MSG in food

[yonglin]

Volapuk49, I simply have no idea about why you are so convinced about your predictions.

If you are a practicing physician you should be aware that MSG is simply the chemically isolated form of umami, one of the five basic tastes, which also occurs naturally in a wide range of foods. Many people suffer from the excess amounts of salt and sugar in processed food, yet few people boycott them, and you don't predict that they "eventually will disappear". Surely, many people would be better off from a health point of view if salt and sugar were not widely available in their chemically isolated forms.

I'm also pretty sure that many people would raise their voices if products like soy sauce or fish sauce were taken off the shelves.

[cdn_in_bj]

Volapuk49 and other posters have brought up some good points. As someone who is also sensitive to MSG, I thought I'd also chime in. By the way, I hesitate to call this an "allergy" as true food allergies involve the immune system and are life-threatening (ie - nut allergies).

I have had a sensitivity to MSG as far back as I can remember. When I was a young'un, I remember suffering from some very bad headaches after eating at certain Chinese restaurants (but not all). In later years, the reactions weren't as bad - usually resulting in drowsiness as another poster mentioned, and only occasionally would I suffer from headaches. I'm not sure if this is because I started developing a "resistance" to MSG, or I learned to avoid it, or if restaurants in general started paring back on the MSG due to customer demands. It could have been a combination of all three.

Here in China, I don't get as many MSG reactions but they still occur on occasion. This was surprising at first because I eat out way more here than I did back home. I tend to agree with the theory about the use of non-frozen meat and "high-broth" bases in lieu of large quantities of MSG. It also helps somewhat that I've stopped eating junk food (ie- potato chips). That said, I'm pretty sure that MSG is commonly used here (especially in home cooking), even if in smaller quantities, and if you are very sensitive to it then asking the waiter not to add any MSG may not be of any use as the pre-prepared sauces and bases probably already contain it. It's like that one time I ordered veggie fried noodles here for a visiting vegetarian friend, only to find that they had used "high-broth" in the sauce.

Finally, for those of you fortunate enough to not have to suffer from any of this and are doubting whether this is real, I can assure you that it is very real for some of us. And for the poster that compared it to salt and sugar, did you know that there are some people who are even sensitive to refined sugar?

[flameproof]

I found some inaccuracies:

In overseas Chinese restaurants, MSG is a must.

Not correct. You go to the USA you see many places advertise with "No MSG".

Why is MSG a must in overseas Chinese restaurants? Very simple.

Almost all the ingredients, i.e. chicken, pork,....are all frozen. Without MSG, the meat tastes bland (except beef which freeze does not affect its freshness.

Wrong. The taste comes from the type of meat and from the food that is fed to the animals. Therefore, a frozen chicken that was feed naturally will have a much stronger taste then fresh chicken raised on generic food.

In high end restaurants in Hong Kong, MSG is substituted by "High Broth" which the chef prepares by stewed chicken and Chinese ham as well as other ingredients.

"Broth" if needed can not be substituted by MSG. You may have instant broth that may contain MSG though. There is also MSG free broth on the market in HK.

But in comparison with Japanese and Korean foods, Chinese chef uses much less MSG.

Hard to prove.

You ever see how Kimchee is prepared? Those ladies sprinkle pounds and pounds of MSG on the Chinese cabbage leaf after leaf.

I think you have confused that with salt. Kimchee does not have to contain any MSG. You can do it easily at home. Cabbage, chilli powder, salt, garlic. That's it. If you like a bit sugar too.

[Volapuk49]

I wrote that MSG was at one point banned in the US. I don't recall where I read this and have been unable to locate the citation. If I do find it I shall post a link.

I found the following taken from a Burmese newspaper dated 2002. I had no idea that MSG was banned for health reasons in Burma.

