Is MSG really that bad for you, or is it a myth like the bogeyman?

味精真的对人身体有害吗？还是只是一个可怕的传说？

MSG is a flavor enhancer that turns up the savory¹ and meaty taste known as "umami", which is the fifth basic taste alongside sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, and can be found in foods like mushrooms, anchovies², and aged cheeses.

味精是一种提味剂，它能增加香味和肉味--也就是与酸甜苦咸并存的第五大味道：鲜味。蘑菇、凤尾鱼和陈年奶酪等食物中都能找到这种味道。

This flavor enhancement comes from the glutamate in MSG, which is naturally present in our bodies and plays a key role in the metabolism³ of major nutrients⁴ and aids in the reconstruction⁵ of body proteins.

这种口味来自于味精中的谷氨酸，它自然存在于我们的身体中，在主要营养物质的新陈代谢和帮助重建身体的蛋白质中起着关键作用。

It's also in a ton of food items like meat, dairy products like cheese, seaweed, and certain produce items like tomatoes and mushrooms.

另外，这种氨基酸也存在于许多日常食物中，如乳酪、海藻，以及像西红柿和蘑菇这样的农产品里。

The use of MSG as a flavor enhancer was discovered in 1908 by a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda, who was able to extract glutamate from the popular Asian dish seaweed broth⁶ and realized that glutamate was responsible for its savory flavor.

味精作为风味增强剂的使用，是1908年由日本的池田菊苗教授发现的。他从受欢迎的亚洲菜海带汤中提取出了谷氨酸，意识到了它就是鲜味的来源。

Professor Ikeda then filed a patent to commercially produce MSG, and the rest is history.

池田教授随后申请了一项商业化生产味精的专利，剩下的都是历史了。

Though today, MSG isn't exclusively extracted from seaweed broth. Instead, it's produced in a specialized⁷ fermentation process.

不过，现在的味精并不都是从海藻汤中提取的。相反，它是在专门的发酵工艺中产生的。

And it bears noting that the glutamate in MSG is chemically the same as the glutamate in food proteins, so our bodies process both the same way.

值得注意的是，味精中的谷氨酸和食物蛋白质中的谷氨酸在化学上是一样的，所以我们的身体会以相同的方式消化它。

So if MSG is so widespread and already in our bodies naturally, why do so many people avoid it?

因此，如果味精这样的普遍，并且已在我们的身体中天然存在，那我们为什么要排斥它呢？