A midnight-must, a bachelor’s best friend, a staple diet for many, “I can only cook that”, etc are some of the metaphors that we often use for the famous 2-minute noodles. The recent reports about MSG in our favorite food has been a major setback. It feels as if someone has expunged our childhood memories or suddenly made them horrendous.
While the authorities will take their own course to figure out if our “most-dependable” food would still be there for us, I thought it’s a good idea to clear the clouds of ambiguity about what exactly MSG is and why everyone is suddenly so alarmed about it. I’d do my best to explain it in easy-to-understand terms.
Mono-Sodium Glutamate, popularly known as MSG, is one of the most common, naturally-occurring non-essential amino acid, which is also found in other stuff like Tomatoes, Parmesan Cheese, Potatoes, Mushrooms, and other vegetables and fruits. In the food industry, it is massively used as a taste enhancer that increases the meaty, savory flavor of the food.
It has long-term effects, but show signs of discomfort among sensitive people as and when consumed. Typical MSG complaints include: Burning sensations of the mouth, head and neck , headaches , weakness of the arms or legs, upset stomach hives or other allergic reactions with the skin.
On top of that, MSG overstimulates our nervous system, which involves exciting the nerves and causing an inflammatory response. It can also affect the Retina and some parts of our Brain. Medical conditions like Nervous Disorders and radical hormone fluctuations are some of the other symptoms that reflect that MSG is making a bad impact on our system. It is particularly harmful for pregnant women and nursing mothers as infants and young kids are succeptible to brain damage and underdevelopment.
Having mentioned that, I hope our blockbuster 2-Minutes Noodles comes out clean of all the testings and hit our kitchen racks where it ruled for many decades.
Wish you a healthy and happy life.
Dr. Manoj Ratan Gandhi
DNB
Gastroenterologist
You Can consult me here:
https://www.lybrate.com/doctor/manojratangandhi
