What can MSG do to your body?
MSG or monosodium glutamate is one of the most common flavor enhancers that many households are using around the globe.
This flavor enhancer was created by a Japanese scientist who isolated MSG from seaweed soup in 1908 and noted its flavor-enhancing properties. He filed a patent to produce monosodium glutamate and this led to the commercial production of the enhancer.
This flavor enhancer is commonly used in Asian countries but several canned products and processed meats that reached different corners of the world have this ingredient. Based on the article in Reader’s Digest, Emily Rubin, RD, the head dietitian for the celiac and fatty liver centers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia said that monosodium glutamate contains glutamic acid, which is also naturally found in tomatoes, parmesan cheese, meat, walnuts, clams, sardines, mushrooms and other foods.
This is mainly used to achieve the umami quality a dish could have. Umami is considered the fifth flavor category, joining sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. It has no texture or smell and its main purpose is just to enhance the flavor of the food.
It is made from fermenting starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses. The process of fermentation is described as the yeast or bacteria converting carbs into alcohol. This is the same process being done to make yogurt and other healthy fermented foods.
In 1968, a controversy surfaced surrounding the flavor enhancer. It happened when a biomedical researcher wrote to the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine claiming that he developed a strange illness after eating at Chinese restaurants, specifically those that include monosodium glutamate in their dishes.
It was said that his symptoms were numbness, weakness, and heart palpitations. Later on, this was tagged as the “Chinese Food syndrome.” This went viral even though there was no social media yet at that time. With this, MSG had a bad reputation. “There has been no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and these symptoms,” Rubin said.
Is MSG bad for you? FDA stated that MSG is “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). However, Michael Galitzer, MD, an integrative medicine specialist and co-author of Outstanding Health said, “Its ingestion can cause inflammation of the small intestine, referred to as leaky gut, which will result in symptoms such as bloating, gas, diarrhea and abdominal pain.”
Based on a 2019 review of studies published in the journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, you have to take 3 grams of added MSG in a sitting to experience adverse effects. A typical serving of food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 grams, the FDA stated.
For health-conscious people, they might also ask “Is Red Meat Bad For You?“