Many Americans add salt to improve the flavor of food; however, this can be problematic for people watching their intake of sodium. However, too much sodium in the diet can be bad for health, so many people are trying to reduce their salt intake.

Studies have demonstrated that by increasing the level of glutamate and decreasing the salt levels, the sodium content of recipes can be lowered by up to 40% with no loss in palatability. Considering all sources of dietary sodium (natural sodium content of foods, table salt, sodium-containing ingredients in processed foods, drinking water and pharmaceuticals), typical use of MSG contributes about 1 to 2 percent of the total sodium contained in the average daily American diet.