High Consumption Of Salt, Health Threats In Modern Society

MSG illustration (ANTARA/freepik.com)

JAKARTA - Excessive salt consumption has been identified as the main cause of various health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sodium intake from salt should not exceed 2,000 milligrams per day. However, salt consumption in many countries often exceeds this limit, triggering higher health risks.

A nutritionist and researcher on a healthy diet, Leony Susan, revealed that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is starting to be looked at as an alternative to enjoying foods with a high taste without the use of excess salt.

"MSG has long been used as an increase in the taste of umami which can increase the taste of food without adding a lot of salt," Leony said in Jakarta, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, November 2.

Leony highlighted that excess salt does not only come from salt which is added directly when cooking, but also from processed and ready-to-eat foods. Modern people often do not realize the high levels of sodium in their daily diet. Therefore, reducing salt consumption is considered an important step in maintaining long-term health.

Using MSG, a person can reduce the use of salt in cooking by 30 to 40 percent because MSG only contains about 12 percent sodium, compared to table salt which contains 39 percent sodium. "For example, when cooking soup, MSG can be used to replace some of the salt, so it feels good with lower sodium content," said Leony.

He added that the reduction in salt using MSG is not only focused on taste but also on health, especially for individuals who are at risk of hypertension or heart disease. According to him, various studies have also shown that MSG is safe to consume in reasonable quantities, and negative claims about MSG, such as Chinese restaurant syndrome, have been denied by many scientific studies.