Mind to use MSG??

Anecdotal info on MSG:
http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/msg.txt

Good article on MSG:
http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/msg-basics.txt

[lynne]

Thank you Crudeau!

The list of hidden MSG is very helpful. So many people don't know that hydrolyzed proteins also contain MSG--and IT is found in so many things!! Crackers, Ranch Dressing, most frozen convenience foods, canned soups, fast foods (McDonalds atleast calls MSG what it is, Burger King uses hydrolyzed proteins. For some people the amount that is in a BK Chicken sandwich is no problem, for others it can create immediate reactions-from migraines to asthma attacks.

In kitchens, people need to be aware of who is bringing or using what in their posts. I had a cook that used to bring his own in--because he thought his food tasted better!

Oh, marketing tricks! That's okay, because we as consumers are getting to the bottom of much of it. Keep reading those labels!!!!

Nutritionpost

[glutz]

sorry about duplication.

Ajinomoto and Ve Tsin are two best known brands

[ May 04, 2001: Message edited by: glutz ]

[glutz]

Me, "Velly Anti MSG,
Bad on tongue,
Makes one thristy,
gives specific taste"
but
Mass food corporations love it.
In developing copuntries and here in North America,
just about all processed foods include MSG,
now its modified to DIsodium Glutamte,
what a rip off.

when Nature has it all.

[Marzoli]

NO MSG!!
It shoots up my blood pressure and swells my fingers and feet. Sometimes our favorite pizza place gets spinach that has MSG--and they don't always wash it well enough to take it off or dilute it. It is really frustrating.
Thanks for the lists. That is useful.

[kokopuffs]

As a doctor, you can have an allergic reaction to anything, virtually anything on this planet. Perhaps the Asians are more "immune" to harmful effects of MSG. This is no defense of MSG, however.

Does MSG occur naturally in the Asian soil?

[ April 10, 2001: Message edited by: kokopuffs ]

[mudbug]

I had to jump in on this one and stand on the other side.

Here is my theory...

Perhaps most "Americans" are MSG intolerant just as really most of the world is lactose intolerant. (20/20) did a segment on Lactose Intolerance years ago and found that only one tiny region in europe was truely lactose "tolerant" — so not even most europeans (which most caucasian Americans are decendants of) are lactose "tolerant".

I myself have no problem whatsoever with MSG, never have in the past either. Kokopuffs has a good point about the possibility of being allergic to anything. Juniper berries probably fall under a similar category for anyone with allergies.

Maybe Asians are more tolerant or maybe they just don't have a problem with it at all. What's not so good for some can be good for others. I know this is a bad analogy but insects are proven to be fantastic sources of protein. That doesn't mean everyone is going to incorporate them into their daily lifestyle.

At the same time, just because MSG seems to affect a majority of people in America there might be other countries that don't have such a widespread problem with reactions to MSG.

Does anyone have any info in the historical beginning of the incorporation of MSG for culinary use? Has the manufacturing/harvesting of MSG changed in any way in the last few years? Are we just realizing the effects of MSG simply because it became common enough for people to find out they are effected in the first place?

[mudbug]

By the way, according to <A HREF="http://www.foodsubs.com/Misc.html#monosodium glutamate" TARGET=_blank>foodsubs.com</A>, you may substitute kelp or just omit from recipe

[ April 10, 2001: Message edited by: cchiu ]

[Pooh]

...and I thought MSG was found strictly in Chinese food!!!

Thank you all for your numerous posts on the subject. Very informative indeed!

[youla]

I dont get any reaction to naturally occurring msg, such as in mushrooms, tomatoes etc but I get lockjaw and severe dehydration when eating the granulated product....I have had asthmatic attacks,iget lockjaw where it is painful to speak....and had a exec.chef who thought it would be funny if everyone tasted aspoonful and try to guess what it was....talk about sensory overload my mouth felt as though it was bursting...all my taste senses were so overexcited[no other word for it!!] It felt as though all my taste buds were bursting...and then the asthma that followed...followed by the lockjaw and he thought I was being a whinger....I ended up in casualty!!

[youla]

I dont get any reaction to naturally occurring msg, such as in mushrooms, tomatoes etc but I get lockjaw and severe dehydration when eating the granulated product....I have had asthmatic attacks,iget lockjaw where it is painful to speak....and had a exec.chef who thought it would be funny if everyone tasted aspoonful and try to guess what it was....talk about sensory overload my mouth felt as though it was bursting...all my taste senses were so overexcited[no other word for it!!] It felt as though all my taste buds were bursting...and then the asthma that followed...followed by the lockjaw and he thought I was being a whinger....I ended up in casualty!!

[youla]

I dont get any reaction to naturally occurring msg, such as in mushrooms, tomatoes etc but I get lockjaw and severe dehydration when eating the granulated product....I have had asthmatic attacks,iget lockjaw where it is painful to speak....and had a exec.chef who thought it would be funny if everyone tasted aspoonful and try to guess what it was....talk about sensory overload my mouth felt as though it was bursting...all my taste senses were so overexcited[no other word for it!!] It felt as though all my taste buds were bursting...and then the asthma that followed...followed by the lockjaw and he thought I was being a whinger....I ended up in casualty!!

If MSG is not good for us, why do the food companies put them in almost everything we eat? I want to eat healthy and this is another thing that gives me problems when I go grocery shopping; I want something that will make me strong and healthy, not something that makes me sick. 9 times out of 10, if I eat something that has MSG in it, I get stomach cramps, a headache, and sometimes a fever. Also, 9 times out of 10, when I have my stomach cramps, I have to sit on the toilet all day because the cramp refuses to go away; it is during these times that I feel like I am going to suffocate; I just went through this again for 6 hours yesterday (and, to tell the truth, I really didn't feel good at all yesterday either).