Can MSG in baby food affect your baby's brain and metabolism?

What's actually in it

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer in processed foods, canned soups, snack chips, fast food, and many Asian sauces. It crosses the placenta during pregnancy and reaches the developing baby's brain, where it can affect the hypothalamus, the brain region that controls appetite and metabolism.

MSG is classified as "generally recognized as safe" by regulators, but the dose pregnant women get from a processed food diet can be large.

What the research says

A 2026 study in Int J Obes tested what happens when a mother consumes MSG during pregnancy. The researchers tracked the offspring's brain signaling, body weight, and metabolic health.

Prenatal MSG exposure disrupted leptin and insulin signaling in the hypothalamus. These two signals are the brain's main controls for appetite and energy balance.

Offspring with disrupted signaling ate more, gained more weight, and developed metabolic dysfunction compared to controls. The effects lasted into adulthood.

If you're pregnant, cutting back on processed foods, canned soups, and fast food reduces your MSG exposure. Fresh, home-cooked meals with whole ingredients naturally contain less MSG.