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What Are the Chances You Are Uniquely Sensitive to MSG?

By May 13, 2019February 16th, 2024MSG
Chances Uniquely Sensitive to MSG

Sensitivity to monosodium glutamate (“MSG”) was virtually unheard of before it was given a name back in the 70’s. “Chinese restaurant syndrome,” so named for two reasons:

  • A 1968 letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine described the writer’s symptoms that occurred about 20 minutes after eating food from a Chinese restaurant.
  • MSG was known to be commonly used in prepared Chinese food.

This triggered all manner of conversations about both Chinese food and MSG, to the extent that many Chinese restaurants stopped using MSG in their cooking and stated so on their menus. The sodium content of their food probably increased, but more about that later. Did the whole “Chinese restaurant syndrome” issue get solved? Yes and no. It didn’t stop people from claiming an allergy or sensitivity to MSG, it triggered decades of well-controlled studies on MSG and its key component, glutamate, also known as glutamic acid, to fully assess the mechanism involved in this purported condition.

If you think you’re uniquely sensitive to MSG or glutamate, two other facts should be cleared up:

  • Glutamate is not a new ingredient, nor is glutamate unique to Chinese food.
  • Your body makes glutamate, and it’s the same in chemical structure to the glutamate added to food or naturally present in food.

In the decades since the 1968 letter was published, dozens of well-controlled clinical research studies have shown no demonstration of glutamate sensitivity, even with MSG given in huge quantities that would never be consumed in food. Given that your body makes glutamate – an amino acid necessary to the body – not being sensitive to glutamate can only be seen as positive.

Why? Because most glutamate, whether eaten in food or made by your body, is never absorbed into the bloodstream. It hangs out in the gut, where it performs vital functions for your immune system.

Italian Food is Rich in Glutamate

This is all not to say that you may not have a sensitivity. It just isn’t likely to glutamate. If you were sensitive to MSG, you’d also probably be sensitive to foods like parmesan cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, and eggplant, as these foods are high in glutamate. Lasagna - umami appetite

Imagine what Italian food would be without glutamate? Italian restaurants don’t traditionally use MSG but their food is absolutely loaded with glutamate. The body treats all glutamate the same, whether it comes from MSG or is naturally present in food. Indeed, those Chinese restaurants that stopped using MSG didn’t get rid of the glutamate in their food either. Soy sauce is also a huge source of glutamate.

If you watch cooking shows or read articles about food, you’ve probably heard chefs and food writers mention “umami,” the fifth taste, after sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Umami gives foods a more intense taste and they rave about its ability to enhance the taste of so many dishes.

Umami is glutamate, pure and simple. These chefs and culinary experts may not add MSG to their cooking (although increasingly, many do, since they’ve learned that MSG actually is glutamate), but they know the value of glutamate and high-glutamate foods.

If you feel you have a sensitivity to a food that contains glutamate, before attributing it to being sensitive to MSG, check with your doctor first. Given the unlikelihood of a sensitivity to glutamate, you wouldn’t want to overlook other more likely causes.

As for why those Chinese restaurants that removed MSG from inclusion in their dishes would raise the sodium content of their food, MSG delivers a huge flavor bang. It also, gram for gram, has about one-third the amount so sodium as the salt that likely replaced it.

Be glad that glutamate is – and has always – been present in your body, especially in your gut. Foods like tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggplant are also highly nutritious. Rather than avoid high-glutamate foods, think about including more of them into your diet! They’re not only great for you, they are loaded with flavor.

Dr. Keith Ayoob is an internationally known nutritionist and an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where he has maintained a clinical practice for more than 20 years. Keith also is Director of the Nutrition Clinic at the Rose F. Kennedy Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center at Einstein. He has appeared on many national news programs and is a highly sought after speaker for his practical, consumer-friendly advice on a variety of timely nutrition issues. Keith contributes expert opinion pieces to ABCNews.com and USAToday.com. Read more about his background on the About page. Note: MSGdish bloggers are compensated for their time in writing for MSGdish, but their statements and opinions are their own. They have pledged to blog with integrity, asserting that the trust of their readers and their peers is vitally important to them.

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