Will eating too much MSG give you a headache? "MSG is misunderstood" sparks heated discussion

If salt is the saltiest seasoning in your home, then MSG is the most unnecessary seasoning in your home. You may have heard many rumors - MSG will give you a headache and is unsafe. Is MSG really safe? What happens to dishes with MSG?

Does eating too much MSG really give you a headache?

Are the raw materials and extraction process of MSG healthy? Is there any basis for the saying that eating too much MSG can cause headaches and chest tightness? The reporter interviewed Huang Jihong, a doctoral supervisor, Zhongyuan scholar, and director of the Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Wheat Bioprocessing and Nutritional Function.

MSG is mainly made from wheat and corn, which are fermented into glutamate and then monosodium glutamate is extracted, which is what we call MSG.

According to Huang Jihong, glutamate plays an important role in the protein metabolism process in organisms. In medicine, glutamate is mainly used to treat hepatic coma. Glutamate participates in the metabolism of protein and sugar in the brain, improves children's intellectual development, and is also a nutritional supplement. As a nutritional medicine, it can be used for skin and hair, has a nutritional function for hair matrix cells in the scalp, enhances blood circulation, has the effect of promoting hair growth and preventing hair loss, and is also effective in treating wrinkles.

Sodium glutamate, also known as MSG, is an organic salt, while table salt is an inorganic salt. In the food industry, MSG is a commonly used food flavor enhancer, called sodium glutamate.

"According to the national standard 2760, MSG can be added to 272 kinds of food, including formula milk, margarine and similar products, frozen drinks, processed fruits, cocoa products, chocolate and chocolate products and candy, fermented flour products, baked food, pre-prepared meat products, frozen aquatic products and their products, braised eggs, starch sugar, etc." Huang Jihong said.

The main function of MSG is to enhance the flavor. Chinese cuisine is extensive and profound. Are there other methods?

According to Huang Jihong, what can produce "umami" taste is not only MSG, but also inosinic acid ions and guanylic acid ions. For example, the main ingredients of chicken essence are MSG and salt, but also disodium flavor nucleotides, or disodium 5'-inosinic acid and disodium 5'-guanylate.

There are many different ways to consume MSG on the Internet, and there are many taboos. According to GB 2760, MSG can be used in any food that requires seasoning, but the amount used should be determined according to the circumstances. MSG can be added to cooking, making stuffing, mixing cold dishes, making soups, etc. However, it should be noted that MSG will turn into charred sodium glutamate at a high temperature of 120°C and lose its flavor.

Chinese cuisine is blamed for the mysterious "Chinese restaurant syndrome"

In the late 1960s, a "senior researcher" named "He Wenguo" sent a short message to the New England Journal of Medicine, claiming that he and his friends often felt numb after eating food in Chinese restaurants, and called this symptom "Chinese restaurant syndrome." At that time, MSG was more used in East Asian dishes, which led to an inherent impression that Chinese restaurants put a lot of MSG in their dishes. This incident triggered a series of academic studies. For example, a study published in Science magazine in 1969 confirmed that MSG was the cause of Chinese restaurant syndrome, including headaches, burning sensations, and chest pain. But there are many problems with the experimental methods of this paper. At the same time, there was another study on MSG, which did not find any direct link between normal intake and symptoms, but ultimately failed to justify MSG. This was because the rejection of MSG in the West at that time was basically a racist prejudice.

The person who first coined the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome" is actually a white man, and the name of the Chinese is also fabricated. The damaged reputation of MSG has not only affected Chinese restaurants in North America, but also spread to East Asia, the hometown of MSG. However, MSG is just an ordinary food additive. The industrial production of MSG uses modern fermentation technology and is extracted from sugarcane. It seems to be a more natural substitute, chicken powder, which also contains at least 35% sodium glutamate according to national standards. After a long scientific debate, people's understanding of MSG has gradually become clear.

Netizens hold different opinions: one side says MSG is too unfair, the other side says there are many ways to enhance the flavor, why should we stick to MSG

After MSG became a hot topic, many netizens tried to justify its name. Sina netizen "海牛蕾姆" said that MSG can be said to be the most unjust seasoning in history. The main production method is not extraction or chemical synthesis, but is produced through microbial fermentation. Its raw materials are corn and other grains. It is more natural than white sugar. It is a very healthy and safe flavor enhancer. As long as it is consumed appropriately, there is no problem. In the final analysis, the biggest problem with MSG is its name. It sounds like a chemical name and looks like a "toxic chemical". Coupled with the previous propaganda of chicken essence merchants, more people naturally believe that MSG is harmful.

Netizen "Zhu Yi" believes that there are many ways to enhance the flavor, and there is no need to dwell on MSG: "MSG has a history of more than 100 years, and Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Anhui cuisines are all the result of thousands of years of development of Chinese cuisine. Su Dongpo did not know what MSG was, but Dongpo pork was still fragrant and sweet, crisp and glutinous; Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is not added with MSG, but it is still tender and smooth, with a rich meaty aroma; and in the Manchu Han Banquet, there is not a single grain of MSG... So it can be seen that MSG is not... The originator of Chinese cooking seasoning is neither the finishing touch nor the standard. Freshness is what Chinese cuisine desires, but it does not only come from MSG. Chinese soup stock is a unique one, and the freshness of Chinese cuisine cannot be matched by MSG. Even if you have MSG at home, or an upgraded version of chicken stock, it cannot turn plain water into chicken soup. Chicken soup and MSG water can fool the eyes, but not the nose, let alone the tongue. In short, eating MSG in moderation is good for the body and there is nothing wrong with not eating MSG. "