The theme for this month’s Northern Wild’s issue is “Spooky Season,” but this article is about a seasoning with a spooky reputation–monosodium glutamate or MSG.
Monosodium glutamate is a food additive that is made from glutamic acid (glutamate). It’s an amino acid that’s produced by our bodies, as well as being naturally occurring in many foods, such as tomatoes, cheese, and mushrooms. In 1908, Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda discovered how to extract glutamate from seaweed broth. Today MSG is made by fermenting corn, sugar cane, sugar beets, tapioca, or molasses.
Prized for its ability to boost savory, umami flavors, it’s added to a wide variety of processed foods such as deli meats, canned foods, chips, soups, and condiments. It is also a common ingredient in both restaurant and home cooking. Since it has been safely used in a wide variety of settings for over 100 years, how did it get such a bad rap?
In 1968, a letter was written to the New England Journal of Medicine describing uncomfortable symptoms (weakness, palpitations, and numbness in the arms) that the author said struck after a meal at a Chinese restaurant. The author proposed that this could have been caused by a number of ingredients in the meal: sodium, alcohol, or perhaps, MSG. That suggestion was all it took to link consuming MSG to feeling sick because of “Chinese restaurant syndrome.” Subsequent studies on the safety of MSG were poorly done, including one in which high doses were injected directly into test animals’ abdomens. No one consumes MSG in this way, but the ill effects that resulted further tarnished its reputation.
Current research has disproved the myths about MSG to such an extent that MSG is recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the National Academy of Sciences, the European Commission’s Scientific Committee, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
It is possible for someone to be sensitive to MSG, in the same way that some people are sensitive to a wide array of foods. It’s estimated that about 1% of the population may show signs of sensitivity if they consume larger amounts (3 grams) in the absence of food. A typical serving of food with added MSG usually contains less than 0.5 mg of MSG. Considering how unlikely it is that anyone would ever consume such large amounts, the vast majority of people can safely enjoy the savoriness that MSG brings to meals.
Because it’s often added to highly processed, premade, and packaged foods, MSG sometimes “hangs out with a dangerous crowd.” These foods are usually high in sodium and saturated fat but low in fiber and nutrients. It’s possible to experience flushing, headaches, or changes in blood pressure after eating highly processed foods, not because they have MSG in them, but because they contain too much salt, are deep fried, or are processed in a way that just doesn’t agree with you. Minimizing ultra-processed foods is a good idea in general, and not simply because they contain MSG.
Using MSG in your home cooking can both boost savory, meaty flavors and help you reduce your overall sodium intake. Even though “sodium” is part of its name, MSG contains only 12.28 grams of sodium per 100 grams. That’s one-third of the amount of table salt (39.34 grams/100 grams). If you replace ½ teaspoon of table salt with ½ teaspoon of MSG, you’ll reduce the sodium in your food by about 37%, but keep the taste of saltiness. That ½ teaspoon is enough to enhance the flavor of a pound of meat or 4 -6 servings of vegetables, grains, casseroles, or soups.
If you think you might be sensitive to MSG, pay attention to that. Notice if you have issues every time you eat MSG or only occasionally. If only occasionally, it may not be the MSG that’s causing problems. If it’s an issue every time, then certainly, avoid MSG when possible. But, if you’re not sensitive, take those spooky MSG myths with a grain of salt, and feel free to up the umami with a generous shake!
