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Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Monosodium Glutamate or MSG is a man-made flavor enhancer. It is now recognized by many in the medical profession as an excitotoxin – a type of drug which damages brain cells. It was first created in 1908 by Dr Kikunae Ikeda in Japan . The Japanese had been adding Kombu, a type of seaweed, to their foods as a flavor enhancer for over a thousand years. Dr Ikeda isolated the compound from Kombu which made the food taste better – it was glutamate. He founded the Ajinomoto Company to make and sell this new flavor enhancer – monosodium glutamate.
The Americans discovered MSG during the Second World War and soon began to mass produce it and add it to food. No significant studies were performed at the time to test the safety of this new additive.
Scientists calculate that MSG usage in foods has doubled every decade and that hundreds of thousands of tons of MSG are added to our food each year.
MSG Facts
Glutamate is found naturally in many vegetables, but in very small amounts. This glutamate is a vital neurotransmitter - a chemical which allows communication between neurons – cells in the brain. There are in fact glutamate receptors in every major human organ.
Natural glutamate consists of two amino acids – glutamic acid and glutamine, which are bound up in the protein molecules of a food. In the body, these proteins are slowly broken down which means the glutamate is produced gradually and can be absorbed naturally.
Man-made MSG contains much higher levels of glutamate than occurs naturally in foods. MSG is not bound in a protein molecule – it is free and is therefore absorbed by the body at a faster level than natural glutamate.
If too much glutamate is consumed, the body normally pumps the excess glutamate out of the neurons and into the surrounding helper cells – astrocytes. However, if the levels of glutamate are too high, as occurs when the body ingests MSG, the body cannot pump out the excess and the neurons become over-stimulated and die.
This effect is particularly noted in the hypothalamus and temporal lobes of the brain. These are the parts of the brain which control such body functions as: behavior, emotions, immunity, the sleep cycle, hormones, puberty and short-term memory to name a few.
Aspartame section author: Dawn Copeman
Last Updated: 6/27/2005
Monosodium Glutamate
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