Jakarta - PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA in collaboration with the Research Institution of Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) held a Webinar Event: "Educating the Role of MSG in Increasing the Immune System of the Elderly & Strategies to Reduce Salt Intake", as an effort to support the elderly, to stay healthy by disseminating informative facts about Umami Seasoning and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of participants in this webinar reached 1.000, and most of them work as general doctors around Indonesia.
One of the speakers at this webinar event is dr. Johanes Chandrawinata, MND, SpGK, as a clinical dietitian and nutrition expert, as well as member of Doctors Association (IDI).
According to dr. Johanes, the elderly patient have less appetite in eating their foods when they hospitalize, then the healing process will take much longer.
"Actually, the use of MSG in hospital food can be a solution to speed up the recovery process for elderly patients who are hospitalized. There have been many studies that prove this, one of which was conducted by Shigeru Yamamoto et al., In 2009. By this study result, it is proven that giving MSG to the food consumed by the elderly makes them produce more saliva. It is important to help the chewing and swallowing process," said by dr. Johanes, at the webinar.
"Then, the study also proved that adding MSG to the food consumed by the elderly, made their appetite increase. We are aware that one of the main factors causing malnutrition in the elderly is decreased appetite and also problems with chewing and swallowing. So, the role of MSG is very helpful,” he continued.
Adding his previous explanation, according to dr. Johanes, if the addition of MSG in foods is given to healthy elderly who are not hospitalized, their immune system will be maintained because their appetite increases to eat nutritious food.
"Doing a low salt diet is also one way to prevent degenerative diseases, by preventing this, our chances of maintaining the immune system are higher. There has been a lot of research on reducing sodium (salt) intake. For example, Halim et al in a recent study in 2020, the Journal of Food Science also proved that MSG will maintain the delicious taste of food even though sodium levels were reduced by 30-60%. From this research, we can conclude that a reduction in salt intake can be achieved without sacrificing the taste of food by adding sufficient MSG," said by dr. Johanes.
Through this webinar, PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA hopes to educate the participants about nutritional information with scientific facts, and keep contributing to create a healthier Indonesian society.
"The AJINOMOTO INDONESIA webinar event this time is for doctors, because we feel the need to spread true and informative facts about Umami Seasoning which will support the Indonesian people to stay healthy, even during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. In addition, we hope that doctors around Indonesia can share this informative and scientific facts about what we are conveying today to the wider community,” Katarina Larasati, Public Relations Manager - AJINOMOTO INDONESIA.
About PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA
PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA is a leading food seasoning producer that has colored the lives of Indonesians with high quality products and brings delicacy in every consumer's dish. With its global slogan "Eat Well, Live Well", at the age of 51, PT AJINOMOTO INDONESIA has made extraordinary achievements that mark the strength and resilience of a company that can make a major contribution to Indonesian society.