You may not know you're consuming MSG on a regular basis, but this flavor enhancer is everywhere - not just in Chinese food but in all kinds of processed foods, from chips to canned soup.
And this common food additive may be responsible for weight gain. A new study from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, suggests that the more MSG you consume, the more likely you are to be overweight or obese. This holds true even if your intake of calories and exercise habits are the same as those who don't consume MSG.
Researchers followed more than 10,000 adults in China for about 5.5 years, measuring their MSG intake and asking them to estimate how much they consumed over three 24-hour periods. Results showed that individuals whose daily MSG intake was highest (about five grams) were about 30 percent more likely to become overweight by the end of the study than those who consumed the least MSG (less than half a gram daily). After excluding study participants who were overweight at the study's start, the risk was 33 percent. The study was published in the June, 2011, issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
More information on the safety of MSG and some natural ways to get that great "umami" taste in foods.
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