MSG is a common condiment in life. Some people think that MSG tastes delicious and they often add MSG when cooking. However, as a common condiment, many people still have concerns about it. Resistance, many people think that consuming MSG is harmful to health. Is this really the case? What are the dangers of eating MSG? Who can't eat MSG?
1. The harm of MSG
(1) Inhibition of nerves
The main component of MSG is sodium glutamate. After MSG enters the human body, it is digested In the process, glutamate is also broken down, which can be converted into an inhibitory neurotransmitter after enzymatic catalysis in brain tissue. If you consume too much MSG at one time, it will interfere with the natural laws of the nervous system. In addition, if the patient's constitution is relatively sensitive, it may cause dizziness, headache, drowsiness, muscle spasm, etc. If severe, it may induce symptoms of anxiety and panic.
(2)Hinders bone development
Experts suggest that the intake of MSG must be strictly controlled, especially for children. control quantity. Because when too much MSG is taken in, too much inhibitory neurotransmitters will also inhibit the body's hypothalamus from secreting thyroid-stimulating hormone, thereby hindering bone development. This has a very serious impact on children.
In animal experiments, it was found that young mice and chickens are the most seriously harmed by MSG, which can damage the cranial nerves and optic nerves. Therefore, parents with children at home should pay special attention to controlling the addition of MSG when cooking food to avoid harming the children's brain and intellectual development.
(3) Zinc deficiency
Many parents are not aware of the dangers of MSG. If their children consume excessive amounts of MSG, it will exceed the body's metabolic capacity and also cause glutamate in the blood. Increased acid content. In this case, the body's use of essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and copper will be restricted. Especially when glutamic acid can combine with zinc in the blood, zinc glutamate will be generated that cannot be utilized and will be excreted from the body. Ultimately leading to zinc deficiency in the human body.
Zinc is very important for the human body, especially for the physical and intellectual development of infants and young children. Therefore, infants and nursing mothers should fast or eat less MSG.
(4) Hypertension
It can be said that the onset of chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes is "contributed" to MSG. This is because MSG contains a large amount of sodium. If If the sodium content in the body is too high, the potassium content will inevitably be low, which is one of the causes of high blood pressure. I wonder if you have noticed that eating too much MSG often makes you feel thirsty. This is because MSG contains sodium. Since MSG is not salty, it is easy to overdo it without noticing.
People over 60 years old are particularly sensitive to sodium intake. Therefore, the elderly and people with high blood pressure, kidney disease, edema and other diseases should especially eat less MSG.
2. The main ingredients of MSG
(1) The chemical composition of MSG
MSG, also known as monosodium glutamate, is a type of seasoning. The main ingredients are Monosodium glutamate. It should be noted that if MSG is used at high temperatures above 100°C, scientists have proven that when MSG is heated at 100°C for half an hour, only 0.3% of sodium glutamate will produce sodium pyroglutamate, which has little impact on the human body. According to literature reports, sodium pyroglutamate is harmless to the human body. Also, if it is in an alkaline environment, MSG will react chemically to produce a substance called disodium glutamate. So use and store appropriately. Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid. It is an odorless and colorless crystal that disintegrates and melts at 232°C. Monodium glutamate has good water solubility, with a solubility of 74 grams of sodium glutamate.
(2) The main ingredient of MSG
Sodium glutamate is a sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid. It is an odorless and colorless crystal that disintegrates and melts at 232°C. Monodium glutamate has good water solubility, and 74 grams of sodium glutamate can be dissolved in 100 ml of water.
3. It is not advisable to eat MSG in 7 situations
1. It should not be placed in soups that are too alkaline or too acidic. MSG will undergo chemical changes in alkaline soup and produce an unpleasant odor; its solubility in acidic soup will be low and MSG will be ineffective.
2. It is not advisable to consume excessive amounts. If the dosage is too much (more than 5 grams per day), adverse reactions such as numbness of the back and upper limbs, and soreness and weakness of the whole body may occur.
3. It is not advisable to put it in when the pot is boiling. At high temperatures, MSG turns into sodium pyroglutamate, a toxic substance. For the same reason, it should not be stewed for a long time.
4. It should not be mixed into fish, shrimp, clams and other foods.
5. It should not be added to scrambled eggs. Because eggs themselves contain many amino acids, which are the main components of MSG.
6. Not suitable for infants. Because MSG can specifically combine with zinc in the baby's blood to produce zinc glutamate, which is excreted in the urine and causes zinc deficiency in the baby.
7. It is not suitable to mix it directly into cold dishes. Because it is difficult to dissolve and affects the seasoning effect, MSG should be dissolved in an appropriate amount of warm water before mixing in, so that the seasoning effect is better.
4. Which dishes should not be added with MSG
1. There is no need to add MSG to cold dishes.
MSG can fully exert its freshness-enhancing effect when the temperature is 80℃-100℃.
However, the temperature of cold dishes is too low, making it difficult for MSG to work, and may even stick directly to the raw materials, making it tasteless and disappointing. If you must add MSG when making cold dishes, you should use a small amount of hot water to dissolve the MSG and then mix it into the cold dishes.
2. MSG should not be added to the fillings.
Many people add some MSG when preparing dumpling fillings and spring roll fillings, which is very unsafe. After the MSG is mixed into the fillings, they will go through high-temperature processes such as steaming, boiling, and frying. However, as long as the temperature exceeds 100°C, MSG will denature. Not only will it lose its flavor, but it will also form toxic sodium pyroglutamate, which is harmful to human health. In addition to not mixing the stuffing, when making hot dishes, MSG should be added when the dishes are about to come off the fire.
3. No need to add MSG when cooking meat and vegetables.
Meat inherently contains glutamic acid. When heated with salt in dishes, the main component of MSG - sodium glutamate - is naturally produced. In addition to meat, there is no need to add MSG to other umami-flavored foods, such as eggs, mushrooms, wild rice, seafood, etc.
4. Do not use MSG in dishes with vinegar.
Do not add MSG to dishes with obvious sourness and a lot of vinegar. Because MSG is not easily soluble in an acidic environment, and the greater the acidity, the lower the solubility and the worse the umami effect. Therefore, sweet and sour pork, vinegar-braised cabbage and other sour dishes cannot contain MSG.
5. Use salty MSG instead of sweet.
At the appropriate sodium ion concentration, the umami flavor of MSG can be more prominent. Therefore, the umami flavor of MSG can only be expressed in salty dishes. However, if MSG is added to sweet dishes, not only will it not increase the umami, but it will inhibit the original taste of sweetness and produce an odor. Therefore, MSG cannot be added to dishes such as chicken mince corn soup and sweet taro mince.
6. No need to add MSG when cooking broth
For dishes cooked with broth, there is no need to use MSG. Because the stock itself already has the characteristics of freshness, fragrance and clearness, MSG has only one umami taste, and its umami flavor cannot be equated with that of the stock. If you use MSG, it will mask the original flavor and make the dishes taste nondescript.