*There are actually two forms of glutamate found in foods: bound and free. Since only free glutamate is effective in enhancing the flavor of food, the numbers above reflect only the amount of free glutamate for each item listed.
It does not matter whether you select glutamate-rich foods and ingredients like tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, MSG, or soy sauce, the glutamate in each is the same.
And the body treats glutamate in the same way no matter what its source.
Medical specialists have known for decades that your body does not distinguish between the glutamate found naturally in foods and that in MSG. In fact, even today’s state-of-the-art technology can’t separate them. For example, if you analyzed a plate of spaghetti, you could find out the total amount of glutamate in the dish. However, since glutamate is glutamate, there is no way to determine whether the glutamate came from tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, or MSG.
We consume between 10g and 20g of glutamate per day from our diet, of which glutamate from seasoning or condiments is less than 10%. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration notes that a typical serving of a food with added MSG contains less than 0.5 grams of MSG.
Fast Facts: Glutamate is common and abundant throughout nature. It is a component of your body and your foods. Glutamate enhances the natural flavor of many foods, and is most effective when used with savory foods that contain protein (such as meat and vegetable dishes).
Learn more about glutamate here.
Did You Know?: By a fermentation process similar to that used for making vinegar, beer, or soy sauce, MSG is produced from natural sources such as starch or molasses derived from sugar beet or sugar cane.
Read about how is MSG made, and is MSG natural?.
