If you think it’s ridiculous that people refuse to accept the 97% of climate scientists that agree on anthropogenic global warming, try explaining that 100% of food scientists agree that MSG is safe.
In that vein, here’s a short list of ways MSG could improve global food and health beyond just making things tastier (which it does).
1. Reduction of salt intake. Seasoning with MSG produces some similar flavour enhancing properties to salt, but at one-third the sodium by volume. Sodium is a major factor in heart disease, which is the No. 1 killer of both men and women in the developed world.
2. Reducing global meat consumption. In the same way artificial sweeteners replace sugar, MSG is an "artificial umami-er", replacing protein which high-consumption global diets primarily source from meat.
3. Decreasing processed food consumption. Processed and takeaway foods made tastier with MSG (or its substitutes) are generally high in sugar and salt. If people made tastier food at home with MSG, there would be less impetus to eat unhealthy foods.
4. Addressing major issues with our ageing populations. One of the biggest problems in ageing is decreased flavour awareness leading to decreased appetite, which leads to decreased energy which is often the start of a slide. MSG can help stimulate appetite in the elderly.
I'm not going to go on, but MSG could be a VERY useful tool in addressing major issues facing us today - sugar and salt from processed foods, ageing, obesity, heart disease, environmental impacts of meat consumption - but we let our prejudices cloud the science. 🤷🏻♂️
I understand that a lot of people are convinced they’re sensitive to MSG. If that’s you, you could make a fortune. If you proved in a reproducible, reputable clinical trial a sensitivity to MSG, you’d be the first person in history to do so. It would be worth MILLIONS.
You’d change the global food industry. You’d cripple giant multinationals. This is what a true, scientifically proveable glutamate sensitivity would mean that was more than an anecdotal headache after eating Chinese food (but not Vegemite on toast or pasta with cheese).
Lastly, if you get symptoms when you *think* you eat MSG don't you want to find out why? By the science - it's not MSG. A mild soy or shellfish allergy? Or most likely, a histamine intolerance? Imagine curing your lifelong "MSG allergy" with an over-the-counter antihistamine.
