Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Racism or Science? The MSG Debate


Racism or Science? The MSG Debate


Sweetness, saltiness, sourness, bitterness… Can you remember the fifth taste? Each of our little taste buds can have up to 100 taste bud cells from which we are able to experience these delicious sensory experiences. The fifth taste, Umami, is described as the mouthwatering essence that lingers over your tongue, often sensed in broths and cooked meats. It originated from the Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, back in the early 1900s, when he captured its essence with science, by extracting glutamate from seaweed and stabilizing it with salt to produce the compound monosodium glutamate (MSG). Wait... Did someone just say MSG? 

You’re likely familiar with the negative connotations with the term. Around fifty years ago, the New England Journal of Medicine published a letter by Robert Ho Man Kwok, a biochemist who reported falling ill upon eating at Chinese restaurants on his trip to America. Since its notoriety in the media skyrocketed in the 1960's, westerners have continuously self reported side effects to MSG, which are commonly referred to using the prejudice slang, “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”. Reports include symptoms such as headaches, sweating, flushing, numbness of the face and neck, palpitations, nausea, chest pain and sleeplessness. To this day, 1 in 4 Americans report avoiding MSG. 

However, MSG is one of the most thoroughly researched food additives and no studies have found evidence to back this claim. Although MSG is an artificial food additive, it does occur naturally in high Umami foods and our bodies need the compound to properly function. Additionally, we have receptors on the majority of our tongue that bind to glutamate. In fact, modern chefs and food scientists refer to the compound as a “flavor potentiator” for its ability to accentuate otherwise muted flavors.

Even now, it’s quite common for Chinese food restaurants and food items to advertise that they do not use MSG in their products. Fifty years ago, an academic journal carelessly published the false claim that MSG was correlated with negative health impacts. A claim which took on a life of its own through the media, permanently altering the public's perception on Chinese cuisine. Overall, the story behind the MSG media frenzy serves as a grave reminder to the scientific community the importance of effective and accurate communication.

Posted by Lauren Mason (3)

13 comments:

  1. I think you nailed it when you said that the story behind MSG is nothing more than media frenzy. All of the symptoms mentioned above could be correlational but not causation. Most of the symptoms can be due to overeating or inadequate sanitary standards. I personally overeat now and then, when I order out from my favorite Asian restaurant. And the reason is not MSG but the sodium in soy sauce. It's the same when you start eating salty peanuts, you just can't get enough of that. What happened in the '60s with the negative publication about MSG is a great example of premature conclusions made by the scientific community.

    -Gene

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    1. Thanks Gene! Some thing I didn't mention in my post is that back in the day, there was an issue with the quality of MSG that was being used. If I recall correctly, the MSG was highly contaminated and actually contained a lot more than just monosodium glutamate. So you hit the point exactly when you mentioned that symptoms can also be from poor sanitary standards or contaminated MSG. Now that MSG production is highly monitored and regulated, these things shouldn't be a problem. So any one who claims to have Chinese Restaurant Syndrome is #fake news.

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    2. Previous comment was posted by Lauren Mason

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  2. i really enjoy reading this article because you really hit all the important points about this topic. i remember eating Asian food one time and this lady came up to me and said" i wouldn't eat all that junk if i were you" we then proceeded to talk about MSG and i told her how it was not proven that MSG was the caused of these symptoms but she would not believe me because she "saw it on TV" It is crazy to me how the media has so much power and things like these can be affected by it. like you said, i wonder if this gave a excuse to certain people to express their racism or if it was all about the science.

    Posted by Pam Jimenez

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    1. Thanks Pam! That's an interesting story. That reminds me of some of the times my knowledge and ability to effectively communicate was put to the test with a relative of mine who doesn't believe in climate change. Even when we state the facts, there are just some people who won't believe in the facts. It just gets me thinking about better ways to communicate with the people who are stuck in their ways. As scientists, is there a particular approach we have to use to communicate to those people?
      Posted by Lauren Mason

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  3. I enjoyed this article. A couple years ago my mother made sinnigang (a filipino stew) for our family. The flavor packet contained MSG and the next day my face was very puffy. My mother assumed I was allergic to MSG and told me to avoid it. I have always held that connotation to MSG and a negative view on it. Recently I have been trying it more and the side affect has not returned. Hopefully I can try out some more snacks with it to see if they affect me.

