Ajinomoto: A Slow Poison

If you are a Chinese food lover then you surely must have heard of the ingredient named as Ajinomoto. Today it has become a trending topic among all age groups, what is Ajinomoto, how is it used, how much quality is safe to consume and whether it is really very harmful as written in trending whatsApp and facebook messages. let's get the answers to all the above questions.

What is Ajinomoto?

Ajinomoto is the mysterious reason that adds an extra taste and smell to almost all fast foods that we eat. It is a world famous food flavor enhancer that looks almost similar to common salt that we use at homes.

Also known as Mono Sodium Glutamate or MSG, it was invented in Japan.

For past many years, Japanese used an ingredient, Kombu extracted from sea, in their dishes to enhance its flavor. Later in 1908, they got to know that this ingredient which boosted the flavour of food was Glutamate. Kombu was used raw without processing but the process was pretty long, slow and expensive. Therefore an easy and fast method was termed. Today Ajinomoto is prepared by "fermentation of sugarcane". Since most of the Japanese dishes are not fried, they need some artificial ingredients to make them yummy.

Harmful effects

MSG affects our body in various different ways. Although some researchers believe that Ajinomoto taken in small quantities may not be harmful however if taken in excess may prove to be deadly.

The problem is not that much with the big restaurants as they have chefs who know what quantity is accurate and appropriate for the humans whom they serve food to. The main issue occurs with the street sellers. They treat it as an ingredient of customer attraction and sales maximization. They neither know nor care to know the appropriate use of Ajinomoto. They add excess of it in Pasta, Noodles, Soups and other such dishes to attract people. Also, if they are not able to cook dishes of great taste, they simply add this MSG component to cover it.

Following are the problems caused due to excess of Ajinomoto:-

Headache

It was found that consumption of food flavoured lavishly with MSG triggered headache within an hour of consumption.

This is also known as "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome".

Obesity

Researchers also say that there has been some connection between Ajinomoto consumption and obesity. It has been found to be more prominent in male mice.

Cancer

High cancer rates among heavy consumers of MSG has been an issue to worry about. Stomach cancer in specific has been found to be more prominent. Added to this, Ajinomoto has also been found to interrupt with the working of certain cancer fighting anti-oxidants in the human body.

Asthma Attack

Although it is not conclusive but Ajinomoto has also been found to trigger more in Asthmatic patients.

A Suggestion

Try to cook maximum dishes at home using Google or YouTube as reference and ask the street vendor or the restaurant waiter not to put Ajinomoto in your dish. It might reduce the taste a bit but you will make sure that your health is not at stake at least due to this particular thing.