MSG: The Misunderstood Molecule

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘆𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗦𝗚: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀

𝗕𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗮

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿: 𝗔 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆

In 1968, the New England Journal of Medicine published a brief letter from a doctor describing a strange reaction after dining at a Chinese restaurant — radiating pain in his arms, fatigue and heart palpitations. He speculated it could be caused by 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗠𝗦𝗚, 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁.

What followed wasn’t peer-reviewed research — it was 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰.

Reader responses poured in with similar complaints. And with that, the term “𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲” was born. No clinical trials. No verified causation. Just a wave of assumption.

MSG — or 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗚𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 — became the scapegoat.

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗠𝗦𝗚, 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆?

Let’s strip it back to the science.

𝗠𝗦𝗚 is the 𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱, a naturally occurring amino acid your body already knows. It’s found in:

• Tomatoes
• Mushrooms
• Aged cheese
• Soy sauce
• Even breast milk

MSG is made through a 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, typically from sugarcane, cassava, or corn starch — the same way we make 𝘆𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲:
𝗕𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 + 𝗦𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿 → 𝗚𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗰𝗶𝗱 + 𝗦𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 → 𝗠𝗦𝗚

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁?
A white crystal that enhances 𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗶 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲 — without adding heaviness or sweetness.

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𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗨𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲

Your body can:

• Use glutamate as a 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲
• Convert it to other amino acids like 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲
• Use it for 𝗴𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿
• Use it as a 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗿 (brain signaling!)

In fact, 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗱𝘀 that make up proteins. It’s already part of how your body builds and repairs itself every day.

𝗜𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁: your body already knows glutamate. There’s no meaningful difference between the one in a tomato and the one in MSG.

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𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄

After decades of fear, 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻:

• MSG is 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲 — approved by the FDA, WHO, and FSSAI
• It contains 𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁
• It enhances 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆
• It 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀

𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲:
• 𝗠𝗦𝗚 = 𝗚𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 + 𝗦𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘂𝗺
• 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗯𝘀 = 𝗡𝗼 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗸𝗲
• 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘀

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𝗦𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗪𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝘆 “𝗠𝗦𝗚-𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲”?

Because we, too, inherited the fear. At Akunka, our early packaging proudly declared “𝗠𝗦𝗚-𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲” — a badge of caution that echoed public perception.

But as we dove deeper into food science and global nutrition studies, we realised: we were 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵.

MSG isn’t the problem. 𝗟𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀.

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𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗮 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀

We 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗦𝗚 — not because we believe it’s unsafe, but because it’s not how we build flavour yet.

We use:

• 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀
• 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀
• 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗶

But we also believe in 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Not fear. Not marketing gimmicks. Not outdated assumptions.

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𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱

Our mission at Akunka is to make food that’s as 𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 — and that starts with 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.

So here’s where we land: MSG is 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲. It’s not some chemical villain. It’s just… not how we do things at Akunka.

But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱.

Because when you understand how food really works in the body — 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀. And 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

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𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝘆𝘁𝗵-𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀?
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Let’s rethink food — one molecule at a time.