{"id":674,"date":"2014-09-09T03:48:48","date_gmt":"2014-09-09T03:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ipa.local\/blog\/?post_type=ftg&p=674"},"modified":"2014-09-09T03:48:48","modified_gmt":"2014-09-09T03:48:48","slug":"bacteria-undo-msg-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalprobiotics.org\/home\/bacteria-undo-msg-damage\/","title":{"rendered":"Bacteria Undo Some of MSG Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"
One in three adults on the planet is overweight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Health Organization data are not promising. Bringing down those numbers is turning out to be a colossal challenge given that throughout the entirety of evolutionary history, humans have been and still are programmed to defend against starvation, not obesity. Dieting doesn\u2019t work for most. The weight comes right back on.<\/p>\n Our microbes are being considered<\/strong>. Scientists know <\/a>that heavy people have different microbes than lean people. And transplanting bacterial populations in mice can also transform weight gain patterns<\/a>.<\/p>\n One recent experiment from Ukraine<\/a> looked at the effect of probiotic therapy on obese rats. The rats were induced to become obese by a neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG). An injection of MSG at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 days after birth produced visceral fat (abdominal) and metabolic syndrome (a collection of miscreants which can include high triglycerides, high blood pressure and high blood sugar as well as central obesity)<\/p>\n The probiotic mixture contained strains of Lactobacillus casei<\/em> and Bifidobacterium animalis.<\/em><\/p>\n In the rats treated with probiotics, weight and body mass index did not differ from those untreated. But there were positives in the probiotic group<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Some may say I \u201cburied the lede\u201d as journalists call missing the most interesting aspect of a story.<\/p>\n Apparently it was a quick way to add fat in Ukraine labs.<\/p>\n Quick review<\/em>: MSG is a form of a simple amino acid that is a building block of protein. Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda discovered in 1908 that an amino acid called glutamic acid was giving the flavor to the seaweed \u201ckonbu,\u201d a soup essential that had been used for many centuries in Japan.<\/p>\n Since that time the sodium salt of glutamic acid, or MSG, has been used as a seasoning around the world. Worldwide consumption has soared in recent decades. MSG makes food taste better by tricking your tongue using a little-known fifth basic taste: umami.<\/p>\n MSG has been linked to weight gain in humans. In a 2008 study<\/a>, 752 healthy middle-aged men and women were randomly selected in three rural villages in China. Most prepared their foods at home without use of commercially processed foods. Interviewers weighed MSG amounts added in food preparation. MSG users were more overweight than non-users.<\/p>\n Dr. Ka He of the University of North Carolina who conducted the research said the results showed an association but not a cause-effect relationship.<\/p>\n\n
MSG causes obesity?<\/h4>\n