    -Isaac Collibee

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    1. Thanks for sharing Isaac. I'm really interested in your story. Although I find it unlikely that the monosodium glutamate in your flavor packet was the source of your puffy face, perhaps the packet was contaminated. Maybe during April break you can buy some MSG and eat it straight up as an experiment and let us know how it goes??
      Posted by Lauren Mason

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  4. I found this post really informative. I was surprised to see that 1 in 4 Americans avoid having MSG. I feel like most people will just base their decisions off of what other people say rather than actual experiences. Personally, I have never experienced these side effects from eating chinese food so I can't say if its true or not. As you mentioned in the post that our bodies need MSG, why are people avoiding it? Is it simply fine to have if it is moderation? I think that people will need to do more research to be able to see if there really is a correlation between MSG and the negative side effects people are mentioning. Really interesting topic.
    -Matt Cayer

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    1. Thanks Matt. You can definitely check out some of the studies that were done on MSG if that interests you. Most of them were compared to a placebo and one actually had people ingest large quantities on an empty stomach which still reported minimal side effects. However, it's also important to note the source of these studies. Some anti MSG advocated say that because the studies were done by large corporations, they could be rigged. I don't really see why anyone would pay off a study on MSG but there is that to still consider. To answer your question, MSG is a non-essential amino acid (meaning that our bodies produce it). The MSG that we consume is artificially made so it wouldn't have exactly the same configuration as we produce in our bodies but given what the studies have shown, I don't think that it really matter. I think it's fine to consume in moderation just like anything. Ever heard of TBHQ? It's another food preservative synthesized from butane that is in all your Cheez-its and goldfish. All is well in moderation.
      Posted by Lauren Mason

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  5. I think that MSG is simply another health trend of the next 'culprit' to blame in popular media and news outlet for the declining health in Americans just as fat was in the past. Even now many Americans avoid fat in foods and reach for reduced fat or fat free options even though fat is essential for the body and low fat processed foods tend to merely substitute fat with high sugar/glucose content which is even more dangerous. Asian countries have known that MSG is a naturally occurring compound in food because it's in so much of Asian cuisine. Similarly with how one paper with misleading claims on the negative effects of vaccines shaped the entire vaccine outlook in America, the same thing happened with MSG and was carried too far. As always, too much MSG is likely unhealthy as with too much of anything, but there is no real evidence to back up the beliefs that it has direct negative health effects.

    Posted by Brian Lee (3)

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    1. Thanks Brian. I really like that you linked my blog post with the fads that we see here in America. I do think about this often. American's seem to focus a lot on certain fads like kale, vaccines, sugar-free, no carbs, etc. but don't seem to grasp the whole picture on what makes a healthy life and healthy body. At least that's my opinion.
      And you're right that Asian countries have known MSG was fine for a while now. The key is that they only use a tiny pinch in their dishes as a flavor enhancer. In one of my sources a chef stated that Chinese food doesn't need MSG, because it's already so flavorful. It's just an extra touch of yum-yum added to the dish! Thanks for the feedback.
      Posted by Lauren Mason

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  6. I must say I had no idea MSG was thought to be so bad for your health. However, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to the anti-vaxx movement while I was reading it. Though it is hard to avoid misinformation with the way the anti-vaxx paper came to be so popular, this still brings up the notion that methods are just as important as results. Research with incredible finds is only as good as the methods used to obtain the data. What probably surprised me the most is that such a prestigious, peer-reviewed journal published something like this with such little evidence to back up the claim.

    Posted by "Meagan Gustafson"

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    1. Thanks Meagan. Yes, it surprised me too to find out that the source of all they MSG hype came from a scientific journal! Fortunately it was a while ago, but I learned today something that might interest you. Back in the day, journals used to post publications for free. Now, journals make you pay to be posted in them. Apparently some journals can be lobbied if the quantity is big enough. It's such a shame to see our reputation as scientists to be tainted by some other lame scientists just trying to get their name out there. I'm glad we are having this discussion because we are the future! We have to make it better for those who come next.
      Posted by Lauren Mason

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