Bragg's Liquid Aminos - Does it have MSG?

[Wildflower]

I was just wondering about MSG and Bragg's.

I noticed it contains glutamic acid, which after doing a quick wikipedia search really seems to be related to MSG, perhaps as the naturally occuring form that is not yet artificially bonded to sodium? Anyway, it listed lots of nasty diseases/conditions that could occur from consuming it, yet it says it is naturally occuring and in everything.

Can someone explain it to me? I know quite a few people here consume Bragg's and consider it to be healthy...is it? How does this differ from MSG?

Any food scientists here?

[harpy]

I think MSG is or similar is in soy sauce as well, and various other condiments, as mentioned on this rather pro-MSG site I just came across:

http://www.msg.org.au/main.html

Personally I don't worry about consuming a bit of MSG in these (more or less) traditional foods, but I wouldn't shovel the stuff neat on to my food. (Although I did once shovel some MSG crystals on to my breakfast cereal mistaking it for sugar, but that's another story.)

[Jamie]

goodness me, PRO-MSG is an understatement

[harpy]

Well, they are marketing the stuff, after all

[Wildflower]

Hey, I finally found this post!

I don't know if I couldn't remember where I posted it, or if it was moved to the correct place, but I couldn't figure out where it went.

Thanks for the responses everyone!

[=Sarah=]

just came across this randomly.. might be of some interest.. about as close to a foody scientific explanation as ive come across.. its a damn shame we can't even be sure we're doing the right thing by cutting out non-vegan stuff.. i don't even wanna start thinking about everything else!

http://www.essentialoilcookbook.com/...ing-braggs.htm

[Wildflower]

Thanks Sarah!

Interesting site!

[MillieAnne]

We learned in culinary school that MSG is not near as bad as what people make it out to be. Unless you have an allergy it is kind of like fake sweetener. Small amounts will not hurt you. It basically intensifies flavor in any dish that you put it in.

@ Harpy......except I doubt it tasted that wonderful coating your cereal

[Pob]

From that link above - what is:

the "deadly" form of sodium chloride

?

Is there more than one type of Sodium Chloride?

Braggs, soy sauce, and yeast extract are all full of sodium and free glutamate.

[vegandingo]

just came across this randomly.. might be of some interest.. about as close to a foody scientific explanation as ive come across.. its a damn shame we can't even be sure we're doing the right thing by cutting out non-vegan stuff.. i don't even wanna start thinking about everything else!

http://www.essentialoilcookbook.com/...ing-braggs.htm

This site generated a Trojan Horse virus alert when I clicked on the homepage link.

[Mahk]

I know quite a few people here consume Bragg's and consider it to be healthy...is it?

No. Nutritionally it is equivalent to water with added salt or soy sauce. No nutritional benefits at all, just taste and added sodium. 1 TBS of Bragg's has 900 mg of sodium. That is a lot! Other than the propagandizing salt institute the vast majority of the medical community believe a diet high in sodium is a major contributer to hyper tension (high blood pressure).

The fact that Bragg's is comprised of amino acids, the building blocks of the needed nutrient protein, is immaterial because one would need to consume dangerously large quantities, sodium wise, to get a significantly measurable amount.

This is exactly analogous to people who think unrefined sugar is "healthy" because what makes it beige in color is nutrients and vitamins from the natural cane plant. One would have to consume cups of the stuff to have any meaningful "nutrient" intake and that much sugar is really bad for you.

I like the taste of Bragg's and use it in soups but I measure it carefully, I don't just squirt it in, and I don't fool myself that I have gained any nutrition or reduced my sodium intake by not using salt. Bragg's effectively is salt.

[Sarah_]

That's a shame. All this time with Bragg's thinking it's better than Kikkoman.

[missbettie]

i don't particularilly care for braggs...it tastes funny and is waay to salty...but doesn't it say it has MSG right on the bottle?

[Sarah_]

I think Bragg's tastes very very not good.

[missbettie]

it's weird....

[Healthy]

I was never a fan of it. This girl tried to push it on me saying I need it because of the amino acids in it since I don't eat meat.

My body disagreed

[Sarah_]

By body do you mean tastebuds? lol
To be truthful, I've only ever tried to sub it for soy sauce on plain white rice and on lo mein. Maybe it's better as an additive in a soup or something.

[Healthy]

Ha-ha, that's cute Sarah

[Verencemos]

Glutamate is an amino acid ('building block' of protein). Its not classified as essential, as body can make it itself, but it will be in lots of protein foods that you eat. Glutamate/Glutamic Acid are slightly different twists on the same substance. Its got a big role as a neurotransmitter too, so though its not classifed as 'essential', it is essential to your body's function, if you know what I mean.
I have never studied MSG, but monosodium glutamate will be glutamate with one sodium attatched to it. I'm not sure which bit is substituted, but obviously MSG will add extra sodium to your intake, glutamate will not.
I hope I haven't over simplified it for the non-scientists out there!
V

[Mahk]

I'm not sure which bit is substituted, but obviously MSG will add extra sodium to your intake, glutamate will not.

Bragg's also contains water, another virtually sodium free food, but Bragg's itself is a high sodium content food. It has 900 mg per tablespoon, that's pretty close to soy sauce which depending on brand has around 1000 mg per tablespoon. The nutritional label on Bragg's bottles deceptively gives a nutritional analysis based on one sixth the serving size of common soy sauces/tamari's so from a casual glance it seems to be much lower in sodium to many shoppers. [well at least they fooled me, I bought it ]
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From my understanding [sorry, no link, (rare for me as most of you know)] they once were threatened with legal action for their bold claim "contains no MSG" by the FDA. They agreed to change it to "contains no added MSG" but the FDA still said "no good", since molecularly they are so similar and people who are sensitive to MSG are quite likely to be sensitive to Bragg's too, so they had to drop their "no MSG" claims entirely.

[Verencemos]

It sounds like its not the glutamic acid thats the issue (as I say, thats just an amino acid - it will be in almost anything with protein in it), its the sodium somewhere else in the ingredients.
Sounds like a highly suspect food anyway.
V