I have a cousin who is allergic to MSG. I'm curious about how this is possible, since glutamate is always present in pretty large amounts in the body; it's one of the products of the Krebs cycle, among other things. So why would someone have an allergic reaction to glutamate that they ingest, but not to the multiple grams of glutamate that are naturally floating around in your body at any given time? Or all the glutamate that's produced when you hydrolize protein during digestion? Any clarification would be appreciated.
How can people be allergic to things that are found naturally in the body?
- Thread starter Nasor
- Start date
Sure, people can be allergic to all sorts of natural things; I'm wondering how someone could be allergic to something that's naturally found in their own body.
The same way we're "allergic" to water. Breathe in too much, and you die. Yet our lungs are constantly filling with fluids. Or how we're "allergic" to HCl. Our stomach is full of hydrochloric acid, yet if you get it on your hand, it hurts. Organisms are compartmentalized. If you get the wrong thing in the wrong place, it hurts. It appears glutamate outside of cells isn't good for your cousin.
ATP triggers nociceptors. That's because ATP shouldn't be in the extracellular environment, so when our cells get damaged, ATP goes spilling everywhere and binds pain receptors, triggering them.
By "allergic" I meant, of course, an inappropriate immune response. Drowning or being burned by acid doesn't have anything to do with allergic reactions.
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M*W: Years ago, I remember seeing an article about Casey K and his wife with their new baby. Now I wonder if it was adopted, IV-fertilized or what? Did his wife just take a bunch of Benedryl and spread her legs? What gives?
The immune system isn't perfect. I went to high school with a girl whose immune system would attack her own organs if a certain hormone was secreted. I forgot which but, she had the gland removed, so her flare ups only happen from time to time. A glitch in either one's own DNA or perhaps something went wrong during prenatal development. But she thinks it's better than not having an immune system.
Oh.
My hypothesis is that she has antibodies for glutamate, and so whenever glutamate gets into her system, it causes an allergic reaction. The reason why she doesn't always have a full blown allergy is because the glutamate is contained in cells, where the antibodies don't hang out. When the MHC genes turn on, the body has to be recognized as "not-foreign", otherwise you can get autoimmune problems. The MHC genes also turn on & off in really weird ways, which has the potential to lead to allergies, such as shellfish or cockroach poop.
Oops missed this thread. MSG or monosodium glutamate is a neurotransmitter that stimulates the firing of neurons in brain cells. What is called an "allergy" to MSG is actually food intolerance or food sensitivity.
Research from John Hopkins has revealed that irritability caused by nervous system hyperstimulation [as in the case of MSG sensitivity] can cause an immune reaction.
Some other research on glutamate as a ligand has shown us that it increases histamine by 150%
So it is quite possible that the reaction of your friend is a sensitivity to the MSG that presents as an allergic reaction.
Research from John Hopkins has revealed that irritability caused by nervous system hyperstimulation [as in the case of MSG sensitivity] can cause an immune reaction.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/2000/MAY/000518.HTM
Some other research on glutamate as a ligand has shown us that it increases histamine by 150%
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1381677
So it is quite possible that the reaction of your friend is a sensitivity to the MSG that presents as an allergic reaction.
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Yep, IVF. She is their only child.
I kept imagining his wife's privates or mouth swelling up, but apparently the allergy just made it so her uterus was a hostile environment for the sperm.
any why is it put on food??
Because it stimulates the taste center and enhances taste. Thats the layman version of the answer.
technical stuff
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami#Taste_receptors
Fraggle Rocker
Staff member
It's been postulated that allergies are manifestations of a malfunctioning immune system. One possible explanation is that modern children are too well protected from pathogens so their immune systems are never calibrated to guard them against the right substances. Some dire illnesses like fibromyalgia appear to be the body's allergic reaction to its own tissue.
I mean, geeze, how could a person 500 years ago have survived to breeding age with an allergy to wheat? Yet today it's an epidemic. When I was a kid, the smell of perfume was one of life's little pleasures and virtually all women wore it. Today so many people are allergic to it that it's banned in some offices.
Or dogs. Who the hell was allergic to dogs fifty years ago? Every home had three of them.
Peanut butter? We all ate it three or four times a week.
Except, of course, my question about how people can be allergic to something that occurs naturally in their own body. There isn't anything in the wikipedia article about that.
Sorry to be all morbidly curious, but which hormone was it?
Does she have side effects from haivng that endocrine gland removed?
Is something still unclear?