MSG - Explanatory Article

Our most recent assignment was to write an explanatory article on a topic of our choice. I chose monosodium glutamate (MSG). Here are the results.

“MSG Free” is a phase that is becoming more prevalent on the front of soup cans, chicken stock boxes, and many other products as consumers demand more natural and healthy foods. But what is MSG? Why do I not want it in my food? Is it bad for me?

Monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, is an additive used in food to enhance flavor, but experts do not know how MSG adds flavor to food, according to a FDA backgrounder in 1995 on MSG. They do know, however, that glutamate, an amino acid, occurs in our bodies as well as many foods and has the same effect, but MSG is not naturally occurring and producers synthesize MSG by fermenting starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses. MSG is in most canned soups, beef and chicken stocks, flavored potato chips, frozen dinners, and almost all fast food.

In 1959, the FDA classified MSG as a “generally recognized as safe” additive. However, in 1969, Dr. John Olney published an article called “Brain Lesions, Obesity, and Other Disturbances in Mice Treated with Monosodium Glutamate.” The article brought the additive into the national spotlight. Olney pointed to a study in which newborn mice were given injections of MSG. The animals showed evidence of stunted skeletal development, obesity and female sterility as adults.

Since that time, many studies have tested the outcome of Olney’s experiments and results have not been conclusive. The FDA said, in their 1995 report, that MSG is safe for human consumption. Nevertheless, the FDA has recognized that an unknown number of the population are sensitive to the additive and can have minor adverse reactions. The effects include burning, numbness and tingling in the neck, forearms and chest; facial pressure; chest pain; headache; nausea; accelerated heartbeat; drowsiness and weakness. The report also stated that MSG could aggravate asthma. However, “[a]ny time you ingest too much sodium it can increase salt in your blood” which can cause these effects said Kris Miller, professor of biology at Oklahoma Christian University.

While the FDA has given the green light to MSG, it is still studied and there are questions about the 1995 report. A 2006 article published in the European Journal of Clinical Medicine drew a direct link between birth weight and oral ingestion of MSG in rats. It seems that MSG has the most significant effects on unborn fetuses and infants. The article further found that this would reduce the weight of the rats as adults.

The study also found that the rats fed the most MSG, 5 grams per day, doubled the amount of daily food intake and MSG has a greater effect on females. Some scientist dispute these results by saying that primates respond differently to the additive than rodents do. Miller also suggested that MSG like any other salt “releases hormones that make the brain think it’s hungrier.” He suggested that this would explain the obesity connection, saying that the additive itself did not cause obesity, but it does causes an increase in appetite, which leads to over eating.

The FDA requires that food containing MSG have “monosodium glutamate” listed in the ingredient list. They are also considering stricter restrictions on the use of the term “MSG Free” on labels and are continuing to study the additive’s effects.