What is MSG? The Truth about Monosodium Glutamate- Thomas DeLauer

What is MSG? The Truth about Monosodium Glutamate- Thomas DeLauer… How does it affect the body? I'll teach you a bit about the Chinese food taste enhancer http://www.ThomasDeLauer.com

What is MSG?
-MSG (monosodium glutamate) is a flavor enhancer commonly used in canned food, processed food, fast food, as well as Chinese food (1). Free glutamate exists in many natural foods and it can combine with sodium to produce MSG. Glutamate can be found in tomatoes, parmesan, peas and mushrooms. (4)

-MSG simply makes food taste better - it increases their umami quality, making people rate foods that are higher in MSG as tasting better. Sugars and fats do a similar thing. (3)

-In studies MSG has been tied to headaches, dizziness and other feeling of unease known as “Chinese restaurant syndrome” (3).

-One study on mice looked into why this happens and if there are ways to limit the side effects (1).
-Consumption of MSG caused swelling and cell-death of neurons, and the level of swelling and death was directly correlated with quantity.
-Pre-exposure to small amounts of MSG as well as vitamin C decreased the levels of cell death.

-Another study on humans took 61 self-proclaimed MSG-sensitive individuals and compared MSG to placebo. Compared to a placebo, MSG was found to be associated with headache, muscle tightness, numbness/tingling, general weakness and fatigue (2)

Try to limit processed and fast foods when you can. If you must consume these foods, increase your daily intake of vitamin C with fruits such as oranges, mangos, vitamins and melons.

References:
1. Deciphering the MSG Controversy
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
2. The monosodium glutamate symptom complex: assessment in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/92...
3. The effects of added glutamate on liking for novel food flavors
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15...
4. MSG Intolerance - What Foods to Avoid http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answer...