Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Most of you will have heard of MSG and know it has something to do with improving the flavor of foods, but many of you wont realize just how much of it is in our processed foods and how much you may be consuming it!

MSG stands for ‘monosodium glutamate’, a flavour enhancer that was originally isolated from kombu seaweed by a Japanese chemistry professor named Kikunae Ikeda in 1907.  He bodied down the seaweed and extracted a substance called L- glutamic acid (glutamate), which is a non-essential amino acid that the body can make itself but is also found in many foods. He then added sodium to the glutamate and crystalized it so it became a salt like substance he called MSG.  

MSG is tasteless and odorless by itself, but when added to foods it brings out a savory meaty mouth feel that adds depth and texture to foods. Professor Ikeda recognised that the glutamates created a flavor that was different from sweet, salty, bitter and sour and termed this new taste ‘umami’ which is now recognised as the 5th taste.

This increase in when eating MSG is a result of our saliva breaking apart the sodium and glutamate components, which activates the umami taste receptors on our tongue.

Although the term ‘umami’ was coined by the professor, foods that create this flavor have been used since the 5th century Bc, when Garum, a fermented fish sauce, was used widely throughout Rome and the ancient world. Within food, glutamate is either attached to other amino acids in the form of a protein (bound) or itself (free). The more free glutamate there is, the more umami flavor the food will have. The more ripe a fruit or vegetable is, the more free glutamate it will have, also curing or fermenting foods increases the foods free glutamate as the proteins break down and release the amino acids. Foods that are typically high in glutamates include meat, fish, seafood, fermented sauces, aged cheeses, and some fruits, vegetables and nuts. 

To obtain a full list of foods high in glutamates, request your copy of our Free Food Chemical Information E-Pack HERE.

Some food combinations will create a stronger longer lasting umami flavor sensation on our tongue.  This happens when the food has one of two nucleotides (inosinate and/or guanylate) and the glutamate is able to stick to the receptor for a longer time.  For example, carrots and onions are high in glutamate and when combined with beef which is high in inosinate it will increase the umami-ness of it, which is why it is common combination in beef stews. The same goes for Bonito fish (which contains inosinate) and kombu seaweed (high in glutamate) which combine so well in stocks to increase the umami flavor. 

So in its natural form, it can increase depth and flavor to our foods and our body recognises it and can break it down.  On the other hand MSG doesn’t have to have those foods in the recipe to create this sensation and so can make flavorless, poor quality processed foods taste good, which is why it is the backbone of the processed and fast food industry.  

Initially when it was commercialized it was used mainly in Asian countries, but came to the attention of Americans through world war 2 when US army officers noticed the American soldiers liked the Japanese ration packs way better than their own. Research found that they had included MSG into the rations improving the palatability of the otherwise tasteless foods.  

After the war there was a period of modernization that created plastic and cans that could store food for longer and at the same time supermarkets and processed foods boomed.  Foods became more convenient and storable, but were not as tasty as fresh foods and so MSG was used to improve the flavor of these products. This was also the beginning of ‘fast food’ chains that also utilized MSG.

Fast forward 100 years and MSG is firmly embedded in our food industry where it has had some polarizing opinions of its safety and ability to cause negative side effects and sensitivities in people. A lot of the research claiming it is safe has been conducted by the food industry that uses it, so it has a vested interest to prove its safety. 

What science has found is that MSG can affect the brain as it can cross the blood brain barrier, a protective mechanism in the brain that controls what chemicals can go into the brain. They are part of a category of chemicals called excitotoxins that can excite brain cells causing them to exhaust themselves or die. This alters the chemistry of the brain and can cause symptoms such as mood swings, headaches and inability to concentrate. The growing brains of children are more vulnerable to excitotoxins than adults and some children may have more severe reactions than others.

Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, says a child’s brain is four times more sensitive to excitotoxins than the adult brain is.  MSG reaches peak concentration in the brain 3 to 4 hours after ingesting it.  These high levels remain for 24 hours after eating it. Msg can be especially detrimental to people who have had a brain injury or a genetic predisposition to brain disease.

People who have a sensitivity or intolerance to MSG usually react within 48 hours of ingesting MSG, even in small amounts, which can make it difficult to trace back to the food source that caused the reaction. Effects can include: headaches, hives, canker sores, runny nose, insomnia, seizures, mood swings, panic attacks, heart palpitations and other heart irregularities, nausea, numbness, asthma attacks and migraines, restless leg syndrome. 

