In an effort to continue to socialize facts about the safety and benefits of Umami Seasonings such as Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA (Ajinomoto) in collaboration with ANOKI (Indonesian Association of Sports & Fitness Nutritionists) held a Seminar: "Controlling Hypertension Problems with Low Salt Intake".
The seminar, which was held on November 12, 2022, presented speakers or experts who were experts in their fields, namely dr. Yohan Samudra, SpGK, AIFO-K, a clinical nutritionist who works at Premier Bintaro Hospital, as well as a healthy influencer who shares a lot of health education.
Still during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesians are worried about the condition of degenerative diseases, such as hypertension, and immune system disorders in themselves, because they affect the recovery process if exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Therefore, to coincide with National Health Day, Ajinomoto as a company that is very concerned with the issue of health & nutritional intake, continues to strive to socialize the importance of maintaining nutritional intake through various ways.
According to dr. Yohan, there are actually many ways to reduce the risk of hypertension, starting from living a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly, and avoiding smoking and drinking alcohol, to a fairly complex one by running the DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension). However, what is simple and quite easy to do is reduce salt intake or a low-salt diet, as one of the essential efforts to reduce the risk of hypertension.
“In order to reduce salt intake or apply a low-salt diet, we can replace the use of some salt with umami seasoning such as MSG which will have another positive impact. So, if you still want the food you eat to have a high taste, but at the same time want a low-salt diet, this method is good to apply. In fact, this strategy also has a lot of scientific evidence, for example in the research journal Sakai et al (2017)," said dr. Yohan, when giving a sharing session at Genius Islamic School, Depok.
"The sodium content in MSG is only one third (⅓) of the sodium content in ordinary table salt, and there have also been studies that I mentioned earlier, which prove that the use of MSG is beneficial to help reduce salt intake but still maintain the palatability (good taste) of the food. This is also proven by the MUI halal certification and BPOM permission that the use of MSG is very safe, and by the FDA it is also categorized as GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) or can be used in reasonable consumption," he continued.
According to Grant Senjaya, Head of Public Relations Department - PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA, for Ajinomoto, good nutrition is a big thing that continues to be highlighted and is an important capital for the growth of future generations. Children in Indonesia need good and complete nutrition for their growth and development. That way, the mental and physical development of children in Indonesia will be better so that they become a generation that grows and develops.
“Ajinomoto, as a company providing solutions to food and health problems, is committed to supporting and improving the welfare of the Indonesian people through educational activities related to nutrition for families. We hope that webinar participants can gain and apply knowledge and information from the speakers then share it to the wider community,” concluded by Grant.