Restaurants blare it out loud – NO MSG! An assurance that the compound will not get
in your system. A statement that declares
MSG is harmful.
But wait a minute, the acronymic named ingredient standing
for Monosodium Glutamate is as natural as salt or sugar. No one can be allergic
to amino acids such as MSG because they are naturally present in the human
body. Glutamate is an amino acid that is
used to make proteins in food and our body. Glutamate is in parmesan cheese,
tomato sauce, soy sauce or by spreading Marmite yeast extract on your toast, if
you like Marmite. That is why pasta with
cheese and/or with tomato sauce is popular.
The misunderstanding and legend started in 1968 when there
were reports that one person, just one, Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok, a Chinese-American biomedical researcher, wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine that he had a bad reaction to
a restaurant serving Northern Chinese food with numbness at the back of the neck, heart palpitations and a headache. Dr. Kwok surmised the cause to be the Chinese cooking wine or the high sodium content or the common use of MSG. For some unknown reason, MSG was zeroed in as the culprit. Since then it has been dubbed the
Chinese Restaurant Syndrome or the MSG Symptom Complex supposedly because the restaurant in question was
using MSG on its dishes. The question is, "Why hadn't anyone noticed the effects of MSG on other food or other Chinese restaurants before?" "Why is not anyone complaining when eating Japanese cuisine which often has MSG? Or how about KFC chicken or Doritos"
You know what, since 1968 scientists have not
been able to prove the connection between the symptoms and MSG.
Glutamates are naturally present in discernible quantities
in ripe tomatoes, corn, broccoli, mushrooms (that’s why they taste meaty), fish, cheese,
yogurt, red wine (actually, in anything fermented), meat, and seaweed. Many prepackaged
goods in the supermarkets contain MSG such as cookies and crackers, condiments,
salad dressings, cans of soup, potato chips, baby food, cured meats, frozen dinner plates to name
a few. You can’t escape it. You are consuming it whether you know it or
not.
Seaweed is the original source that led to the discovery of
glutamates. In the early 1900s, Mr. Kikunae
Ikeda, a Japanese biochemist, noted that the savory, meaty, and ultimately
satisfying taste of his favorite dried kombu seaweed broth was not represented
by the four tastes (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter).Mr. Ikeda identified and
named the fifth taste as umami.
In 1908, Mr. Ikeda isolated the protein responsible for the
umami taste sensation AND started a year later the Ajinomoto company producing glutamate
salt which we now see in grocery stores.
Glutamates like MSG bump the flavor of the ingredients up a
notch, that umami sense and that’s all they do.
If ever, the worse thing MSG can do is to invigorate your appetite and
make you eat more.
Here
are some findings from a Harvard University study in 2005, see Fact or Fiction? The MSG Controversy
Neurological
Effects
p,
15
“In addition to serving more generally in protein and energy
metabolism, glutamate also plays a key role in the neurological
system, acting a a nerve impulse transmitter to the brain.”
p.
17
“Research done by Dr. John Fernstrom, Professor of Psychiatry,
Pharmacology and Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh School
of Medicine, has shown that the glutamate receptors found in the
brain are different from those that have been discovered in the
tongue. The brain generates its own glutamate through glucose and
other amino acids, and has an intricate transport system to protect
the brain cells. As Fernstrom states, 'while it was earlier thought
that circulating glutamate in the body might enter the brain and
cause damage, it is now clearer than ever that circulating glutamate
is kept strictly separate from the glutamate inside the brain that is
used for normal neural function.'”
Bottom
Line: MSG will not enter nor affect the brain
===================
Pregnant
/ Lactating Women
p.
18
Researchers
have found that the placenta is “virtually impermeable to
glutamate, even at high levels. The same study covered women who are
breast-feeding, with research indicating that increased levels of MSG
in the lactating woman did not increase the level of glutamate in the
breast milk.”
p.
18 Footnote
“Moreover,
free glutamate is 10 times more plentiful in human breast milk than
in cow's milk, and therefore a newborn infant who is being breastfed
will ingest more free glutamate per kg of body weight than during any
other period is his/her life.”
Bottom
Line: MSG is safe for Pregnant and Breast-feeding Women
===========================
Asthma
p,
18
Dr. Donald Stevenson of the Division of Allergy, Asthma and
Immunology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla,
CA summarized the current research, stating “we know from numerous
well-designed clinical studies that MSG or glutamate cannot trigger
or exacerbate asthma, even among individuals who believe their asthma
is caused by MSG.
Bottom
Line: MSG does not affect asthma and it is safe for asthmatics to
ingest glutamate-containing foods
Health Canada has declared that MSG is not a health
hazard. The US FDA has given MSG a GRAS
(Generally Recognized As Safe) designation – meaning there are no tolerance amount limits.But in the
first place, why would you overdose with salt or sugar? You can’t do it – the same
with MSG.
Although there are reports that MSG is an excitotoxin, which
when
overly abundant in the brain can cause neurons to die. However the FDA has found out that the glutamate in MSG (monsodium glutamate), although related
to brain glutamate does not appear to get into the brains of adults very well. The FDA in its website:
What’s the difference between MSG and glutamate in food?
The
glutamate in MSG is chemically indistinguishable from glutamate present
in food proteins. Our bodies ultimately metabolize both sources of
glutamate in the same way. An average adult consumes approximately 13
grams of glutamate each day from the protein in food, while intake of
added MSG is estimates at around 0.55 grams per day.
Jon Sufrin of The Globe and Mail (November 4, 2014) wrote
"Researchers have found that when you eat MSG, the salt dissolves and is treated by the body like regular salt, and the glutamate is treated in the same way as it treats glutamate from such natural sources as tomatoes or mushrooms." The FDA has not approved it for use
in baby food. However glutamate is present in human milk.
So next time you’re eating out, to make your order yummier,
ask for seasoning Accent, Ajinomoto, Vetsin or Sazon (in Latino menu), all
MSGs. This will shock and educate your
company. And if you feel bloated, groggy
to the point of feeling drugged, most likely it’s because you overate.
MSG comes in many names:
Additives
that always contain MSG:
·
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
·
Hydrolyzed Protein
·
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
·
Plant Protein Extract
·
Sodium Caseinate
·
Calcium Caseinate
·
Yeast Extract
·
Textured Protein
·
Autolyzed Yeast
·
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Additives
that frequently contain MSG:
·
Malt extract
·
Malt Flavoring
·
Bouillon Broth
·
Stock Flavoring
·
Natural Flavoring
·
Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
·
Seasoning Spices
Additives
that may contain MSG and/or other excitotoxins:
·
Carrageeenan Enzymes (Protease enzymes from various sources can release
excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins.)
·
Soy Protein Concentrate
·
Soy Protein Isolate Whey
·
Protein Concentrate.
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