Monosodium glutamate is the most popular flavor enhancer in foods. But as it turned out, its regular use can cause vision problems. And this was proved by studies conducted by Japanese scientists.
What did the research show?
Professor Hiroshi Oguro Together with a group of scientists, they conducted an interesting experiment: for six months they fed rats with three different groups of foods. Those rodents who received a large dose of monosodium glutamate (20% of the total diet) as a result began to lose their eyesight. A second group of animals also received this supplement, but in smaller quantities. Scientists found that they also received damage to the retina, but not as severe. But those animals that had food without any additives, could "boast" of excellent vision.
Japanese researchers concluded that this dietary supplement binds to cells in the retina, killing them. According to Professor Hiroshi Oguro, this is precisely the reason for the high prevalence of a special type of glaucoma in East Asians, in which there is no such symptom as an increase in eye pressure.
Professor Evgeny Egorov, who heads the Department of Eye Diseases of the Russian State Medical University, stressed that in Russia about 25% of all those who suffered from glaucoma suffer from such a disease. In Japan, their number is about 45-55%. And he believes that Hiroshi Oguro's research is very important, because thanks to him it was possible to prove that this substance is an activator of apopotosis - the process of cell death.
In this regard, the question of dosage remains open, because the rodents participating in the experiment received much more supplements than the people who receive them with food. So, glaucoma specialist Peng Ti Howe, who works in London, noted that the rats' diets were high in monosodium glutamate - their dosage was many times higher than that of people who simply eat foods with glutamate in composition.
But he also noted that if you regularly eat fast food, semi-finished products, where there is traditionally a lot of this additive, problems with the retina can still begin.
But still, there are several nuances that indicate the possible harm of this substance to the human body. First, scientists have not yet been able to establish a threshold for a dosage of glutamate that is safe for humans. It is possible that it will be significantly lower than that of the rats participating in the research.
However, many of the specialists are skeptical about these conclusions - it is still difficult to imagine how a person will be able to consume as much monosodium glutamate daily (if you eat 1-1.5 kg per day, then this is at least 200 g glutamate.
What foods should you definitely avoid?
There is a lot of monosodium glutamate in the diet of a modern person. In some it is naturally present, but in a number of products it is added to enhance the taste. And it is desirable to give them up for sure. Indeed, in addition to this additive, they contain other substances that are harmful to our health.
TOP 7 products:
- crisps;
- instant noodles;
- snacks;
- fast food;
- semi-finished products (this can also include sausages, sausages);
- soy sauce;
- ready-made salad dressings
If you want to know where this supplement is present, carefully read the composition: if you notice there is "monosodium glutamate", "glutamate" or "yeast extract", refuse to buy.
But it is impossible to say that you can completely eliminate glutamate from the diet. First of all, this will not work, since this substance is formed naturally in many products known to us, for example, tomatoes, cheese, fish.
Hiroshi Oguro's research
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