Monosodium glutamate (E621) - effects on vision

In the early twentieth century, Japanese scientist Ikeda Kikunae from the Tokyo Imperial University, engaged in the study of soy sauce and other products specific to Southeast Asia, searching for the answer to why some foods flavored with dried seaweed becomes more tasty and appetizing. It turned out that the reason for this is glutamic acid contained in them.

 

In 1907, Ikeda was first obtained hlutaminat sodium, and in 1909 he received a patent for a method of food products. Then hlutaminat sodium began to produce for sale in Japan called "Adzynomoto" - "essence of taste". Since sodium hlutaminat gained popularity worldwide. And consumption on the planet has reached 200,000 tons annually.

 

From a chemical and physical point of view hlutaminat sodium (lat. Natrii glutamas) - a dietary supplement designed to enhance the taste, by increasing the sensitivity of the receptors of the body. It affects neurotransmitters, increasing the conductivity of nerve channels and thus increasing the power of momentum. It is a white crystalline powder (like salt and sugar), which is easily soluble in water. The addition of a meat or bulonopodobnyy taste. It can greatly enhance the taste of products made from meat, poultry, seafood, mushrooms and some vegetables. Hlutaminat sodium are both natural resources and through chemical reactions.

 

The first serious concerns this additive was cause more than thirty years ago, when John neuroscientist Only from Washington University published the results of their experiments. American doctor argued that in mice he fed huge doses of sodium hlutaminata, began to appear all sorts of diseases - eye, brain and so on. D. Application received considerable resonance among scientists and industrialists, and among ordinary consumers.

 

Later researchers from Japan Hirosaki University led by Professor Hiroshi Ogura found that a diet high in sodium hlutaminata causes vision loss and thinning of the retina in rats. Scientists have found high content of sodium in hlutaminata intraocular fluid bathing the retina. Hlutaminat sodium binds to receptors on retinal cells, destroying them and causing secondary reactions that reduce the ability of other cells to conduct electrical signals.

 

Researchers within six months of rats were fed three different diets. In rats treated with very high doses of sodium hlutaminata so seriously wondered retina that animals lose sight. Rats that were sitting on a diet of moderate consumption hlutaminata also had damage to the retina, but to a lesser degree. In animals fed without this food additive of the retina, everything was fine. Scientists acknowledge that used large amounts hlutaminata sodium, about 20% of the food consumed. "Consumption in smaller quantities is permissible" - says Ogura - "but exactly where the border is still unknown." He also argues that these findings might explain why East Asia is often found glaucoma with normal intraocular pressure - a disease that leads to blindness without the typical increase in intraocular pressure.

 

Those Peng Hau glaucoma specialist from the hospital Murfilds in London, says that the maximum number hlutaminata sodium, which was used in experiments - much more than you would have eaten. But if you're hooked on hlutaminat sodium, you may have problems with the retina.

 

In this regard, the urgent issues which doses are safe for health, and that already bear the risk. Unfortunately, researchers can not yet accurately answer this question. It may be useful not hlutaminata dose and those who consume man. because:

 

     Hlutaminata safe consumption threshold in humans may be lower than in rats (it happens).

     Hlutaminat can act slowly accumulating negative effect for decades. In favor of this is the fact that glaucoma with normal eye pressure usually starts to develop in people after the age of forty.

 

Today, this dietary supplement is one of the most used in the world. It allows food companies to save considerable money on meat, poultry, mushrooms, and other natural ingredients.

 

Usually the list of ingredients is a substance referred to as:

 

     hlutaminat sodium;

     MSG;

     E621.

 

Some manufacturers circumvent these names side, but instead of writing the abstract - "aromatyzyruyuschee substance", "flavoring" or "flavor enhancer".

 

This substance is most likely is all meat, fish, chicken, mushroom, soybean semi-finished or finished products from them, chips, snacks, crackers, sauces, seasonings, bouillon cubes and dry soups.

 

Hlutaminat "animates" products, the taste of which "dies" during storage or giving them a taste, which they do not "naturally", such as in soybeans.