Is MSG Really Safe for Your Health? The Truth Revealed

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, has been given a bad reputation over the last decade, so the question of it being safe or unsafe for your health is a genuine one. With so many new and emerging brain affecting substances such as nootropics, it may be hard to figure out what to avoid and what to keep in your diet. Here’s the truth we managed to dig out. 

Is MSG Safe for Your Health?

Even though the truth is a bit more complicated than this, the short answer is yes. MSG is generally considered to be safe. Even the FDA states so^[1]. Whether or not MSG consumption is safe for each and every individual is hard to guess, as people react differently to foodstuffs and additives. 

Foods That Naturally Contain MSG

Some foods naturally contain monosodium glutamate, and here are some of the most common ones we use frequently in our diets:

• Anchovies 
• Mackerel 
• Clams
• Scallops 
• Oysters 
• Egg yolks 
• Shrimp 
• Chicken 
• Cured ham
• Tomatoes
• Cheese
• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• Autolyzed yeast & hydrolyzed yeast
• Yeast extract
• Soy extracts
• Protein isolate

MSG as a Food Additive

When you think of MSG, you probably immediately think of Chinese food. Chinese restaurants have been using MSG as a flavor enhancer for years, giving it its signature umami taste^[6]. That’s why in some countries, it’s even called “China salt.”^[7] 

Over the years, MSG has become one of the most used additives and flavor enhancers worldwide and can be found in a plethora of processed foods, from fast-food chains, canned foods, and soups, to deli meats, chips, and even seasoning blends. In most cases, you won’t even know it’s been added unless you dive deep into the nutrition label. 

MSG and Its Bad Reputation

Monosodium glutamate is often linked to toxicity^[8] and associated with hypertension, obesity, and gastrointestinal tract troubles. It has also been linked to impairment in the function of the brain, nervous, reproductive, and endocrine systems. 

Still, the overall verdict has not been reached as it seems the effect of MSG depends upon its dose, route of administration and exposure time. Anything that’s overconsumed and overdosed is bound to have a toxic reaction, whether it’s MSG or something else. 

In addition to that, the accuracy of the studies themselves is questionable as there’s a genuine lack of adequate control groups, an abundance of methodological flaws, ridiculously small sample sizes, and sometimes a purposeful use of extremely high doses that far exceed those consumed in typical diets. 

The way MSG got its bad reputation stemmed from a political situation when a Chinese-American doctor, Robert Ho Man Kwok, wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in order to explain how he got sick after consuming Chinese food. He noted how his symptoms could have come from alcohol, MSG, or too much sodium. 

Since MSG was already connected to the Chinese and the political situation with Chinese immigrants was a hot topic, this piece of information only propelled a whole gust of misinformation to further deter people from eating in Chinese restaurants. 

MSG and The FDA

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers the addition of MSG to foods to be “generally recognized as safe,”^[9] as they point out that the conducted studies which included a placebo group didn’t always trigger the expected reaction. 

The FDA even states how they’ve received numerous reports of people experiencing headaches and nausea after eating foods containing MSG, but were never able to confirm that the MSG actually caused the reported effects. 

This led them to ask the independent scientific group Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology^[10] (FASEB) to examine the safety of MSG in the 1990s. Their report deemed MSG as safe and mentioned potential mild symptoms in very sensitive individuals who consume 3 grams or more of MSG without food. On the other hand, a typical serving of food containing MSG has approximately 0.5 grams. 

Together with the European Food Safety Association^[11] (EFSA) and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)^[12], the FDA has come up with an acceptable daily intake of MSG (ADI) of 14 mg per pound (30 mg per kilogram) of body weight per day. 

MSG and Salt Intake

Some interesting studies have shown that ingesting  MSG can reduce the need and craving for sodium salt by approximately 3%^[13] without any impact on the taste. Given the fact that Americans eat on average about 3400 mg of sodium per day, significantly going over the recommended daily dose of 2300 mg^[14], any solution that can work long-term is worth exploring. 

Since it can be used as a substitute for sodium, MSG might prove to be an amazing clinical solution for those with high blood pressure and heart disease who need to cut down on their sodium intake. 

What Does MSG Do to Your Brain?

Since the misinformation on MSG started spreading like the plague, it’s also been linked to brain fog^[15] and has a negative effect on brain functions. However, research proves that dietary MSG doesn’t raise brain glutamate concentrations or disrupt brain functions^[16]. The studies have shown that the blood-brain barrier effectively restricts the passage of glutamate from the blood into the brain, such that brain glutamate levels only rise when blood glutamate concentrations are raised experimentally via non-physiologic means. 

So, Why Should We Try To Avoid Added MSG? 

Processed foods, in general, aren’t considered good or safe for your health[17] as they’re known to cause inflammation, and increased toxic load, oxidative damage, and an unnecessary immune response from your body which leaves you more exposed to viral and bacterial threats. Since MSG is added to the majority of these foods, consequently, it should be avoided too. 

In order to really take care of your overall health and longevity, you need to focus on whole foods and medicinal herbs which are full of vitamins and minerals that help your brain and body thrive and function at their best. In this case, the MSG naturally occurring in foods won’t harm you in any way. But when added to already toxic food, it may only have a further negative effect. 

Conclusion

To sum it all up, MSG is a naturally occurring substance in many foods, but it has received a bad rap after becoming one of the most sought-after food additives in the food processing industry. It’s generally considered safe for our health, but when combined with already known toxic foods, it can have a negative effect on the human body. 

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