Sodium, Salt, and MSG-Confused?

Confused about sodium, what about monosodium glutamate? Most people either do not know much about these food components or have heard conflicting information from different sources such as family, friends, and magazine articles. This article will attempt to make it easy for you to understand common sources of sodium in the diet, what sodium does, and how to lower intake as well as what MSG is and why it is in foods. In general, people consume more sodium than they need to. Sodium raises blood pressure which can cause damage to arteries. Recent research has shown that sodium can even cause hardening of the arteries without it being related to blood pressure.  It is a good recommendation to limit daily salt intake (our major source of sodium) and aim for the 2,400mg limit for healthy people and the 1,500mg limit in those with hypertension. Sodium is also lost through sweat, so keep in mind that exercise may help to control sodium in the body as well, although exercise should not replace any efforts to decrease salt coming from our foods.

There are some people who think MSG is bad; however, it naturally occurs in many foods such as seaweed, parmesan cheese, soy sauce, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. Umami- the Japanese word for delicious, has been identified to be recognized by the tongue just as sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are. Mono Sodium Glutamate, or MSG, is one molecule responsible for the Umami flavor. According to the Institute of Medicine and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), MSG can make food more palatable with less sodium because it enhances flavor. Both the IOM and the AND recognize MSG as safe. The AND evidence analysis team also found that there is no difference in the amount of food people consume depending on MSG content. It is important to note that foods with MSG are often very high in sodium, and that the sodium intake is more of an issue than the glutamate intake. Using low sodium soy sauce and low sodium tomato sauce will help to provide flavor to your dishes without adding as much sodium.

Sodium intake can be reduced by a combination of approaches to the diet. When buying canned foods like beans or corn, look for low or no sodium added on the label. When eating at a restaurant, especially if it is a frequent occasion, it is a good idea to know how much sodium is in the dish. Restaurants often have high salt content in their foods. Sodium is also often high in dressings and condiments like mustard. Commonly consumed foods that contribute to sodium intake include bread, cheese, lunch meat, and most processed foods. Cooking your own foods with measured additions of salt will help with controlling the level of sodium in a dish. Just a teaspoon of table salt provides nearly the entire recommended amount of sodium for 1 person a day (2,325 mg of sodium). Tracking intake through measuring the salt you add and paying attention to labels can be useful for reducing total sodium consumption. This can be easily done with diet trackers such as USDA Super tracker, the MyFitnessPal app, or the American Heart Association’s Salt Tracker which are linked below. Always check the label for sodium in a dish. Doing these things will help you to get an idea of how much sodium you consume in a day and what foods to cut out or cut back on. It is also important to find something to replace those foods with. If you eat a lot of canned foods, try replacing them with fresh or frozen options.

Resources:

This infographic from the AHA shows a comparison of high and low sodium meal options for a full day: “Sodium Can Be Sneaky” https://healthyforgood.heart.org/eat-smart/infographics/sodium-can-be-sneaky-infographic

USDA Super tracker is a tracking option with a large, reliable database of foods: https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/

MyFitnessPal: Has many common commercial food items for both restaurants and stores it can help you easily add up your daily sodium intake if you eat prepackaged and from restaurants frequently. https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

References available upon request.

Connor Hudson is a student in the Combined Dietetic Internship/FCS Master’s degree program at NMSU with a B.S. in Nutrition/Dietetics from UNM. He has over 300 volunteer hours collegiate sports dietetics setting and is generally passionate about health and nutrition.