MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned goods, and processed meats. According to the Food and Drug Administration, MSG is classified as a food ingredient and regarded as "generally recognized as safe." However, MSG has been publicly touted as an unhealthy ingredient. For this reason, many restaurants and food brands have taken to clarifying their avoidance of MSG. Much of the controversy surrounding MSG stems from complaints the FDA has received describing unfavorable reactions to foods containing MSG, such as headaches, sweating, numbness, and other irregular symptoms. Though these symptoms are reported as being mild, for many they are concerning enough to cause people to cut the additive out of their diet altogether.

— Lauren Lankford, Nia Creator

• Is MSG directly responsible for side effects such as headaches?
  This Question: 0

  MSG is safe because:

  MSG is not linked to side effects.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  Since the first report of the so-called Chinese restaurant syndrome 40 years ago, clinical trials have failed to identify a consistent relationship between the consumption of MSG and the constellation of symptoms that comprise the syndrome. Furthermore, MSG has been described as a trigger for asthma and migraine headache exacerbations, but there are no consistent data to support this relationship. Although there have been reports of an MSG-sensitive subset of the population, this has not been demonstrated in placebo-controlled trials.

  • Diagnosis of MSG sensitivity is extremely difficult. None of the symptoms of MSG-toxicity are caused exclusively by MSG. Most, if not all, could be caused by various physical conditions as well as by other food additives.
  • In 1968, reports of a series of serious reactions to Chinese food were first described. MSG was felt to be the cause of these symptoms. Since then, many studies have failed to show a connection between MSG and the symptoms that some people describe after eating Chinese food. For this reason, MSG continues to be used in some meals.
  Add Support Story

  MSG may be harmful because:

  MSG is linked to side effects.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  We conducted a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study to investigate the occurrence of adverse effects such as headache as well as pain and mechanical sensitivity in pericranial muscles after oral administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG). [...] [T]here was a significant increase in reports of headache and subjectively reported pericranial muscle tenderness after MSG.

  • [...] [T]he chronic intake of MSG has potential effects on the peripheral organs such as the kidneys. Reduced antioxidant enzymes, increased lipid peroxidation, and tubulo-interstitial fibrosis brought on by high MSG intake strongly support the theory that oxidative stress is central to MSG-induced renal toxicity [...].
  Add Support Story

  More Support Stories Hide Support Stories

• Is there a healthier alternative to MSG on the market?
  This Question: 0

  MSG is safe because:

  There is no comparable substitution for MSG.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  [Research discovered that] the results of the anterodorsal tongue, fungiform papillae psychophysical experiments [stimulatory responses on the tongue] are compatible with the claim that MSG evokes possibly unique taste responses.

  • The results of this study show that the taste of umami [flavor of MSG] activates generally similar brain regions to another and prototypical tastant, glucose [...] The fact that cortical taste areas shown to be activated by glucose were also activated by the umami stimuli provides additional evidence that umami works in generally the same way as other tastants and is consistent with umami being considered as a “fifth taste.”
  Add Support Story

  MSG may be harmful because:

  There are healthier alternatives to MSG that are just as satisfying.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  In upscale restaurants, whether by tradition or by inclination, chefs are unlikely to use monosodium glutamate. “We don’t need to use Ajinomoto because we can get the ingredients that have natural umami [the flavor of MSG]: shiitake mushrooms, egg yolks, shellfish, masago,” said Sotohiro Kosugi, the chef of Soto in New York.

  • MSG is used to enhance the savory flavors in foods. Various herbs such as garlic, savory, tarragon, rosemary and pepper add a spicy, savory flavor to foods. Other spices such as turmeric and cumin are good alternatives to MSG and add warmth to any dish.
  Add Support Story

  More Support Stories Hide Support Stories

• Can MSG lead to dangerous diseases?
  This Question: 0

  MSG is safe because:

  MSG is known to be linked to dangerous diseases such as diabetes and obesity.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  MSG added to a standard diet increased food intake. Overfeeding induced metabolic disorders associated with oxidative stress.

  • Neuronal necrosis in the arcuate and ventromedial hypothalamus regions is easily induced in 1-day-old Chinese hamsters by the administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG). New-born Chinese hamsters injected with MSG showed no sign of obesity, even when grown up, but apparently developed a diabetic syndrome.
  • We previously reported that injection of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in ICR mice leads to the development of significant inflammation, central obesity, and type 2 diabetes[...]These results take on considerable significance in light of the widespread usage of dietary MSG and we suggest that MSG should have its safety profile re-examined and be potentially withdrawn from the food chain.
  Add Support Story

  MSG may be harmful because:

  MSG is not linked to dangerous diseases.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  A maximum intake of 16.000 mg/kg body weight is regarded as safe. The general use of glutamate salts (monosodium-l-glutamate and others) as food additive can, thus, be regarded as harmless for the whole population.

  • Conventional toxicity studies using dietary administration of MSG in several species did not reveal any specific toxic or carcinogenic effects nor were there any adverse outcomes in reproduction and teratology studies.
  Add Support Story

  More Support Stories Hide Support Stories
• Does MSG affect hormone production?
  This Question: 0

  MSG is safe because:

  MSG does not affect hormone production.

  Nobody has found a story to support this side yet. Can you find one?

  Add Support Story

  MSG may be harmful because:

  MSG affects hormone production.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  Neonatally-administered MSG causes a marked disturbance in episodic GH [growth hormone] secretion in adult rats; MSG induces a decrease in hypothalamic SRIF [a hormone in the endocrine system] and possibly GH-releasing [growth hormone] factor.

  • MSG-treated animals sustained lesions localized to the hypothalamic arcuate nuclei (ARC) and had reduced body weights. [...] The present data suggest that the GH [growth hormone] regulatory deficit observed in MSG-treated rats is due to a relative loss of GH-releasing factor secondary to ARC damage.

  More Support Stories Hide Support Stories
• Does MSG affect fetuses?
  This Question: 0

  MSG is safe because:

  MSG hasn’t been shown to affect fetuses.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  The authors further concluded that the placenta is virtually impermeable to glutamate, even at high levels.

  • Even in unphysiologically high doses GLU [glutamate] will not trespass into fetal circulation.
  • The filial mice of MSG-treated mothers could either not grasp a rope tightly, or grasped the rope tightly but could not crawl along the rope at the beginning of the training. However, such mice, after training, could grasp and crawl along the rope as well as controls. Obvious neuronal damage was not detected in the periventricular organs or the hypothalamus under a light microscope.
  Add Support Story

  MSG may be harmful because:

  MSG may affect fetuses.

  Top Support Story Added By Users

  Administering monosodium glutamate (MSG) to neonatal rodents induces obesity and type 2 diabetes. In addition, several studies have shown that MSG administered to pregnant animals can cross the placenta and reach the foetus.

  • Three main effects were observed in the MSG exposed offspring: (1) juvenile obesity; (2) reduced general activity levels; (3) a specific type of learning disability in discrimination learning involving choice between simultaneously present positive and negative stimuli.
  • The perinatal [before birth] injection of MSG was found to decrease relative weights of ovaries and uteri[...]In 12 and 18 month old females the alterations were accompanied by obesity and a decreased body length.
  Add Support Story

  More Support Stories Hide Support Stories