Yangon, 17 Nov - Although the Government is strictly imposing a ban on importing monosodium glutamate, which can affect public health, some are smuggling it into the coununtry. Therefore, action is being taken against them. Officials concerned seized 26,945.6 pounds of Yodaya-made monosodium glutamate in Mongpon, Loilam Township, Southern Shan State, and destroyed them in the compound of the Taunggyi Township Customs Department on 9 November. The contraband was 8,496 500-gram packets with the spoon brand and 320 25-kilo packets without brand. Action is being taken against the culprits.

http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/NLM-2002/enlm/Nov18_region5.html

Here is a synopsis of an early research article that led to speculation that MSG might produce more than an unpleasant reaction for some of those who consume it.

D. P. Cameron1, 2, T. K. -Y. Poon1, 2 and G. C. Smith1, 2

(1) Medical Research Centre, Prince Henry's Hospital, Melbourne

(2) Department of Anatomy, Monash University, Clayton, Australia

Received: 29 June 1976 Revised: 23 August 1976

Summary Administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) to KK mice during the neonatal period resulted in a syndrome of obesity, stunting and hypogonadism. In some animals the genetic predisposition to diabetes was unmasked with the development of marked hyperglycaemia and or hyperinsulinaemia. Food intake was not increased compared to controls. The elevated plasma glucose and insulin in fed MSG treated mice fell rapidly with food deprivation. Glucose disposal was comparable in MSG treated and control mice after IP glucose, but after oral glucose MSG treated mice showed impaired glucose tolerance. Insulin secretion was defective in MSG treated mice after IP but not after oral glucose.

Key words Obese mice - genetic diabetes - arcuate nucleus - hypothalamus - hyperinsulinaemia - mono-sodium glutamate

Supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and Novo Industri A/S

http://www.springerlink.com/content/hx17351424571701/

There are also many studies that conclude that MSG has no harmful effects. These are to be found all over the net.

I personally have no problem with any substance being sold including controlled substances that are actually illegal. I believe it is up the individual to choose what they wish to consume. I do not want any government or institution dictating to me what I can or cannot eat, smoke, drink, etc.

If I am going to buy or consume any product and there is a chance that one or more ingredient could make me sick I want to know its ingredients so that I can choose to not eat it.

MSG and I don't seem to get along too well. So I just want to avoid it as much as possible. Apparently, I am not alone in this. If others want to eat it, be my guest. However, it does make it almost impossible for me to eat in certain restaurants and to consume certain processed foods. So I not only steer clear of them but also let the restaurant owners and food manufacturers know why I am doing this.

If they choose to eliminate it from their foods then I support them and let them know why. Maybe some restaurants will put up signs reading ' We use MSG'. So far, I haven't seen this.

[adrianlondon]

Then food can taste wonderful without such 'enhancers'.

Many things are enhancers. Salt is one.

As the US economy gets weaker, one continual complaint is about the price of food. Normally, the cut-price food stores (in the UK, I don't know much about the US) and poorer people tend to concentrate on very unhealthy but cheap food. Stuff full of fat, carbohydrates, salt and probably MSG along with various other E-numbers.

It's only when a nation and its people are rich that healthier food takes off. Witness the clientelle eating in, say, Whole Foods versus that in a burger restaurant.

The current fashion in the UK is to slag off battery chickens and say you're only going to eat free range. They're expensive. Also, if everyone suddenly became rich and started eating nothing but free range chickens, where will they be cultivated? There isn't enough space. Healthy (free range, no additive) food is the preserve (oh, what a wonderful pun!) of the rich.

The poor eat what they can afford and load it with cheap additives to get flavour.

[Woodpecker]

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned crisps! Crisps always have MSG in. Walkers, McCoy's, you name it. And by the way, Beef in the U.K. is expensive. Yes, Mad Cow Disease has caused a certain amount of reserve when choosing to buy beef, but this has mainly been restricted to other countries importing it. It is freely available from most supermarkets if you want to get hold of some. There have been no reports of BSE scares in the newspapers for several years now.

[cdn_in_bj]

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned crisps! Crisps always have MSG in.

Actually, I did.. but I used the North American name for crisps. Our potato chips = your crisps, and your chips = our French fries.