Monosodium glutamate helps control appetite

According to the British "Daily Mail" report, a new study found that umami not only makes a variety of foods more delicious, but also helps control appetite. As an artificial flavor containing umami, MSG can make people feel full when combined with hypoxanthine.

The new study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The term umami comes from Japanese and means delicious. It forms five basic tastes with sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, reflecting a delightful "gravy" or "meat" flavour, especially satisfying. sense. Foods rich in umami flavor include tomatoes, parmesan cheese, dry cured ham, beef, vegetable sauce, marmalade, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, wine, and broth.

The umami is the sodium glutamate detected by the tongue receptor, which is why MSG is used as a flavor enhancer. Some people believe that MSG and umami are the same thing. In fact, MSG is an artificial flavor that contains umami.

The researchers wanted to see how MSG affects people's appetite when they are with meat. They divided 27 people into two groups. The two groups had the same breakfast. Then before the lunch, one group allocated a soup without MSG, and the other group added a lot of MSG. By lunchtime, compared with the control group, those who drank the soup with MSG would eat less, but they had a feeling of fullness, which proved that the umami taste really helped to control appetite.

Lead author Una Masic added that meat is rich in hypoxanthine (IMP), another nucleotide that is often used as an umami agent and is commonly found in a variety of high-protein foods. Medium, such as salmon and some seaweeds. When hypoxanthine and monosodium glutamate are combined, one can feel satiety.

Although MSG has a lot of negative news, Masi Ke believes that there is no scientific proof that eating monosodium glutamate is not good for the individual. And after the intake of MSG through the liver metabolism, can help the body eliminate excess ammonia.