Monosodium Glutamate Contributes To Obesity

Monosodium Glutamate(MSG) is a widely popular food enhancer. Its consumption is associated with several health problems, particularly obesity. Other disorders which could be induced by MSG include severe headaches, chest pains, asthma, diarrhea, and a lot more. But I would like to give more focus on the relation between MSG and obesity because it is a major health issue today especially in America. Two out of three American adults are either overweight or obese, and one out of two American children is either overweight or obese. Being obese could also result in having diabetes, hepatitis, high blood pressure, or heart disease among others. So what has MSG has to do with obesity? Monosodium Glutamate causes a condition in our body where the pancreas produces too much insulin. When insulin mixes with blood sugar it will result to body fat. Therefore, those who eat more MSG weigh more.
There was a study made sometime ago among 752 men and women in 3 villages in China. About 80 % of the people in those villages include MSG as ingredient in their cooking. The result of the study found out that one-third of the people who used the most MSG, where almost three times as likely to be overweight. The North Carolina University professor, Dr. Ka He, who led the research, says the study established an association not a casual relationship. He also mentioned that the study is a warning that we should be cautious.
For a bit of history, the process of making MSG was invented by a Japanese scientist in 1909, Dr. Ikeda. After acquiring a patent for his invention, he soon established the company Ajinomoto. The product was later introduced in America in 1948.
Today, the factory created food additive MSG is present in almost in every processed food in the supermarket. Sometimes you may not even know that the food you have purchased has MSG in it, although you are trying to avoid it because you already know the consequences of consuming it. You might need to have a degree in chemistry nowadays to understand most of the ingredients on every item on the supermarket shelves.