Monosodium Glutamate or MSG is a standard food preservative that is used to increase the flavor. The MSG extracted from the glutamic acid considered as the best amino acids. According to Professor Kikunae Ikeda from the University of Tokyo, found in 1908 that MSG is the most constant slat formed from glutamic acid, and it delivers the ‘Umami’ taste.
Glutamic acid is an ancillary amino acid that means your body can also produce it. This non-essential acid works various ways in your body and, it is found almost in all foods. Available in dried mushrooms, parmesan cheese, lot of vegetables and fruits, soy sauce, human breast milk, and more.
Monosodium Glutamate is a white crystalline chemical powder that looks similar to sugar or table salt. MSG products contain glutamic acid and sodium, which is also known as the sodium salt. The glutamic acid made by fermenting (substances were causing chemicals to divide into smaller elements) starches, but there is substance dissimilarity between the glutamic acid in natural foods and MSG.
The glutamic acid in MSG cane absorbs as it is a hurdle inside large protein molecules, which your body requires to break. MSG increases the flavors like strong umami flavor. Umami is the 5th basic taste in conjunction with sour, salty, sweet, and bitter. This MSG food additive is very well-known in Asian cooking and used in different types of processed foods in western countries.
The average daily intake of MSG is between 0.55gms and 0.58gms in the United Kingdom and the United States and between 1.2gms and 1.7gma in Korea and Japan. In brief, MSG is the glutamic acid sodium MSG salt, which is nothing but an amino acid found in the human body and available in most foods. It is a very prominent food additive as it increases flavors.
Monosodium Glutamate is the best flavor enhancer generally added to Chinese food, processed meats, canned vegetables, etc. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has categorized MSG food as a food ingredient identified as safe. That is why when Monosodium glutamate added to food, then it should be listed on the label as per the FDA requirement.
MSG powder or MSG salt was used as a food additive for many decades. But, over the years, the Food and Drug Administration got many subjective reports of unfavorable reactions to MSG foods. These reactions are called Monosodium Glutamate Symptoms that include:
- Flushing
- Headache
- Facial tightness or pressure
- Flushing
- Tingling, numbness, or burning in the neck, face, other parts
- Fluttering, rapid heartbeat or heart palpitations
- Nausea
- Chest pain
- Weakness
But, researchers didn’t find any ultimate evidence of a connection between MSG and its symptoms. Researchers identified that a small percentage of individuals might suffer from short term reactions to MSG. The monosodium glutamate side effect or signs are generally mild, so you don’t need treatment. The best way to stop getting a result is to stop eating the foods that contain MSG.
There is a lot of controversy about MSG among average health community. The natural health community claims that MSG foods cause asthma, headaches, and in some cases, even brain damage. In contrast, the official sources such as FDA claim that foods that contain MSG are safe.
Some critics also called Monosodium Glutamate as Chinese restaurant syndrome. Critics call by this name because it causes a collection of side effects like nausea, headache, and numbness in particular part as some people use to feel numbness on their face after eating Chinese food. Also, it causes usual nausea and self-contempt by eating a large number of barbecued pork buns. The ingredient that generally used for a flavor called MSG.
MSG’s ill position started when Dr. Ho Man Kwok reported to the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) in 1968, deliberation. He mentioned that the potential causes of a condition that he experienced every time he ate Chinese food at Chinese restaurants in the United States. He described lack of sensation or numbness feeling at the back of his neck particularly, and gradually it spread to other parts like back and arms, and also heart palpitations and general weakness.
Dr. Kwok considered that the reason could be soy sauce, but later he canceled speculate on soy sauce as he used the sauce in-home cooking and he didn’t find any side effects than. Later, he thought it could be a lot of use of Chinese cooking wine in profitable organizations. Then again, he felt that it was the MSG used as a seasoning in Chinese restaurants. This statement of Dr. Kwok went viral, and it generated a large range of scientific studies and books telling the truth about MSG, opposing MSG cookbooks and also supporting Chinese Restaurants to publicize that they did not use MSG in their cooking.
