When it comes to fast food, a significant portion of the population prefers Asian cuisine, including Chinese and 'Desi Chinese' varieties. It's evident that there is something distinctive about these flavours that makes them particularly appealing to people.

This addictive taste is now referred to as the fifth flavor, known as 'Umami.' Umami flavor is attributed to an ingredient called Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), commonly referred to as ajinomoto. This ingredient contains an excitatory neurotransmitter that can lead to increased consumption of fast food, as defined by Prof. N.S. Verma, Head of the Physiology Department at King George Medical University in Lucknow.

Fast foods, which have long been recognized as generally unhealthy for humans, become even more addictive due to the excitatory neurotransmitters present in MSG. This increased addictive quality leads people to consume them repeatedly, which in turn can contribute to the development of various health issues, including an elevated risk of colon and gastric cancers. This topic is currently under discussion at the ongoing National Conference on Physiology at KGMU.