MSG (Monosodium Glutamate): Healthy or Unhealthy? (2)

MSG

*MSG (Monosodium Glutamate): Healthy or Unhealthy? (2)*

Hi family! It’s a beautiful Saturday morning again, the day has just begun and it’s really promising. My simple advice for us all is to do well to maximize the weekend. Weekends are meant to retreat and refresh our energies for the coming week, so it’s gonna be a rocking one. Do you grab that? That was by the way of introduction.

I deeply appreciate all those who went through the first part of the article last week Saturday, and also those who gave their reactions and comments. It really goes a long way in my heart. Sincerely! One of these people I’ll really like to mention by reason of acknowledgement is Gabriel Oke, he really made a great contribution to this write-up of which I will make reference to as I proceed. If you missed the first part of the series, kindly stroll down our facebook page or whatsapp group for it. You can also access it on our blog; http://thefoodlegends.blogspot.com

Last week, after sharing my experience, I gave a brief introduction on Monosodium glutamate of which I’ll still further a bit. MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. I mentioned last week that it is found In quite a number of processed foods. But quite a number of research reports that it is also found in natural foods like soy sauce, tomatoes and breast milk.

MSG is truly responsible for the pleasant umami taste in foods, however, glutamic acid doesn’t have that flavor itself. MSG in food activates certain receptors in our taste buds, indirectly creating the desired pleasant taste. Back to the question raised, why the controversy with MSG? The FDA regards it as safe and many other sources are antagonist to that assertion. Is MSG healthy or not healthy?

A research by Solomon and others in year 2015 reports that doses of MSG potentially disrupt neurons and might have adverse effects on behavior. In another study into the inflammatory profile of MSG induced obesity, it has been shown that MSG triggers micro-RNA expression of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, resistin and leptin in visceral adipose tissue. This is turn leads to enhanced insulin, resistin and leptin concentrations in the circulation and ultimately an impared glucose tolerance.

Likewise, a recent research by Gabriel Oke and others (2019), performed to reveal the organotoxic effect of MSG and Trona in male wister rats, also reports certain complications in the vital organs which included kidney, liver, heart and spleen of the rats that were orally fed with MSG. Another recent study also showed that high levels of MSG caused severe effects in fruit flies, leading to premature death in a significant number of them. The list of researches as these really goes on and on, revealing the adverse effect of MSG on animals especially. But how about humans? Are there any complications too?

Consumption of MSG has been linked to obesity. Although there still remains questions around that possibility , the justification I found and agreed with is the fact that, due to the pleasant umami flavor of MSG, it is possible for people used to it or taking it in large doses to have experiences of over-feeding which will indirectly lead to obesity, and possible other cardiovascular diseases.

In addition, consumption of MSG has been linked to itching, hyperactivity, headache, and swelling of the tongue and throat, in what has been summarized by the term ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’. The challenge as regards this is that there isn’t much of researches to affirm the linkage between consumption of MSG and these physiological symptoms. Therefore, the question of whether MSG is responsible for these adverse effects is yet to be answered.

In conclusion, it will be better to state that as much as we appreciate the positive attributes of MSG as a food additive, there is still a great need for more research to be poured into the subject. And the public should also do well to keep its consumption in moderate amounts. And if in the long run it is discovered to be fully disadvantageous, the FDA and other regulatory organizations should do well to review their assertions concerning it and like I read on a particular article, a total ban will not be unwise to consider. So please dear readers, the law of moderation isn’t exempted on foods likewise.

Thanks for reading!

Article by:
Okediji Oluwadurotimi (Immanuel Rottex)
Food, Nutrients & Health.