Monosodium Glutamate is the best flavor enhancer generally added to Chinese food, processed meats, canned vegetables, etc. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has categorized MSG food as a food ingredient identified as safe. That is why when Monosodium glutamate added to food, then it should be listed on the label as per the FDA requirement.
MSG powder or MSG salt was used as a food additive for many decades. But, over the years, the Food and Drug Administration got many subjective reports of unfavorable reactions to MSG foods. These reactions are called Monosodium Glutamate Symptoms that include:
The Glutamic acid in MSG acts as a neurotransmitter in the human brain. It is an ominous neurotransmitter, which means the acid excites nerve cells to transmit its signal. Some individuals claim that monosodium glutamate directs to extreme glutamate to the brain and causes intense stimulus of nerve cells. Because of these conditions, MSG Foods listed as excitotoxin foods.
This fear of MSG started back in 1969 when a study proved that large doses of MSG injected into the newborn mice created harmful neurological effects. That is when these books such as Excitotoxins written Russell Blaylock says that the MSG enhances the flavor of the food and the taste that kills, and since then people are scared of MSG.
It is true that the MSG substance increases glutamate action can harm the brain, and the blood levels increase if you take large doses of MSG. The study also proves that a massive dose of MSG has increased the blood pressure level by 556 percent.
However, food glutamate should contain no effect to little on your brain, and it cannot cross the blood barrier in the mind when taken in large amounts. So, on the whole, there is no substantial evidence that MSG acts as a warning when consumed in responsible amounts. Though, people argue that monosodium glutamate can act as exhortatory destroying of nerve cells, but studies do not support this argument.
Some individuals are sensitive to some foods, and sometime they may experience the unfavorable effect of eating MSG products. This food reaction is called CRS (Chinese restaurant syndrome) or monosodium glutamate side effect. In one particular study, conducted by researchers’, shows that people with self-announced MSG intolerant consumed five grams of Placebo or MSG, and then they reported 36.1 percent reactions with MSG compared to Placebo with 24.6 percent reactions.
The monosodium glutamate side effect includes muscle tightness, headache, tingling, numbness, flushing, and weakness. If consumed in large dose like 3gms per meal, then that increases the symptoms more. However, you should know that three grams a massive dose, which is about six times more than the average daily intake in the United States.
There is no precise reason why these side effects occur, but according to some researchers that the large dose of MSG allows a trace of glutamic acid in the blood barrier and interrelates with neurons causing brain injury and swelling.
Some people claim that Monosodium Glutamate also causes asthma attacks in some sensitive people. In a study conducted on 32 individuals show that 40 percent of participants have experienced an asthma attack when consumed a hefty dose of MSG. However, researchers did similar studies to find the truth, but they did not find any connection between an asthma attack and MSG intake.
Like said before, high dosage of MSG can cause extreme side effects in some individuals, but if the doses take in a daily average daily, then it will have an impact on calorie intake and flavor. Some MSG foods are more filling, and when you eat filling food, automatically you will reduce your calorie intake, and it further helps you lose weight.
According to some studies, MSG foods and MSG products may help you feel full. People who eat soups contain SG eat less quantity of good, and consequently, they eat fewer calories.
The umami flavor in MSG food may excite receptors found in your digestive tract and tongue activates the appetite-regulating hormones. Also, various other studies show that MSG increases calorie intake instead of decreasing. That is why you don’t need to depend on MSG to control your calorie intake and make you feel full. That is because no studies strongly suggest that MSG can reduce your calorie intake, and neither claims that it increases calorie intake.
In China, enhanced MSG intake has connected to weight gain even with an average consumption between 0.33gms and2.2gms per day. But, in Vietnamese, people the reports show that the average intake 2.2gms per day not connected with overweight. Also, in another study linked a large dosage of MSG food intake to metabolic syndrome and weight gain in Thailand, but it has disapproved for methodological flaws.
The bottom line is no matter what the studies prove, and Monosodium Glutamate is neither dangerous neurotoxin nor safe to consume in large portions. The truth is, you don’t need to depend on MSG food to make you feel full, and you don’t need them to avoid altogether, you should maintain it in the middle.
