Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
 


Health

MSG is really a villain?

06/20/2013

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

 


 




It is not today that monosodium glutamate, an amino acid found naturally in foods such as meats, cheeses and mushrooms and is also artificially added to food is considered a villain by health experts. The ingredient responsible for checking the Umami taste (one of the five basic tastes of the human palate, alongside sweet, salty, sour and bitter), has been linked to diseases such as migraine, allergy and hypertension.

However, some studies show that the substance, which is also found abundantly human body, can not be as evil as we think, and even help in some processes of our body. Another possible origin for the free glutamate is monosodium glutamate. This ingredient is the salt of glutamate and is produced by fermentation of certain foods, for example, cane sugar. When in contact with water (present in food and saliva), it releases free glutamate to the medium.

Thus, both the glutamic acid (or glutamate), and monosodium glutamate are converted into free glutamate which results in umami taste perception. Both are perceived and metabolized in the same way by the taste buds, ie, our body recognizes exactly the same way.

Myths

One of the myths involving MSG is that the substance could trigger migraine. According Hellen Maluly, professor of food science and expert on Umami, after some testing, it was not possible to identify this type of relationship.

Another untruth is that glutamate causes Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, which is a set of symptoms that some people have to eat the substance, such as flushing, shortness of breath and malaise. In 2000, researchers of the four most prestigious American universities (Harvard, Boston University, University of California Los Angeles and University of Northwestern) overturned this view.

Many people also relate glutamate to allergies. In the book "umami and glutamate: chemical aspects, biological and technological," researcher Joel Faintuch, doctor of gastrointestinal surgery at the University of São Paulo (USP), presents studies that debunk the link between the ingredient and allergic reactions. Joel highlights a study in which doses of 1g and 5g of MSG were administered to individuals who allegedly suffered from asthma attacks related to monosodium glutamate. None of those analyzed decreased forced expiratory volume, test that determines whether or not respiratory dysfunction.

The substance is also not linked to hypertension, as some people believe. Furthermore, it could be an alternative to reducing sodium intake in food. In addition to having approximately 1/3 the amount of sodium present in conventional kitchen salt, monosodium glutamate could compensate for some loss of sensory foods with less sodium, making its pleasant taste to the consumer.

Despite the monosodium glutamate is present in some industrial products, their consumption by the average population is relatively low and unlikely to be the main factor for the increase in blood pressure. "The increase in blood pressure depends on many factors that are related to the lifestyle of each individual and can not be attributed to a single ingredient or product," explains Helen Maluly.

Benefits

Monosodium glutamate also contributes to food intake of children and the elderly. A study by Professor J. E. Steiner, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, published in "Umami: A basic taste" (1987), found that newborns can now realize and accept and umami taste from the first days of life. "The researcher evaluated the expression of the babies after receiving a solution with a bit of every taste and concluded that to feel the sweet taste and umami, the babies showed up and apparently satisfied with words 'gay'. Already for bitter and sour, 'twisted nose,' "explains Maluly.

In the case of the elderly, a study conducted by researchers from Hospital Okanoki, Japan, the elderly divided into two groups. The first group was 0.5% monosodium glutamate is added to each meal. The second group had a substance added to the preparations. After three months of study, the group that consumed the preparations with MSG showed significant improvements in food intake, nutritional status, immunity, and well-being, whereas the control group did not achieve the same results.

Glutamate can also contribute to the prevention of obesity in babies. Researchers MonellChemicalSenses Center, Philadelphia, USA, evaluated the control of satiety and thus obesity, newborns, a study published in 2012. They found that satiety could be directly linked to glutamate - the main substance that gives the umami taste, this breast milk.

Therefore, children with a good breastfeeding process would be less likely to develop disorders linked to weight. The research was made based on the power of 30 newborns up to four months of age, with three separate formulas - with two higher concentration of glutamate (in free form) and one with a lower concentration.
It was observed that when fed with formulas rich in glutamate, babies reached satiety quickly and thereby could control food intake.



Source: UOL - Modern Consumer

Our news are taken in full from our partner sites. For this reason, we can not change the contents of the same even in cases of typos.

This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.

Important:
The JurisWay site does not interfere in the work provided by doctrine, why only reflect the opinions, ideas and concepts of their authors.


  Subjects list
 
  Copyright (c) 2006-2009. JurisWay - All rights reserved.