What does MSG do to your brain?
MSG has been shown to cause lesions on the brain especially in children. These lesions cause cognitive, endocrinological and emotional abnormalities. In children, excess glutamate affects the growth cones on neurons.
And, there are no withdrawal symptoms if someone stops eating MSG. The amount of MSG and free glutamate we eat at each meal fluctuates, but people generally don't feel any different with the various levels of intake. And there are no documented reports of anyone feeling worse because they didn't eat MSG.
MSG provides more flavor, with less sodium.
MSG contains only one-third the amount of sodium as table salt. Also, MSG amplifies and enhances the flavor of foods – whether it is naturally occurring or added to foods. The glutamate interacts with our taste buds, giving foods the umami, or savory, flavor.
Here's the good news: MSG contains two-thirds less the amount of sodium compared to table salt, so if you're looking to lower your sodium intake, reaching for MSG to flavor your food can help you eat less sodium.
MSG enhances the flavour of salty, savoury foods and is lower in sodium than salt – it contains only a third of the amount of sodium you would find in salt. Researchers have recently found that including MSG in food may even help reduce excessive salt intake, which can contribute to cardiovascular disease.
Chick-Fil-A's grilled chicken has the additive “Yeast Extract”, which contains free glutamic acid, the main component of MSG. This is hidden MSG, disguised by another name. This ingredient is purely used to make you crave their food and eat more than you should.
Other brain areas including cerebral cortex and hippocampus did not show any pathological changes. These findings suggest that systemic administration of MSG or ASP could impair memory retention and damage hypothalamic neurons in adult mice.
Drinking several glasses of water may help flush the MSG out of your system and shorten the duration of your symptoms.
MSG is manufactured sodium salt that enhances the smell and taste of food—particularly fast, unhealthy food—and stimulates hunger, making you crave those salty junk foods.
Beside its flavour enhancing effects, MSG has been associated with various forms of toxicity (Figure 1(Fig. 1)). MSG has been linked with obesity, metabolic disorders, Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, neurotoxic effects and detrimental effects on the reproductive organs.
Do Chinese restaurants still use MSG?
The addition of MSG in foods is “generally recognized as safe,” says the FDA site. MSG is found in Chinese cuisine -- but also in tomatoes, cheese, canned soup, and a range of foods.
Some sensitive individuals experience unpleasant side-effects after consuming MSG which can include insomnia-inducing palpitations, headaches, fatigue and muscle pain.
Increasing MSG uptake above safe limit produces liver and kidney dysfunctions. MSG induces oxidative liver and kidney damage. Vit D and l-Arg suppress the MSG-induced increase in food intake and body weight.
MSG-induced symptoms are typically not severe and subside on their own entirely within 72 hours. 1 However, if you have mild symptoms do not appear to resolve or continue worsening after 48 hours, speak to your healthcare provider, as it may be something more serious.
How much MSG is safe? Most research suggests you'd have to eat more than 3 grams of added MSG in a sitting to experience adverse effects—that's according to a 2019 review of studies published in the journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.
- Headache.
- Flushing.
- Sweating.
- Face pressure or tightness.
- Lack of feeling (numbness), tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas.
- Quick, fluttering heartbeats.
- Chest pain.
- Feeling sick (nausea)
Besides its well-known impact on food palatability, MSG enhances salivary secretion and interferes with carbohydrate metabolism, while the impact on satiety and post-meal recovery of hunger varied in relation to meal composition.
Some people have reported a sensitivity to MSG. It is the glutamate part of MSG that can produce symptoms such as: Tingling and/or burning sensation. Feeling of pressure on the face.
It also has an equally familiar-sounding ingredient: monosodium glutamate, or MSG. McDonald's doesn't currently use MSG in the other items that compose its regular, nationally available menu—but both Chick-fil-A and Popeyes list it as an ingredient in their own chicken sandwiches and chicken filets.
Mainland China is largely responsible for the recent increases in world production and consumption of MSG. Currently, mainland China is the world's largest MSG producer and consumer. In 2021, mainland Chinese production and consumption accounted for the majority of both world production and consumption.
What foods are naturally high in MSG?
However, MSG occurs naturally in ingredients such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate, as well as in tomatoes and cheeses.
Glutamate excitotoxicity has long been related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology, and it has been shown to affect the major AD-related hallmarks, amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) accumulation and tau phosphorylation (p-tau).
Emerging evidence suggests that MSG may directly influence glutamatergic neurotransmission, which underlies the pathophysiology of mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, and depressive disorders (8). Chemically, glutamic acid is an amino acid necessary for the biosynthesis of glutamate, a key neurotransmitter.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG): MSG is an omin present contaminant-classified as an FDA approved additive in tens of thousands of foods in the world's food supply today. Here is a 2010 study linking MSG to the pathogenesis of ALS.
People report various health issues that they associate with MSG. According to a Korean study from 2014, the most common complaints were: thirstiness (84.5 percent) drowsiness (55.7 percent)