Glutamates are found in a great many foods, they serve as flavor enhancers and can lead to glutamate intolerance in some individuals. In common parlance, this phenomenon is often referred to as Chinese restaurant syndrome. Glutamates are generally not considered a health hazard, but for people with intolerance, consumption can have unpleasant consequences. Foods with glutamates, however, are usually not particularly rich in content and vitamins, so abstaining from them can be useful even without a known intolerance.
What is glutamate intolerance?
Glutamate intolerance is a collection of symptoms that occur immediately after eating foods that contain the additive glutamate. Intolerance to the flavor enhancer can occur suddenly, and men and women are equally affected. Glutamate is hidden in many foods, especially in ready-made products, packet soups or canteen food. According to the legislator, additives such as flavor enhancers must be listed in the ingredient list of a product; glutamates are hidden behind the designations E 620 – 625. It is often assumed that the label “free of flavor enhancers” would exclude the use of glutamate, but this is a misconception. Glutamates may nevertheless be present in ingredients such as yeast extracts and the like. If you want to be completely safe, you may only use natural products, and in the case of glutamate intolerance, this becomes necessary anyway.
Causes
What causes glutamate intolerance has not been conclusively clarified to date. Some people can consume the flavor enhancer in large masses without ever suffering from intolerance, in other people the intolerance develops in the course of their lives. Even children can suffer from glutamate intolerance; it is common for food intolerances to manifest in childhood. The risk of suffering from an allergy to food is increased if there are already known cases of such intolerance in the family. In general, people with weakened immune systems are more often affected by glutamate intolerance than people with strong immune systems. Some people generally tend to develop allergies and intolerances more quickly than others, and those with known allergies are more likely to develop glutamate intolerance over the course of their lives.
Symptoms, complaints, and signs
The symptoms of glutamate intolerance often occur after a visit to a Chinese restaurant. They are manifested approximately 20 minutes after eating by sudden tingling and numbness in the oral cavity, dry mouth, itching in the mouth, redness of the cheeks, headache, stiff neck, palpitations, arrhythmia, aching limbs and nausea. Since Chinese food contains larger amounts of glutamate as a flavor enhancer, it is assumed that there is an intolerance to this substance. However, this fact has not yet been clearly proven. It could also be an intolerance to other ingredients in these dishes. The symptoms occur only for a short time and subside quickly. The affected persons report that they only suffer from these symptoms after eating food containing glutamate. In most cases, the symptoms are unpleasant but otherwise harmless. In rare cases, however, complications are observed. These can manifest themselves in severe breathing difficulties, serious cardiac arrhythmias or even disturbances of consciousness. Deaths have not yet been reported. However, in cases of particularly severe cardiac arrhythmias, there is also the potential for heart failure. Overall, however, the prognosis is very favorable. It is possible that in some patients the symptoms are also due to a so-called nocebo effect. This effect is the presumption by those affected that a particular substance has a negative effect on health.
Complications
Glutamate intolerance causes complications or discomfort only when the patient ingests glutamate. If the glutamate is not consumed, in most cases no further complaints or complications occur. The intolerance usually manifests itself as severe nausea and headaches.There is dry mouth and tingling throughout the mouth. The patient feels ill and suffers from aching limbs. Heart palpitations and sweating may also occur. The symptoms extremely restrict the patient’s everyday life and reduce the quality of life. The affected person’s diet is severely restricted by the disease. In the worst case, breathing difficulties can also occur, which can also cause the patient to lose consciousness. Treatment is usually not possible. The patient must abstain from glutamate for the rest of his life and must not ingest it. It cannot be predicted whether the glutamate intolerance will disappear on its own later in life. If the affected person abstains from the ingredient, no further complications will occur.
When should you go to the doctor?
A visit to the doctor is necessary as soon as irregularities occur immediately after food intake. If abnormalities or health problems occur after eating convenience foods or visiting a restaurant, there is cause for concern. Depending on the extent of the complaints, a doctor should be consulted immediately. If the intensity is low, it is advisable to consult a doctor the following day. Itching of the neck, redness of the skin or swelling are unusual. A doctor should be consulted so that glutamate intolerance can be determined via a blood test. If the mouth is very dry despite food intake, this is a warning sign from the body that should be followed up. If there is numbness or sensitivity in the mouth that cannot be attributed to burning, a visit to the doctor is necessary. In case of headache, discomfort of the neck or a feeling of stiffness in the shoulders as well as in the neck, a doctor should be consulted. Severe nausea, dizziness or a general feeling of illness should be clarified by a doctor. If heart palpitations occur during or shortly after meals without consuming caffeine, consultation with a physician is recommended. Any pain in the limbs or slowed motor activity should be examined by a doctor. Sweating and shortness of breath are also considered reasons to see a doctor.
