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Nutritional benefits
Umami and Saltiness
Many of us consume more salty or high fat foods than
our bodies need. The taste of salt added to food and
the richness of high fat dishes are undoubtedly appealing. Scientific
research, however, has suggested a link between diets high in fat and
sodium and health risks such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and
hypertension. Nutritionists recommend that we reduce our intake of
these ingredients, and food manufacturers have responded by introducing
low-fat and low-sodium versions of many popular foods. Maintaining an
acceptable flavor balance in these foods can, however, be difficult,
since removing the fat or sodium can make the food bland.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) can be very useful here. MSG
contains only one-third of the amount of sodium in table
salt, and it is used at far lower levels. Although MSG is
not salty itself, using a small amount of monosodium glutamate
in a low sodium product can make it taste as good as its high
salt counterpart.
Research has shown that people find food with low levels of
salt much more acceptable when a small amount of monosodium
glutamate is added.
The study evaluated people's responses to different
versions of a clear soup, with and without MSG and with
different levels of salt. The broken horizontal line on the
graph shows the threshold level below which the participants in
the research found the soup to be unpalatable. Without the
addition of MSG, the soup did not become palatable until the
salt concentration reached 0.75%. With MSG, however, the soup
was palatable with a salt concentration of only 0.4%.
Foods for the Elderly
As we grow older, most of us lose some of our sense of taste and smell. This process
normally begins at about the age of sixty, and becomes more noticeable in our
seventies. As a result, elderly people's food choices can change, and sometimes
these changes lead to a poorer quality diet or to an inadequate level of food
intake. Glutamate can make a helpful contribution to the diet of elderly people
by making many foods more appetizing and appealing.
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