Almost everyone regularly consumes glutamate when they eat.
Nevertheless, the flavor enhancer is hotly debated.
Does glutamate harm your health?
Glutamate
, which is
perceived
through the
umami taste
, is a controversial additive.
For
foods
with a lot of
glutamate
are mainly finished and frozen meals.
Is Glutamate Consumption Really Bad For
Health
?
Frankfurt - Glutamate is the most frequently used additive in the food industry.
Accordingly, it is found in many of the
foods
that people
eat
.
Nevertheless, the flavor enhancer with the E numbers 620 to 625 (numbers for approved food additives in the
EU
) has a bad reputation and there are numerous prejudices.
But what does it mean?
Is
Glutamate
Really Harmful to
Health
?
Or is it safe to eat the colorless salt?
These questions are hotly debated both in public and in academia.
First of all, monosodium glutamate is a
salt
of glutamic acid, an amino acid.
The human
body
makes the substance itself.
According to this, contrary to popular belief, glutamate is a natural building block of proteins.
In some foods
it even contains glutamate naturally.
For example, the following foods contain a lot of glutamate:
tomatoes
cheese
flesh
fish
Eggs
Dairy products
Diet - How does glutamate affect health?
But the controversial
flavor enhancer is
also produced on an industrial
scale.
Every year around 1.5 million tons worldwide, as reported by "welt.de".
It is true that
glutamate
, no intense flavor but in conjunction with other foods, it gives them a meaty, spicy flavor.
This is called "umami" and is the fifth basic taste in addition to sweet, sour, bitter and salty.
The term “umami” comes from the Japanese and means “deliciousness”.
It goes without saying that the manufacturers are taking advantage of exactly that.
Ultimately, you can save a lot of money on more expensive ingredients and raw materials.
Precisely for this reason glutamate is not only for
cooking
use, but is also in
Germany
one of the main additives of highly processed foods and
finished products
become.
Glutamate in food: harmless or harmful to health?
But glutamate is more than just a means of flavoring
food
.
Rather, it is also a messenger substance that plays a decisive role in cell metabolism in the human brain.
For decades, various scientists have held
glutamate
responsible for some reactions that occur in connection with food intolerances.
As the science journalist
Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim
reports
on her
YouTube channel “MaiLab”
, such cases first occurred in the USA in the 1970s.
At that time, people complained of severe headaches, numbness and dizziness after visiting Asian restaurants.
The term “China Restaurant Syndrome” came about and gave the glutamate, which was then mainly used in Asian cuisine, its bad reputation.
The prejudices against glutamate hold up to this day.
However, a scientific connection between the consumption of
glutamate
and the symptoms described has not been conclusively proven since then.
According to "utopia.de", experts assume that the symptoms are caused by other nutrients contained in the food.
Both the World Health Organization WHO and the German Nutrition Society (DGE) declare on their websites that the consumption of glutamate is harmless.
"We assume that when used rationally in the context of a balanced
diet
there is no health risk from glutamate", a spokeswoman for the DGE is quoted by "welt.de".
Health: Does the consumption of glutamate favor obesity and high blood pressure?
However, the
flavor enhancer
continues to be
viewed critically
.
Glutamate is also said to contribute to obesity and high blood pressure.
However, this has not yet been proven either.
Rather, an unhealthy
diet in
general is
responsible here.
After all, people who are
overweight
or
obese
often cover a larger proportion of their nutritional needs with highly processed
foods.
For example ready-made and frozen meals, chips or spice mixes.
Accordingly, they also consume more
food
containing glutamate
.
In addition, some nutritionists have suggested that
glutamate
can help prevent the formation of the satiety hormone leptin in the brain. The hormone normally inhibits the feeling of hunger and helps regulate fat metabolism. So there
is no feeling of
satiety,
hunger
is not slowed down. Or to put it simply: glutamate can help people eat more than they need. In diets in particular, people should be careful not to consume substances that negatively affect the body's feeling of satiety. In addition to glutamate, this also applies to flavors and other flavor enhancers. Avoiding sugar also has a positive effect on the
body
and appetite. (Yannick Little)