since sodium “causes the kidneys to excrete more calcium, which increases the chance of developing kidney stones,” per Mount Sinai.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lucy and to Samyang Food, the makers of Buldak ramen, via email.
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