Why does instant ramen — a dish without a lot of redeeming nutritional value — sell so well? According to one market estimate, those packages of seasoned noodles bring in tens of billions of dollars.

First off, it's cheap. The average packet of ramen noodles costs just cents.

Second, it's everywhere. Groceries generally devote at least a little shelf space to it.

And third, it's easy to prepare. It's hard to improve on boiling two cups of water, emptying the noodles into it for three minutes, adding the seasoning packet and eating.

Originally, ramen came from China, which seems to the birthplace of most noodles. There the dish is called lo-mein. It was introduced in Japan in the mid-1880s. It arrived in America the early 1970s as Top Ramen from Nissin Foods, a Japanese company. Although other companies like Lipton and Campbell's have tried, Top Ramen still controls the bulk of the U.S. market.

There's no denying that the budget-conscious snap it up. And with a little effort, it can be a bit healthier, too.

Boon of students everywhere, ramen is as ubiquitous among the young broke set as are furtive glances at Facebook.

An examination of young Jeff Ferketic's pantry of a few years ago would have yielded ramen, ramen and more ramen.

As a college freshman and sophomore at the University of Connecticut, Ferketic's taste ran decidedly to the cheap and salty noodles.

These days, Ferketic, formerly of West Hartford, Conn., is a part of Teach for America in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

"I had a great public school education, a really great experience, and I wanted to be part of an organization that makes sure everyone has that experience," he says.

He's teaching chemistry and coaching football, and his diet has definitely improved.

But back in the day, like most college students, he was not opposed to ramen.

"I was not a fan of them, but they were good when I just didn't feel like cooking anything else," Ferketic said.

As a chemistry teacher, he knows what he's talking about and keeps his ramen intake to a minimum. Now, he says, "there's no reason to destroy your system like that."

Lori Reardon, dietitian at the Charter Oak Health Center, says there's scant nutritional value in a package of ramen. The shocker, she says, is the salt content. In her brand, it was 910 milligrams, when the standard recommendation for daily intake is 2,400 milligrams. The salt is contained mostly in the soup that's created when the noodles are boiled.

"You have a lot of people with hypertension supposed to be practicing a low-salt diet, and they should be taking in foods with less than 400 milligrams a serving," she said. "Other than that, the carbohydrates are up to 27 grams. There's nothing else there."

Ramen noodles can be made tastier and better. One tip for reducing the sodium: Cut the seasoning in half. And to add vitamin C, chop some green onion or scallion.

There are other tasty ways to dress up this popular instant noodle dish, too. Here are three:

The Tomato Ramen Soup is from www.budget101.com, and the Ramen Pizza is from www.nissinfoods.com.

TOMATO RAMEN SOUP