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MSG: Good or Bad?


Monosodium Glutamate or MSG also commonly known as Ajinomoto among us Malaysians.

I've shared a post on my FB about MSG a few years back and felt that I should do a post about it because I've seen quite a number of arguments about MSG on Masak Apa Hari Ini.

Some bored people gonna post something like

"Siapa masak tak letak aji kita geng" Ada yang siap hashtag #healthyeating

And the debate goes on and on. Siap boleh gaduh lagi dalam tu.

What makes me want to throw myself under the bus is these people who claimed they DO NOT use MSG in their cooking, naively say

"I only use Maggi Cukup Rasa/ Kicap/ Sos Tiram/ Sos Ikan" in my cooking.

Adoiiii. #tepukdahisis

Did you know that whatever seasoning be it kicap, kiub pati ayam, sos tiram ka  segala jenis sos also contains some amount of MSG in them?

A lot of natural food like tomatoes, mushroom and cheese also have glutamate in them.

What is MSG/ Ajinomoto and why is it so controversial?

MSG adalah penambah perasa yang sangat biasa digunakan. 

Ianya dihasilkan daripada glutamate atau glutamic acid, yang merupakan sejenis asid amino yang paling banyak ditemui di alam semesta ini.

Asid glutamic adalah asid amino tidak perlu, bermakna badan uols pun boleh hasilkan asid amino ni dan mempunyai pelbagai fungsi dalam badan kita. 

Ianya juga boleh didapati secara semulajadi dalam pelbagai jenis makanan.

Asid glutamic yang terdapat dalam MSG biasanya diperolehi melalui proses penapaian kanji. Daripada segi struktur kimianya, tiada beza dengan asid glutamic semula jadi dalam makanan.

MSG meningkatkan rasa umami, savouri yang lazat. Umami kalau uols tak tau, adalah rasa asas yang kelima, selepas manis, masin, masam dan pahit.

Umami Umami kehidupan. Lols. #lawakhambar

Jadi KENAPAKAH ORANG MELANCARKAN PERANG TERHADAP MSG?

Okay begini ceritanya,

TEORI 1: MSG Menyebabkan Kesan Neurologi Yang Berbahaya

Asid glutamic bertindak sebagai neurotransmitter dalam otak kita. Ianya adalah 
excitatory neurotransmitter, bermaksud ianya merangsang tindakan sel-sel otak. 

Sesetengah orang mengatakan pengambilan MSG meningkatkan paras glutamate dalam otak dan menyebabkan uols terlebih rangsangan. 

Disebabkan ini, MSG telah dilabelkan sebagai excitotoxin.

Semuanya ini bermula sejak 1969, dimana sebuah kajian mendapati tikus baru lahir yang disuntik dengan dos besar MSG mengalami kesan saraf yang berbahaya.

Lalu kesimpulan berikut dibuat "MSG causes harmful neurological effect"

1. Kajian ini dilakukan terhadap tikus baru lahir. kita bukan tikus mondok ya, kita manusia dimana fisiologi badan kita berbeza dengan tikus. 

2. The MSG is injected in LARGE DOSES - Bila kita masak menggunakan MSG, takdelah pulak kita bubuh large doses kan, secubit manja-manja gitu aje. 

Dietary glutamate should have little to no effect on your brain, as it cannot cross the blood-brain barrier in large amounts. 

TEORI 2: Terdapat sesetengah orang yang sensitif terhadap MSG

Manusia memang unik. Ada yang alergik terhadap ayam, strawberry, telur, susu, debu, matahari dan pelbagai lagi jenis alergi.

Sesetengah orang akan mengalami kesan sampingan akibat pengambilan MSG. 

Keadaan ini juga dikenali sebagai "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" dan simptomnya termasuklah sakit kepala, ketegangan otot, kebas, rasa semut-semut, lemah dan muka kemerah-merahan.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, if a person is sensitive to MSG then it's understandable for them to avoid it but if you are not but you are so against it like it's a cardinal sin punishable by death, then I don't understand it. Lols.

So, Is MSG Safe?

Selamat ya tuan-tuan dan puan-puan. FDA classified MSG as generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

Do it in moderation. Bersederhanalah. Ada ka orang masak pakai Aji letak 1 senduk? tak ada kan.

A pinch or two is fine.

If you avoid MSG like kurap tapi bila masak berabis tuang kicap, oyster sauce pastu tabur lagi seasoning, then samalah perbuatan kamu seperti menakung air di baldi yang berlubang 24.

Let's say, if you feel sick every time after eating food that has MSG, then try to avoid it and see if your condition improves. 

Read more HERE or HERE

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