Which one is more harmful, chicken essence or MSG? It's terrible

Chicken essence and MSG are two common condiments. It is said that MSG contains serious carcinogens, so people choose to eat chicken essence. Chicken essence is not a substance extracted from chickens, but a synthetic seasoning. Chicken essence also contains a large amount of MSG, so it is unhealthy to eat either chicken essence or MSG.

Hindering fetal development and causing offspring to be deformed

In a rabbit experiment, American scientists divided the rabbits into four groups. The first group of rabbits consisted of 10 females and 4 males. All the female rabbits ate 25 mg of MSG per kilogram of body weight for 27 consecutive days, while the male rabbits did not eat it. Later, the female rabbits became pregnant; two of them had deformed fetuses in their uteruses and later miscarried, giving birth to deformed dead fetuses; the other two became pregnant and gave birth normally, but the rabbits had various deformities of their limbs and were slow to grow.

The second group of rabbits consisted of 4 females and 2 males, all of which were fed 25 mg of MSG per kilogram of body weight. Two female rabbits became pregnant and gave birth to deformed rabbits, which died shortly after birth. Their bones were deformed and multiple organs were atrophied.

The third group of rabbits consisted of 6 females and 1 male, all of which were fed 25 mg of MSG per kilogram of body weight. The male rabbit's testicles atrophied, and the female rabbits gave birth to rabbits with multiple body defects. The fourth group of rabbits, consisting of 6 females and 8 males, served as a control group. They did not experience the above symptoms because they did not eat MSG.

2. It destroys genetic factors and affects fertility, and it is not noticeable in childhood.

In three experiments on mice in 1970, 1971, and 1975, American scientists found that if the mother mice ate MSG, the pups they gave birth to would suffer from endocrine disorders when they grew up. These three experiments also found that shortly after birth, the mice were injected subcutaneously with MSG equivalent to 2.2 to 4.2 grams per kilogram of body weight for 10 consecutive days. They were later killed and autopsied at 40 days old. The results showed that these mice had lost weight, their testicles and ovaries were necrotic, their adrenal glands and thyroid glands were reduced in weight, and the levels of growth hormone and luteinizing hormone in the anterior pituitary gland were decreased. As a result, both sexes of mice had reproductive problems when they grew up: female mice became pregnant less frequently, and the pups they gave birth to were particularly small; the fertility of male mice was also greatly reduced.

3. Aggravate allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma

Chinese doctors have found that many patients with allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma recovered from their symptoms after they stopped consuming MSG.

4. Lead to obesity

In an experiment conducted by American scientists in 1970, a group of mice were injected with MSG subcutaneously within the first 10 days after birth. As a result, they became obese when they grew up - the weight of the epididymal fat pad increased, the cell volume increased, and the number of adipocytes decreased. In addition, when these mice grew up, compared with another control group, the larger cells in their bodies responded particularly poorly to the lipolytic effect of adrenaline, but responded particularly strongly to the anti-lipolytic effect of insulin. The experts in charge of the research believe that MSG causes obesity because it changes the cells' response to adrenaline and insulin, increasing the lipid content in fat.

Chicken essence or other essence?

The name "chicken essence" is very successful, and the picture of a big hen on the package gives people the impression that chicken essence is the "essence of chicken." The sales of chicken essence are also likely to replace MSG.

The main ingredient of chicken essence is still MSG, but MSG is a single monosodium glutamate, while chicken essence is a compound seasoning in which the content of monosodium glutamate is about 40%. In addition to MSG, chicken essence also contains starch (used to form granules), flavor enhancing nucleotides (to increase the taste of MSG), sugar, and other spices. Flavour-enhancing nucleotides themselves can also produce umami taste. When mixed with MSG, the resulting umami taste will far exceed the sum of the two individual flavors. This is what is called "synergy".

Strictly speaking, there should also be some ingredients from chicken such as chicken powder, chicken fat, etc. to produce the taste of chicken. However, since ingredients derived from chicken are relatively expensive, manufacturers may completely avoid using chicken ingredients in order to reduce costs. Therefore, whether the chicken essence you buy contains ingredients from chicken depends entirely on the manufacturer, and it is basically impossible for consumers to judge from the product.

MSG has a single ingredient and mainly adds a "umami" flavor to food. The ingredients of compound seasonings such as chicken essence and mushroom essence are complex, and generally speaking, they have a stronger "fragrant" flavor. No matter what kind of essence it is, as long as it can produce "umami taste", it contains MSG. However, after careful formulation, compound flavors are more efficient in producing umami flavor and can also meet different specific needs.