- Freepik
Jakarta – Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a commonly used flavor for many foods. It's a form of glutamic acid, an animo acid that happes naturally in foods like tomatoes, cheese, and mushrooms.
MSG is made by fermenting starches like corn, sugar beets, or sugarcane. When added to dishes, MSG enhances the savory or umami taste, making food more flavorful.
However, if MSG is consumed in excess it can have a bad impact on health.
Ilustrasi MSG.
One is, it can trigger fatty liver or fatty liver. Fatty liver or hepatic steatosis is the accumulation of excess fat in the liver.
This abnormal buildup usually occurs in liver cells. This condition can cause disturbances in liver function which is supposed to process food and drink, and filter harmful substances from the blood.
Regarding this, a specialist in internal medicine, liver and digestive consultant, dr. Irsan Hasan, explained that this was not appropriate.
"Micin flavoring MSG is not proven to cause fatty liver. But the flavoring makes us want to eat a lot. In the end, it is high in calories," he said on tvOne's Healthy Living program on Tuesday.
Hasan further revealed that if high calories enter the body it can cause obesity. Irsan said obesity is one of the causes or risks of fatty liver.
"So it's not the ingredients, but the foods that are recommended. Factors such as eating too much fatty food, rarely exercising, can trigger obesity and lead to fatty liver,"
dr Hasan explained that fatty liver does not only occur at the age of 45 years and over. Recently, fatty liver has also attacked children.
“Fatty liver does not only occur in those aged 45 years and over, young children are now a problem because there are many cases of obesity in children. This has been reported all over the world. However, with age, fatty liver disease increases," he explained.
"A study in 2000 found that those aged 40.45 years and over compared to those under were twice as likely to suffer from fatty liver," he continued.
Hasan also explained that fatty liver disease is not only experienced by men who like to eat fatty foods and like to drink alcohol.
Women can also experience fatty liver, especially those who have gone through menopause.
“Study results vary, some studies report more women, other studies report more men. The results of this research need to be seen at what age women increase during menopause, in fact it is the same. It depends on the particular age group,” dr. Hasan concluded.
