Does MSG Make You Stupid? The Scientific Facts About MSG

Jakarta (ANTARA) — The belief that consuming monosodium glutamate (MSG), or micin, can cause stupidity and health problems is one of the most popular health myths. The negative stigma stems from the term “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, coined in 1968.

The term wrongly linked eating MSG-containing Chinese food with dizziness, numbness and palpitations, without sound scientific evidence.

1. The scientific evidence on MSG safety

MSG consists of water, sodium and glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is a non-essential amino acid produced naturally by the human body and found in many everyday foods, including tomatoes, cheese and mushrooms, as well as breast milk.

The body processes glutamic acid from MSG in exactly the same way as it processes naturally occurring glutamic acid in food.

Food and drug regulators around the world, including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), have classified MSG as Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS). This means MSG is safe for the general public when consumed in reasonable amounts.

There is no valid scientific evidence that consuming MSG within normal limits lowers intelligence or damages brain cells. Glutamate molecules from food cannot readily cross the blood–brain barrier, so they do not affect cognitive function.

Regarding hypersensitivity reactions, large-scale clinical studies using double-blind placebo controls show that most people do not experience adverse reactions when consuming MSG.

Mild symptoms such as dizziness or neck tightness have been found in a small number of people with particular sensitivities, and usually occur when MSG is consumed in very large quantities without food.

3. Consume it sensibly

Although MSG is safe, its use should still be limited because it contains sodium. Excessive sodium consumption, whether from table salt or MSG, can increase the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension).