The flavour enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG), most often associated with Chinese food and after-dinner headaches, may also be enhancing waistlines, a new study finds. Researchers found that people who eat more MSG popularly known as Ajinomoto in India are more likely to be overweight or obese. And the increased risk wasn’t simply because people were stuffing themselves with MSG-rich foods. The link between high MSG intake and being overweight held even after accounting for the number of calories people ate. MSG is one of the world’s most widely used food additives. MSG is considered safe, but some people complain of headaches, nausea and other reactions.
Scientists have speculated that people may eat larger helpings of food with MSG because it just tastes better. Other evidence suggests that MSG might interfere with signalling systems that regulate appetite. In the latest research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, He and his colleagues followed more than 10,000 adults in China for about 5.5 years on average. The researchers measured MSG intake directly by before-and-after weighing of products, such as bottles of soy sauce, to see how much people ate. They also asked people to estimate their intake over three 24-hour periods.
Men and women who ate the most MSG (a median of 5 grams a day) were about 30 per cent more likely to become overweight by the end of the study than those who ate the least amount of the flavouring (less than a half-gram a day), the researchers found. After excluding people who were overweight at the start of the study, the risk rose to 33 per cent.
Scientists have speculated that people may eat larger helpings of food with MSG because it just tastes better. Other evidence suggests that MSG might interfere with signalling systems that regulate appetite. In the latest research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, He and his colleagues followed more than 10,000 adults in China for about 5.5 years on average. The researchers measured MSG intake directly by before-and-after weighing of products, such as bottles of soy sauce, to see how much people ate. They also asked people to estimate their intake over three 24-hour periods.
Men and women who ate the most MSG (a median of 5 grams a day) were about 30 per cent more likely to become overweight by the end of the study than those who ate the least amount of the flavouring (less than a half-gram a day), the researchers found. After excluding people who were overweight at the start of the study, the risk rose to 33 per cent.
No comments:
Post a Comment