In 1908, a university professor in Japan discovered that soup stewed with bonito and kelp had a special aroma. Curious, he extracted a special substance from kelp, named glutamate, and the Japanese found that if you put some glutamate in your food, the food will become more delicious.
This is MSG in its original form.
A few years later, the first generation of monosodium glutamate made from glutamic acid was transmitted to China, and the Chinese people, who had been dancing on the tip of their tongues for thousands of years, were also fascinated by this novel condiment. Wu Yunchu, a mainland chemist, transformed on the basis of Ajinomoto to create a cheaper domestic brand, which is the first generation of MSG in the mainland.
Before 1976, monosodium glutamate was a "sky-high" item, and only during the Chinese New Year could you have the opportunity to eat it, until after 1976, monosodium glutamate finally entered thousands of households. But when the Chinese people did not enjoy MSG, some foreign scholars pointed out through experiments that MSG is harmful to the human body.
In recent years, with the development of science and technology and the improvement of living standards, MSG has long been not a rare thing, but the health controversy about it has never stopped.......
1. MSG can cause cancer and fat? Animal experiments should not be trusted
Many years ago, some scientists discovered through experiments that MSG can cause cancer!
Specifically, the researchers divided the mice into two groups, and at the beginning of the experiment, neither group had any health problems, one group of mice consumed 120 milligrams of MSG per kilogram of body weight per day, and the other group of mice ate normally. After a three-week trial, the scholars found that:
• Mice that consumed more than 120 mg of MSG per day showed prodromal symptoms of organ failure, and the number of cancer cells in the mice increased significantly.
Therefore, at that time, the scholar pointed out that if you eat too much MSG, there may be a risk of cancer.
In this way, even though the experiment was conducted abroad, it still spread all over the world, and many people called for a boycott of MSG, believing that it was a "carcinogen", and for many years afterward, scientists continued to study MSG.
In another group of mouse experiments, scientists also divided healthy mice into two groups, one of which consumed 30 milligrams of monosodium glutamate per kilogram per day, and the other group ate a normal diet. At first, there were no health changes between the two groups of mice, so the scientists raised the 30 mg to 120 mg, and after a period of experimentation, the researchers found:
• Organ function in mice, especially cardiovascular, mice that consume a lot of MSG have a higher risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and are prone to obesity.
In this way, one to ten, ten to hundred, monosodium glutamate was labeled as "promoting obesity and promoting high blood pressure".
However, there has always been a saying in clinical practice that "talking about toxicity aside from dosage is a hooligan", so we might as well go back and take a look at whether MSG is carcinogenic and promotes obesity and hypertension.
2. Reversal: MSG has become a "sharp weapon" for the treatment of cancer?
In fact, through the second test, we can see that mice will not have any abnormalities when they ingest 30 mg of monosodium glutamate, which means that a small dose of monosodium glutamate will not increase the risk of obesity and hypertension.
In addition, if it is a large dose of monosodium glutamate, it is normal to promote the rise of blood pressure, and the main components of monosodium glutamate are two, sodium ions (that is, salt) and monosodium glutamate.
Because sodium ions can change the plasma osmotic pressure, so that the water in the cells can penetrate into the outside of the cell, that is, into the blood vessels, resulting in an increase in blood volume and blood pressure. Moreover, eating too much salt will promote insulin secretion.
Excessive insulin in the body will give the brain the illusion of insufficient sugar reserves, so after eating too much salt, we will involuntarily eat more meals to replenish sugar, which will invisibly increase sugar intake, and when the sugar is not consumed, it will be converted into fat storage.
It can be seen that if you really eat MSG without moderation, you may indeed become fat, and we need to grasp the intake of MSG.
After reading MSG to promote obesity and increase blood pressure, let's see if it will "cause cancer".
In fact, the "culprit" of the delicacy cancer is glutamate. Theoretically, glutamate is metabolized into glutamine in the human body, and when the concentration of glutamine in the human blood is too high, it will provide some nitrogen and carbon sources, which can support the biosynthesis and energy metabolism of cancer cells.
In fact, mice are used as experimental objects in various medical experiments, but the digestion ability of mice and humans is completely different, and the experimental results on mice cannot be directly pushed to humans.
In addition, the amount of MSG ingested by the experimental mice was not the same as the amount of MSG ingested by us.
For humans, MSG is generally a condiment, and it is impossible for scientists to completely integrate MSG into the food of mice, so mice generally drink water containing MSG or monosodium glutamate. This is also an analogy to the fact that human beings do not eat or drink water every day, and only drink monosodium glutamate soup, which is the second point that is completely incomparable.
And although the main component of monosodium glutamate is glutamate, relying on the monosodium glutamate we cook every day, it is unlikely to lead to excessive glutamine content in the plasma, if glutamate or glutamine is kept in a suitable range, then it is not only harmless, but also may be beneficial.
After glutamate is metabolized to glutamine, it will become one of the energy sources of the intestine, and it is also a necessary ingredient for intestinal repair, and glutamate will also be a pill in clinical practice, mainly used to treat liver disease.
Therefore, migin cancer is more present in the experimental stage, not only that, in recent years, scientists have also found that monosodium glutamate can also inhibit cancer.
Specifically, the combination of monosodium glutamate and special anti-cancer drugs can better help anti-cancer drugs attach to cancer cells, which can not only better remove cancer cells, but also help immune cells better capture cancer cells.
Of course, this is only in the experimental stage, in short, MSG itself has nothing to do with cancer, but eating too much may indeed promote obesity and high blood pressure, and the amount can be controlled at ordinary times, in addition, it is not recommended to use MSG for flavoring in these cases.
3. Rationally, how to better consume monosodium glutamate?
1. High temperature free for food
In an environment higher than 90 degrees, monosodium glutamate will become sodium pyroglutamate, which not only can not improve freshness, but also has a certain toxic effect, so when stir-frying, it is best to use monosodium glutamate to season when the dish is out of the pot, so that the temperature of the dish will not be too high, and it can play the role of monosodium glutamate well and avoid toxicity.
2. Do not use at low temperatures
If it is a cold salad, it is not suitable to use monosodium glutamate, because the environment below 70 degrees is difficult to degrade monosodium glutamate, which will not play a role in improving freshness, and is not conducive to human digestion. If you really want to use cold salad, it is recommended that we take warm water to dissolve the monosodium glutamate and pour it on the dish.
3. It is best not to use monosodium glutamate in dishes with vinegar
This is because MSG also does not dissolve easily in an acidic environment and will emit a strange smell. In addition, it is best not to use MSG for the filling of boiled dumplings and steamed buns, because this cooking method must be subjected to high temperatures, which may promote the denaturation of MSG.
Write at the end
In short, monosodium glutamate is a very common condiment, there is no harm in eating it properly, and monosodium glutamate has no direct connection with cancer, at least at present, there is no clear evidence that it can promote cancer occurrence or inhibit cancer growth, just stay in animal experiments.
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