Should you eat Chinese foods?

 After the un-lock 4 from this October government has released guidelines for un-lock 5, wherein restaurants and other food stalls have got permission to open along with parlor, cinemas and other public entertainment places. Foodies have therefore got good news with relaxation to restaurants and other food shops (subway, pizza, Chinese foods etc.)  Mouthwatering preparations like pizza, burger, sandwiches, noodles and Chinese soups are some dishes which are liked by everyone; and there comes the flavoring agent added to these preparations to make them delicious and palatable. 

 

Flavor enhancer is substance added to foods to enhance the flavor beyond the flavor of the enhancer added into it. These enhancers are called potentiators. These potentiators, unlike typical spices exert their action by enhancing the quality of other flavoring substances already present rather than adding their own distinctive flavor. Mono-Sodium Glutamate is perhaps the best known of this substance. Ajinomoto is a Japanese brand name for MSG.

MSG content of some commonly eaten foods

Food items	Maximum level of MSG (g/kg)
Dehydrated soup powder	50-80
Processed cheese	4-5
Cooked ham, pork, meat	2-5
Ketchup	1-3
Canned soup, crab, fish	1-3

Mono-sodium glutamate is the sodium salt of the amino-acid. It is mostly used in Chinese foods, soups, processed meat and canned vegetables.

It is an extract from Japanese seaweed and japan has used this for centuries to flavor food. It is believed to stimulate the taste receptor of the tongue enhancing perception of the flavor. Today, MSG is made by fermentation process using starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses. It is sold as fine white crystalline substance. It gives a pleasant sensation only in flavored solutions or in actual foods.

Mono-Sodium Glutamate is known to cause MSG syndrome, symptom of which include a burning sensation, sweating, headache, weakness and coronary palpitations. Some research claims that increased intake of MSG will lead to increased glutamate in brain therefore excessive stimulation of nerve cells. Therefore it is called “Excitotoxins”.

An advisory body of WHO and FAO in 1988 concluded that MSG is not a health hazard and reaffirmed the safety when used in food as condiment but cautioned that it would be prudent to avoid adding glutamate to foods intended for infants under 12 weeks of age.

There are pros and cons for almost every substance. Regular use of MSG (glutamine along with sodium) can cause the MSG syndromes which include nausea, increase in heart rate and may lead to disease of heart and brain on the other hand Glutamine (amino acids) is known to give several benefits including sugar level control, preventing diarrhea and good for brain.

Glutamine (amino acid of MSG) is found to help regulate cells absorb water across the junction between small intestine and blood stream. Thus helps preventing in water loss and dehydration therefore prevents diarrhea. Glutamine easily crosses over the blood-brain barrier where it is converted into L-glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is essential for cerebral function; it is converted into energy source for neural cells when blood sugar is low. This reduces the sugar and alcohol cravings[i].

 

 

Key Points

·      Sodium salts of glutamine (MSG) used in excess and on regular basis can harm you.

·      Glutamine is amino-acids like other amino-acids it has its own important function to keep our body system healthy.

·      Excess consumption of any substance can harm the body.

 

 

 

Reference

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[i] https://drjockers.com/best-food-sources-glutamine/