Treatment and therapy
Several months to years often pass before glutamate intolerance is diagnosed. The symptoms are nonspecific and are often not associated with food at all. If a glutamate intolerance develops, those affected complain about a quarter of an hour after ingesting glutamate of general malaise, stomach complaints, headaches and sometimes skin rashes. Not all symptoms appear in every affected person; especially at the beginning of an intolerance, only isolated signs of intolerance may appear. The first step towards diagnosis is to observe the person affected. If glutamate intolerance is already suspected, an allergy test can provide more precise information. Also suitable for diagnostic purposes is the omission diet, in which foods containing glutamate are specifically avoided in order to achieve a possible improvement in symptoms. Under medical supervision, the so-called provocation therapy is sometimes also used. In this case, the affected person is given glutamate in a targeted manner in order to test the body’s reaction to it. Such an experiment should never be carried out on its own, but only under medical supervision. Provocation therapy is only suitable if the affected person has not yet shown any threatening symptoms. Since severe glutamate intolerance can also lead to breathing difficulties and even allergic shock, the physician must clearly weigh the cost-benefit ratio.
Outlook and prognosis
Glutamate intolerance is a food intolerance, and thus it cannot be cured. The only way to escape the symptoms is to completely avoid glutamate in food and beverages. Glutamate is classified as harmless to health, but in the meantime it must be indicated on food in supermarkets as well as on restaurant menus if it is contained in food and dishes. Particular attention should be paid to ready-made foods and Asian dishes, because there is hardly any glutamate in natural and unprocessed, raw and fresh foods.Glutamate must also be watched out for in restaurants, even if it is not an Asian restaurant. With glutamate intolerance, there is currently no known desensitization, as is known with other intolerances and allergies. Also, unlike lactose intolerance, for example, there are no medications that can be taken before ingesting glutamate to reduce symptoms. In most cases, glutamate intolerance is merely very unpleasant for the affected patient, but tends not to lead to serious or life-threatening complications. If glutamate has been accidentally consumed anyway, consumption should be stopped as soon as it is noticed. Beyond that, it only helps to wait for them to subside and remain as calm as possible, even if the symptoms are unpleasant and distressing.
Prevention
Glutamate intolerance can hardly be prevented, since it can develop suddenly and a cause cannot always be determined. In principle, it has been shown that healthy vitamin B levels can contribute to better tolerance of glutamates. Even if glutamates are not harmful to health, it is advisable to avoid them to a large extent. Flavor enhancers are found in many foods, but there are also numerous products without the additives E 620 – 625. If possible, it is advisable to avoid all products with a particularly high glutamate content. This includes ready meals as well as potato chips or food from the canteen. Meanwhile, more and more products are being developed for people with glutamate intolerance.
Follow-up
The most important aftercare measure in the case of glutamate intolerance lies with the patient himself. He or she should avoid anything in which glutamate might be present. The problem is that this flavor enhancer is present in many processed foods. Therefore, during follow-up care, care should be taken to ensure that as little industrially produced food as possible is on the menu. Preparing everything that is eaten yourself from fresh ingredients is the safest aftercare. The salt of glutamic acid is not for nothing in the criticism. Whether the Chinese restaurant syndrome exists or is pure scaremongering is not essential in the case of glutamate intolerance. What is important is that the person affected has a proven inability to tolerate this flavor enhancer. The content of monosodium glutamate or E 621 does not have to be declared for nothing. A defective blood–brain barrier could indeed provide for increased risk potential. The precarious point, however, is that glutamate is also an endogenous substance. It is produced in the metabolism. Glutamate acts as a neurotransmitter in the organism. In addition, natural glutamate occurs naturally in various foods and breast milk – and occasionally in high concentrations. It is therefore difficult to ensure total abstinence after the diagnosis of “glutamate intolerance”. However, extensive avoidance is important in the aftercare. Knowledge of the natural glutamate content of foods helps here. This can be researched on the Internet.
What you can do yourself
No medication has yet been developed against glutamate intolerance. However, it helps the affected person to know that this intolerance is not, as the name suggests, fundamentally against glutamate or the esters and salts of glutamic acid, but only against free glutamates, which are targeted flavor enhancers not bound to proteins. In this respect, it helps the person concerned to avoid foods in which the flavor enhancer is used. According to the German Food Act, the flavor enhancer must be labeled, and this applies not only to sales in grocery stores, but also in canteens and restaurants. Anyone who feels they are allergic to food with glutamate flavor enhancers should clarify their suspicions with their doctor, who can diagnose the condition through an allergy test and provide further advice. While the symptoms of sufferers after eating free glutamates are usually not life-threatening, they may well be dangerous in asthmatics. Thus, in the event of allergic shock in asthmatics, a physician should be consulted immediately. If the shock is particularly severe, then there should be no hesitation in calling an emergency physician. In general, it helps the organism of affected persons to eat healthy food and, for example, to cook fresh food every day.In particular, a high vitamin B level helps to make one’s organism more resistant to free glutamates in general.
