The link to that post is here:

http://www.tigersandstrawberries.com/2006/01/05/umami-from-the-oceans-of-asia/

I know that when I was trying to get pregnant, my doctor had me taking extra folate (in addition to eating tons of greens–which is fine, I love the things) because it supposedly is found to help prevent spinal abnormalities in fetal development. I know she had me taking pretty massive doses of it in addition to all the other prenatal vitamin potions and whatnot.

Herbalism is one of my interests as well, but I am not nearly so well read on it as I was about five to ten years ago. Then, I kept up with the research pretty well, but now–I have fallen behind.

Good on you for combining the best of allopathic medicine and herbalism. I think that is just great. More doctors and the like should be that way.

Older persons often have less stomach acid (achlorhydria) and their protein-whacking enzymes don’t perform as well, which is why oldsters are often recommended to take a folic acid supplement. It’s also one reason synthetic folate is more bioavailable; it doesn’t have to be removed from anything else to be absorbed.

‘Course, most of us should just eat more greens anyway.

And yeah, I am trying to integrate herbal knowledge into my pharmacy practice where appropriate. And reclaim my food culture. And be married. And, you know, finish school. Whee!

Food chemistry and the pharmacology of herbs are two subjects I have always loved. So, please, jump in at any time with me and correct me when I get things wrong. A layman’s understanding is always different than an expert’s.

(And I bloody well hate dyslexia, too–just wanted to say that. I just typed “layman’s” as “lyaman’s” and had to go back and fix it. Pre-coffee Barbara always spells creatively.)

So, is the folic acid in food (like kale–yum) removed from the glutamate by action of an enzyme in the gut?

Judy–while the scientific research into the effects of MSG as a food additive are inconclusive, I do tend to believe that people are affected by it, as I have seen it happen, consistently with some people after they eat something with MSG, even if they didn’t know it was in there. When people show symptoms without knowledge of the additive’s presence, that tends to let out the possibility of it being a placebo effect or psychosomatic illness.

The bottom line is this–while I think that the use of minute amounts of MSG does little to no harm, it isn’t necessary to use it in order to utilize the taste of umami in good cooking. There are plenty of other sources of glutamate (I spelled it right that time!) and other amino acids in the kitchen, which do no harm, and are in fact, quite nutritive.

Look for a long post sometime today or this evening about the ingredients in Asian kitchens filled with glutamate and other amino acids that contribute to the umami taste in cooking.