MSG in Nutritional Yeast? was Re: Stefansson's Book Online

[Guest guest]

--- Tom Jeanne <tjeanne@...> wrote:

> Do you really attribute that " gimmie more " sensation to MSG alone?

> My opinion is that processed foods high in carbohydrates are the

> number one " gimmie more " item. When I was a teenager I would wolf

> down bowl after bowl of breakfast cereal--I couldn't get

> enough--and I'm pretty sure there's no significant MSG in most of

> them. Natural breads do the same thing. It's the addictive nature

> of processed carbs.

Tom, when I tried a low fat diet many years ago, I tried some plain

unsalted unbuttered popcorn. I had to force myself to eat it.

Definitely no gimme more sensation! For me, added sugar, salt, and

MSG (which is a type of salt) all contribute to over-eating. I don't

seem to have a problem eating starchy foods that don't have these

additives. I bet that cereal you were over-eating had lots of added

sugar and/or salt. Likewise with most breads these days. Try eating

plain bread that has no salt or sugar added. I might be able to eat

it with some butter, but I wouldn't get that gimme more sensation.

I eat a lot more nuts if they're salted than if they're not salted. I

suspect people wouldn't eat near as many potato chips if they had no

salt. In fact, I remember eating low-salt baked potato chips when I

was doing low-fat, but don't remember wanting to eat lots. But if I

ate something salty, I'd then want something sweet. And vice versa.

I think adding glutamate into the salty mix just adds fuel to the

fire. It also makes many foods taste meatier and thus more appealing

to most of us. An easy way to make fake food that tastes meaty, but

isn't.

> Secondly, isn't MSG naturally present in small amounts in certain

> natural foods (bone broth?), and I don't find them addicting.

Yes, it is. But I suspect the main problem with glutamate is when it

is isolated from other amino acids, as in MSG added to starchy snacks,

or when it is greatly out of proportion to what is found in natural

foods, relative to other amino acids. It might be the imbalance that

causes problems for people who are sensitive, but I haven't seen any

studies on this. Bone broth should have a more natural balance of

glutamate with other free amino acids and consequently may be less

problematic. Just a guess.

I have read that some people who are sensitive to MSG have problems

with bone broth. However, my wife, who claims to be sensitive to MSG

(gives her headaches) makes bone broth and loves it made into soup, no

problem. But she can go to a chinese restaurant and eat a bowl of

soup loaded with MSG and very quickly get a headache. Could be a

thing of relative amounts too, I suppose. I have never managed to eat

enough MSG to have noticeable problems, despite trying on many

occasions in the past before knowing any better