Nutrition on the Run (by Ashley Ludlow

Ashley Ludlow MS, RD, CSG, ACE-CHC, LDN, FAND

MSG: Yay or Nay?

There has been a ton of controversy over the years about using MSG in food. There have been claims that it causes headaches, increases blood pressure, causes asthma and even brain damage. Others claim that MSG is safe to use and is a great way to flavor foods. Let’s take a look at what research says about it all.

Q: What is MSG?

A: MSG is the abbreviation for monosodium glutamate, a food seasoning that is made up of sodium (like that in table salt) combined with glutamate, an amino acid. Glutamate is the most abundant amino acid in nature and one of 20 that make up protein. MSG enhances the flavor of food by adding umami. Umami is the taste of glutamate. In 2002, the discovery of the umami taste receptor officially established umami as the fifth basic taste. Umami receptors are found on your tongue - right next to your sweet, salt, sour and bitter taste receptors.

Q: How is MSG made and what foods contain MSG?

A: MSG is produced by a fermentation process starting with corn. Glutamate is naturally present in foods like tomatoes, mushrooms, aged cheeses, meats and even breast milk. MSG is also added to soups, chips and salad dressings.

Q: Can your body tell the difference between MSG and the glutamate naturally found in foods?

A: Whether you’re eating a tomato or foods with MSG added, your body processes the glutamate in the same exact way. When MSG is exposed to liquid – for example, in broth or saliva – the sodium separates from the glutamate molecule. That means your body digests glutamate and sodium separately, which is why the body cannot distinguish between the glutamate naturally present in foods (such as Parmesan cheese) and added MSG.

Q: Is MSG safe to consume?

A: Yes, MSG is safe to eat.Health experts over the last 30 years have endorsed the safety of MSG based on extensive scientific research and a long history of use around the world with results verifying that MSG is safe to consume using validated scientific methods. Though some people identify themselves as sensitive to MSG, research does not support it as an allergen. Over the years, people have blamed headaches and other symptoms on foods containing MSG, but the FDA has never been able to confirm MSG as the cause. In fact, such reports spurred the FDA to work with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) to examine MSG’s safety in the 1990s, and they concluded MSG is safe. Also, in January of 2018, the International Headache Society removed MSG from its list of causative factors for headaches due to lack of evidence.

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Q: If MSG is safe, where did all this controversy come from?

A: It all started with a letter to an editor. In 1968, a letter to the editor of a prestigious medical journal described the author’s anecdotal account of generalized weakness, palpitations and numbness in the arms after eating at a Chinese restaurant. He noted that any number of ingredients may have caused his symptoms – sodium, alcohol from the cooking wine, MSG. However, the letter spawned the idea that MSG may be associated with such symptoms, which was coined “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.” Subsequent studies in laboratory mice injected large volumes of MSG directly into the brain and abdomen, producing ill