Noodles are a popular food staple in Europe, Asia and North America. There are many kinds of noodles, each with its own nutritional profile. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, provides information on typical preparations. A representative sample includes egg noodles, rice noodles and soba noodles made from buckwheat.
Serving Size and Calories
The USDA identifies 1 cup as a standard serving for any kind of noodles. A serving of egg noodles contains 221 calories, of which 28 come from fat. A serving of rice noodles contains 192 calories, with just 3 coming from fat. For soba noodles, one serving contains 113 calories, including 1 calorie from fat.
Carbohydrate Profile
A 1-cup serving of soba noodles delivers 24.4 grams of carbohydrates, all of them complex carbohydrates. A serving of egg noodles has 40.3 grams of carbohydrates, including 0.6 grams of sugars and 1.9 grams of dietary fiber, with the rest complex carbohydrates. The rice noodles have 43.8 grams of carbohydrates, consisting of 1.8 grams of dietary fiber and 42 grams of complex carbs.
Fat Profile
A serving of rice noodles contains 0.4 grams of total fat, including no unhealthy saturated fats. The same amount of egg noodles has 3.3 grams of total fat, including 0.7 grams of saturated fat. Soba noodles contain 0.1 grams of fat per serving, none of it saturated fat. According to Walter Willett, Harvard nutritionist and author of "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy," the amount of saturated fat in a food is more important than the total fat content.
Protein
A serving of soba noodles contains 5.8 grams of protein, about 12 percent of the USDA recommended daily allowance. Egg noodles have 7.3 grams of protein per serving, around 15 percent of the recommended daily allowance. The protein content of rice noodles is only 1.6 grams, or 3 percent, per serving. Note that these numbers are for noodles made with unenriched flour. Enriched flour increases these numbers significantly.
Vitamin and Mineral Content
None of these three kinds of noodles has more than 4 percent of the USDA recommended allowance of any vitamin. Soba noodles have 21 percent of your recommended daily manganese. Egg noodles have 25 percent of your daily manganese, along with 55 percent of your selenium and 12 percent of your phosphorus. Rice noodles contain 10 percent of your manganese and 11 percent of your selenium. All three kinds of noodles have less than 1 percent of your daily allowance for sodium, although many noodle recipes call for added salt.
References
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Dr. Walter Willett, et al; 2006
- "National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference," US Department of Agriculture; 2009
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