An article in the Feb 25 issue of Forbes Magazine argues that MSG (monosodium glutamate, or ajinomoto in Japanese) may actually be good for the world. In the US, health nuts avoid it like the plague, but in many parts of Asia, it sits on the table along with salt and pepper to enhance the flavor of meals. Kunio Torii, a leading expert on MSG and senior scientist at the company named Ajinomoto, insists that a definitive link between MSG and headaches, etc has yet to be proven. Further, his own research has shown that hospital patients who have lost their appetite were more likely to eat their meals when sprinkled with MSG. This, he postulates, could help elderly and sick people improve their appetites, get the nutrition they need, and live longer.
Other things he's studying: The nutrient absorption effect of MSG (putting MSG in bland diets available in impoverished countries could make starving kids healthier) and using MSG to fight obesity (
injecting MSG in a green pepper will make it taste like a hamburger).
You know, I'm not actually all too sure about this. Because I just did a project on MSG at my school and had people try food with MSG and reading articles about it calling MSG the "Slow Poisoning of America" I think perhaps MSG is okay for you in small doses (my mom uses Ajinomoto and she always uses a very small amount of it) And Green Peppers tasting like Burgers would weird me out!!!
Posted by: Risachan | February 20, 2008 at 11:45 PM
About MSG in foods there are so many other chemical-synthetic addiditives they should be worrying about if thats what they want.. ;)
Posted by: stuz | February 21, 2008 at 08:35 PM
Let's see, the research is being done by a scientist who works at a company called MSG?? Frankly, I wouldn't trust those results as far as I could catapult them. : P
Posted by: Athios | February 21, 2008 at 09:05 PM
oh yeah..btw do they know that living is fatal?...oh no! ;)
Posted by: stuz | February 22, 2008 at 08:33 PM
Can't be all that bad for you.
There's so much msg laced food in japan and yet japanese people on average have the longest life span of any country.
Americans on the other hand have so many issues with obesity and health. There's far worse food products here than msg.
Posted by: kpm | February 27, 2008 at 03:25 PM