What’s the Deal with MSG?

As in Monosodium Glutamate — and should you avoid it?

Monosodium Glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is a flavour enhancer that is commonly used in Chinese food, canned soups, vegetables, and processed meats. When MSG is added to food, it enhances the savoury flavours by bringing out their ‘umami’ along with a dose of saltiness. It’s also naturally present in a wide range of foods such as mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli, green peas, corn, cheese, and some meats such as chicken, cured ham, anchovies, mackerel, and shrimp. Despite being present in many foods, the use of MSG as an additive can be a controversial topic as there have been many negative health claims associated with it, such as asthma, headaches, heart palpitations, numbness, and weakness (1,2).

What is MSG?
Monosodium glutamate is a cousin of table salt as it’s a sodium salt of glutamic acid, meaning it’s part salt, part glutamate. Glutamate is a type of amino acid that is associated with neurotransmitter connections in the brain. MSG is a white crystalised powder that looks similar to table salt. However, it is three times less salty than actual table salt by mass.

History of the MSG Myth
MSG’s controversial reputation began in the 1960s when Dr Ho Man Kwok published a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 which explored the potential reasons he may have felt numbness at the back of the neck after eating American Chinese food. He speculated that the MSG used in Chinese cooking caused symptoms such as numbness, heart palpitations, and weakness. This then lead to further studies being done, claiming that MSG causes breathing difficulties, chest pain, headaches, and sweating. However these studies were conducted on mice, and the MSG was injected under the skin of mice or into their brain — not orally (1).

What does the evidence say?
Some research suggests that MSG intake in food may cause adverse symptoms and possible harmful effects in people who are sensitive to it. In 2019, A Review of the Alleged Health Hazards of Monosodium Glutamate highlighted several studies that connected MSG to adverse reactions however they found several flaws in the methodologies which included lack of placebo controls, administering extreme, excessive doses of MSG (sometimes injecting it directly into new-born mice). Based on the existing studies, they concluded that the reported negative health effects of MSG have little relevance for chronic human exposure to low doses (1). Adverse reactions to MSG have only been found through administering a high dose of MSG on its own. Whereas outside of a clinical setting, MSG is consumed in the context of other foods and ingredients.

Like most foods, people may be more sensitive to MSG, and that may result in unfavourable reactions such as temporary episodes of sweating, nausea, headaches, tingling, or numbness. While the incidence of MSG sensitivity is yet to be determined, it is estimated that between 1% and 2% may be affected (3).

It’s important to remember that MSG is a naturally occurring compound in food so people may be consuming much more of it than they realise — likely without any issues. As mentioned before, MSG is a combination of sodium and glutamate and both of these compounds are found separately in an abundance of foods. The body digests the MSG seasoning and glutamates in foods the same way and cannot tell the difference between the two.

While there seems to be a lack of clear evidence for many of these health claims, there still seems to be a real fear and avoidance of MSG. MSG should not be an ingredient that’s feared. It can even be seen as a useful ingredient to allow people to consume less sodium as MSG enhances the savoury property of foods and has one-third the amount of sodium compared to salt. Replacing table salt with MSG can help reduce the amount of sodium in a meal.

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References

1. Zanfirescu A, Ungurianu A, Tsatsakis AM, Nițulescu GM, Kouretas D, Veskoukis A, et al. A Review of the Alleged Health Hazards of Monosodium Glutamate. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety [Internet]. 2019 Jul 1 [cited 2021 Oct 10];18(4):1111–34. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1541-4337.12448
2. Niaz K, Zaplatic E, Spoor J. Extensive use of monosodium glutamate: A threat to public health? EXCLI Journal [Internet]. 2018 Mar 19 [cited 2021 Oct 10];17:273. Available from: /pmc/articles/PMC5938543/
3. MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE A Safety Assessment. 2003 [cited 2021 Oct 10]; Available from: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au.

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Tru Valu Supermarkets is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s leading supermarket brands. As a responsible supermarket chain we believe in educating and informing our customers to make responsible decisions each day to improve their wellness and wellbeing.

Tru Valu Health and Wellness Program. Article 42.
Information supplied by Kirstyn Church, Associate Nutritionist, Nutrition Consulting Services.