4 ms·

Is there any actual evidence that MSG should be "cause for concern"?

stouset 11y ago
No. None whatsoever. MSG is just the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Just like table salt breaks down into its constituent sodium and chlorine in water, MSG breaks down into sodium and glutamic acid, the latter of which is in high quantities in beef, poultry, eggs, fish, dairy, and so on. Fear of MSG is, chemically speaking, utter nonsense.
- thephilosophe 11y ago
  I lost any confidence I had in the author when I saw that line.
tptacek 11y ago
Double-blinded studies have debunked the idea of MSG sensitivity. Preparations high in MSG tend to be high in sodium as well, which people are sensitive to.
- kazinator 11y ago
  Counterexample: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9215242 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9215242 Even if it's true about the sodium, that still leaves MSG as way to sneak lots of sodium into a meal in a form that doesn't taste salty. Incidents of the "restaurant syndrome" might be caused by a large amount being accidentally or carelessly dumped into the food. (E.g. the perforated lid comes off the MSG container while it is shaken and the food is served anyway). If that happened with a salt container, they would think twice before serving it anyway, due to the food obviously tasting over-salted.
greggman 11y ago
No. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Safety
manmal 11y ago
There is a balance to be kept by the body between GABA and glutamate (oversimplification). The former is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and the latter is excitatory. So - it really depends. If your nervous system is overexcited, having glutamate (doesn't matter whether from natural or lab-made sources) might be a bad idea. If you are pretty balanced or have a GABA surplus, you'll be fine. BTW this balance does seem to play a role in autism and ADHD, and suppressing glutamate is considered as an option in this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25666800 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25666800
- stickfigure 11y ago
  Current scientific evidence indicates that glutamate does not cross the blood brain barrier. While glutamate is very active in the brain, it does not appear that consumption has any effect.
  - kazinator 11y ago
    Something doesn't have to cross the barrier to cause a headache or other effects. A constriction or dilation of the blood vessels in the brain will do.
    - tptacek 11y ago
      What evidence is there that glutamic acid is a vasodilator?
      - kazinator 11y ago
        Just found some pig and rat experiments: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2572176 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2572176 "We examined the effects of topically applied amino acids (glutamate, aspartate, glycine, and taurine) and a synthetic glutamate analogue [N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)] on pial arteriolar tone and cortical surface cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dilator prostanoid concentrations in anesthetized newborn pigs. [...] We conclude that these amino acids are potent dilators of the neonatal cerebral circulation." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9134957 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9134957 "Taken together, these results indicate that glutamate contributes to the dilatory tone of cerebral microvessels under physiologic conditions and that this effect is mediated by NMDA receptors. Glutamatergic vasodilation is dependent on neuronal discharge activity and the neuronal production of NO." Experiment with glutamate infusion in cardiac surgery patients: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724641 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724641 "These data show that an intravenous glutamate infusion after routine CABG surgery significantly improved cardiac haemodynamic performance without direct effects on cardiac substrate metabolism. This suggests that a reduction of the afterload via a peripheral vasodilatory effect is the main mechanism leading to the observed changes in haemodynamics."

No. None whatsoever. MSG is just the sodium salt of glutamic acid. Just like table salt breaks down into its constituent sodium and chlorine in water, MSG breaks down into sodium and glutamic acid, the latter of which is in high quantities in beef, poultry, eggs, fish, dairy, and so on. Fear of MSG is, chemically speaking, utter nonsense.

thephilosophe 11y ago
I lost any confidence I had in the author when I saw that line.

tptacek 11y ago

Double-blinded studies have debunked the idea of MSG sensitivity. Preparations high in MSG tend to be high in sodium as well, which people are sensitive to.

kazinator 11y ago
Counterexample: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9215242 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9215242 Even if it's true about the sodium, that still leaves MSG as way to sneak lots of sodium into a meal in a form that doesn't taste salty. Incidents of the "restaurant syndrome" might be caused by a large amount being accidentally or carelessly dumped into the food. (E.g. the perforated lid comes off the MSG container while it is shaken and the food is served anyway). If that happened with a salt container, they would think twice before serving it anyway, due to the food obviously tasting over-salted.

greggman 11y ago

No. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Safety https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Safety

manmal 11y ago

There is a balance to be kept by the body between GABA and glutamate (oversimplification). The former is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, and the latter is excitatory. So - it really depends. If your nervous system is overexcited, having glutamate (doesn't matter whether from natural or lab-made sources) might be a bad idea. If you are pretty balanced or have a GABA surplus, you'll be fine. BTW this balance does seem to play a role in autism and ADHD, and suppressing glutamate is considered as an option in this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25666800 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25666800

stickfigure 11y ago
Current scientific evidence indicates that glutamate does not cross the blood brain barrier. While glutamate is very active in the brain, it does not appear that consumption has any effect.
- kazinator 11y ago
  Something doesn't have to cross the barrier to cause a headache or other effects. A constriction or dilation of the blood vessels in the brain will do.
  - tptacek 11y ago
    What evidence is there that glutamic acid is a vasodilator?
    - kazinator 11y ago
      Just found some pig and rat experiments: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2572176 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2572176 "We examined the effects of topically applied amino acids (glutamate, aspartate, glycine, and taurine) and a synthetic glutamate analogue [N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)] on pial arteriolar tone and cortical surface cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dilator prostanoid concentrations in anesthetized newborn pigs. [...] We conclude that these amino acids are potent dilators of the neonatal cerebral circulation." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9134957 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9134957 "Taken together, these results indicate that glutamate contributes to the dilatory tone of cerebral microvessels under physiologic conditions and that this effect is mediated by NMDA receptors. Glutamatergic vasodilation is dependent on neuronal discharge activity and the neuronal production of NO." Experiment with glutamate infusion in cardiac surgery patients: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724641 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724641 "These data show that an intravenous glutamate infusion after routine CABG surgery significantly improved cardiac haemodynamic performance without direct effects on cardiac substrate metabolism. This suggests that a reduction of the afterload via a peripheral vasodilatory effect is the main mechanism leading to the observed changes in haemodynamics."