Does MSG affect metabolism?

No. Scientific authorities from around the world including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), The American Medical Association (AMA), and The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) agree that the body handles glutamate in the same way regardless of its source. Glutamate from either source is absorbed similarly in the intestine and follows normal metabolic pathways.

As a result of consuming MSG or protein-based foods, a natural elevation of the blood glutamate level will occur. That level will return to "baseline" (or the level before eating) in about three hours, no matter what the source of glutamate.

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