MSG heating is easy to cause cancer? Expert analysis how to use safely

Monosodium glutamate has been used for food freshening, but studies have shown that when it is heated to 120 °C, glutamic acid will become carcinogenic pyroglutamic acid sodium. Wang Yi, a dietetic nutrition expert, said that nutrition experts pointed out that improper use of MSG will have adverse consequences and will have side effects on human health. Therefore, there are several taboos when cooking MSG.

Monosodium glutamate stuck in "carcinogenic door"

It is understood that according to a 1992 investigation by the US Food and Drug Administration, only some people had an allergic reaction to monosodium glutamate; they also used white mice for testing and found that only part of the white rats had monosodium glutamate and had cancer cells and tumors. When the temperature exceeds 120°C, monosodium glutamate, a carcinogenic substance, is produced by MSG. It has been found through experiments in mice that eating large doses of MSG will make the retina thinner.

Wang Yi, director of dietetic nutrition at Guang'anmen Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that many people nowadays have a scientific and economical life, and food that they can't eat when they go out for meals is packaged and brought back. The next day, it was put into a microwave oven and heated at a high temperature. Because the heating temperature of the microwave oven is generally around 280°C, there will be a certain percentage of MSG producing pyroglutamic acid under high temperature.

MSG to wait for extinguishment after high temperature heating and easy to produce pyroglutamic acid sodium

In addition, Wang Yi said that even if the microwave oven is not heated at a high temperature, regular use of oil fried MSG food, it is easy to produce pyroglutamic acid sodium. Wang Yi exemplifies that the oil is poured into the pot and heated. Once the oil in the pot floats, the oil temperature has reached 150°C. If some small smoke comes out, the oil temperature has reached 180°C. If large smoke is emitted, then the temperature It has reached 220°C.

Therefore, for some foods that contain MSG in their own right, then pyroglutamic acid sodium will be produced when such high temperature oil is encountered. Wang Yi suggested that MSG should also be added immediately after the food is cooked and extinguished, because it can also better maintain the umami taste of MSG. In this case, pyroglutamic acid is even less likely to occur. If the rice meal containing MSG needs to be heated, it can be placed in a steamer and fumigated because the temperature of the steaming in the steamer is less than 100°C.

The use of monosodium glutamate

It is understood that the use of monosodium glutamate avoids high temperatures. When cooking dishes, if MSG is put into the dishes when the temperature is high, chemical changes will occur, turning MSG into pyroglutamic acid sodium. In this way, not only can not play a role in flavor, but will produce a slight toxin, adverse to human health. Scientific experiments have shown that MSG has the best solubility at 70°C-90°C.

Therefore, the best time to launch MSG is when the dishes are going to be pancaked. If the dishes need to be thickened, MSG should be placed before the thickening, and this principle can be known based on the fact that high temperatures should not be used for MSG.

The second bogey is the use of low temperature. When the temperature is low, MSG does not dissolve easily. If you want to eat vegetables, you need to put MSG when you can put the MSG with warm water, let cool and pour on cold dishes.

The third bogey is used for alkaline foods. In an alkaline solution, monosodium glutamate chemically changes to produce a disodium glutamate with a bad odor. So don't use MSG when cooking alkaline foods. If salmon is made with alkali, MSG cannot be added.

The fourth bogey: used for acidic foods, MSG is not easy to dissolve in acidic dishes, the higher the acidity, the more difficult to dissolve, the worse the effect.

The fifth bogey: Overdose. Excessive MSG produces a salty, non-salty, non-astringent, and non-astringent taste. Using MSG is not always better. Under normal circumstances, the consumption of MSG per person per day should not exceed 6 grams, otherwise it may produce headaches, nausea, fever and other symptoms of excessive consumption of MSG may also lead to high blood sugar. Older people and patients with high blood pressure, nephritis, edema, etc. should be careful to eat.