Another reason it can be hard to trace back a food source that caused the reaction is it is not just the MSG additive numbers of 620 to 625 that contain MSG. In 1968 a letter was written by a Dr in a medical journal stating that certain physical symptoms could be caused by eating MSG and it created a huge shift in its popularity.  Consumers didn’t want to buy products or go to restaurants that used it and so processed food producers have worked out ways to make new additive numbers that are not technically MSG so they can still get the effects but keep their customers.

There are the 3 flavor enhancers called ribonucleotides – 627, 631 and 635 that boost the flavor enhancing effect of MSG up to 15 times. Unfortunately they also boost the adverse reactions to msg too. These flavor enhancers can also cause very itchy rashes to occur which have been coined ‘Ribo rashes’ As they are not MSG, companies can say ‘no added MSG’ or even ‘no MSG’ on the packaging. For example one of the biggest fast food chains in the world doesn’t use MSG but over 10 of their staple products contain 627 and 631 in their ingredients.

Along with these additive numbers there is another set of chemicals that contain MSG called ‘processed free glutamates’ –  examples are – carrageenan, bouillon, broth, stock, ‘flavors’ or ‘flavoring’, maltodextrin, citric acid, citrate, ‘ultra-pasteurized’, barley malt, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, gelatin, pectin, protease, enzyme modified, malt extract, soy sauce, soy sauce extract, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, ‘protein fortified’, textured protein, seasoning, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, yeast food, hydrolyzed plant protein, plant protein extract, and hydrolyzed oat flour.  If you look on the back of almost all processed foods you will see these ingredients on them.  The only exception being plain salted chips, some plain corn chips and some plain rice crackers. (Note the word plain, no MSG in these products equals plain taste!)

And if that wasn’t hard enough to navigate in Australia and New Zealand, if an ingredient forms less than 5% of a product, an additive in that ingredient does not have to be listed!  

The problem with people who are sensitive to it, like all sensitivities there is a loading effect that happens and once your body reaches a threshold of what it can tolerate symptoms will occur.  This loading effect will be different every time depending on what you have eaten in the last 4 days, how strong your immune system is at the time and where your stress levels are at. 

Aside from the many adverse reactions people can have it has also been linked to many health conditions including weight gain, hormonal imbalances, brain damage and obesity. MSG is addictive, it activates pleasure centers in the brain wanting you to eat more of them causing some people to over eat and crave these products. The more you eat foods that contain it, the blander natural foods taste the more you want of the ‘tastier’ foods.  Often MSG foods are highly processed and so diets become poorer in nutrients and higher in carbohydrates leading to obesity. Rat researches routinely give rats MSG to make them obese for their experiments!

Flavour enhancers are banned in infant foods in Australia, New Zealand and America as they may cause damage to the brain and nervous system. This is good but doesn’t take into consideration of it passing on to the baby via breast milk or children under 1 year of age eating foods for older children. MSG has been shown to cause lesions on the brain especially in children which can cause cognitive, endocrinological and emotional abnormalities. Studies show that rats who have been fed MSG since birth could not escape mazes or discriminate between stimuli as well as non-MSG fed rats. The implications for children is that MSG could affect their cognitive skill and cause learning difficulties. 

Natural Allergy Treatment

So, because you don’t see the original additive number of 621 in your packaged foods, if you dig a little deeper into the ingredient list you are almost certain to find some form of it there. For some people there is no noticeable effect when they consume it, but for others it can cause a range of symptoms from irrational meltdowns in toddlers to severe heart palpitations in others.  If you have experienced some physical and emotional symptoms but can’t quite figure out what it’s from, open your pantry cupboard and read the back of your favorite snacks and the answer may be there for you. 

At Health & Wellness Australia & Auckland (HWA), we use a technique called muscle testing (or kinesiology) to help identify reactions to MSG and naturally occurring glutamates.

Following testing, you can work with your qualified Naturopath to address the reactions to MSG and glutamates using a natural allergy treatment called Positive Association Technique (PAT).

Get in touch

• Call us on 1300 853 023 / 09 479 5997 (NZ) to chat to our friendly staff
• Send us your question HERE
• Request a Free PAT Information E-PACK HERE

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Please note that this blog post contains general information only. Always consult your health care professional before changing your diet, starting new supplements or regarding any medical condition.