Monosodium glutamate (MSG): Is it harmful?

[ravip]

We have heard of this food additive for a long time, and it does not have a good reputation.

Is there really any solid scientific tests that are available regarding its bad effects on health?

Has any country banned it?

Interesting to know the real facts. 

[KhunLA]

For most folks, no, not harmful, though some people so have reactions to it, and I believe rare.  Moderation of course.

 

It's found naturally in many foods.  I even add it to some home cooking, proteins mainly, and a nice flavor enhancer.

 

[jas007]

27 minutes ago, ravip said:

We have heard of this food additive for a long time, and it does not have a good reputation.

Is there really any solid scientific tests that are available regarding its bad effects on health?

Has any country banned it?

Interesting to know the real facts. 

One time, I ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant in San Diego and an hour or so later took a long walk on the beach.  About half an hour into the walk I had a very strong allergic reaction to something, presumably something in the food I recently ate.  I started to itch all over, my eyes were swollen almost shut. I was having trouble breathing. It was bad.  I should have gone to the hospital, but I just went home, went to bed and didn't move.  I think in was anaphylactic shock? Anyway, I usually don't have a reaction to Japanese food, but who knows what they put in there. Too much MSG?  Something in that food about did me in.  

[CallumWK]

4 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I should have gone to the hospital, but I just went home, went to bed and didn't move.  I think in was anaphylactic shock? Anyway, I usually don't have a reaction to Japanese food, but who knows what they put in there. Too much MSG?

 

Or maybe your symptoms were completely unrelated to MSG, or even the last food you consumed

[CallumWK]

39 minutes ago, ravip said:

We have heard of this food additive for a long time, and it does not have a good reputation.

Is there really any solid scientific tests that are available regarding its bad effects on health?

Has any country banned it?

Interesting to know the real facts. 

 

You don't know how to use an internet search engine?

[KhunLA]

14 minutes ago, jas007 said:

One time, I ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant in San Diego and an hour or so later took a long walk on the beach.  About half an hour into the walk I had a very strong allergic reaction to something, presumably something in the food I recently ate.  I started to itch all over, my eyes were swollen almost shut. I was having trouble breathing. It was bad.  I should have gone to the hospital, but I just went home, went to bed and didn't move.  I think in was anaphylactic shock? Anyway, I usually don't have a reaction to Japanese food, but who knows what they put in there. Too much MSG?  Something in that food about did me in.  

Did you eat any dominant seafood, maybe a few more crustaceans than you normally would, as could have been a food allergy instead.

 

 

[Moonlover]

While some people may be more sensitive to MSG than others, experts generally consider it safe, especially in smaller doses.

 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/msg-good-or-bad

[impulse]

If I suddenly feel an irresistible urge to curl up and take a nap a few minutes after a meal, I'm pretty sure they piled on the MSG.  Never happens after eating in places that don't.  Rarely (if ever) happened outside of Asia.

 

Some are sensitive, including me and most of my family.  Some, not so much.  I doubt it's harmful, but not a condition that I relish.

[jas007]

17 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Did you eat any dominant seafood, maybe a few more crustaceans than you normally would, as could have been a food allergy instead.

 When I was a little kid, I used to have a similar reaction to eating oatmeal, especially after doing some exercise or playing outside.  The doctor prescribed something similar to Benadryl. Anyway, I learned to avoid oatmeal and did OK that way, although they sometimes put oatmeal in food as one of the ingredients, and if you're not careful what you eat, you can end up in trouble.  For example, I don't eat multi-grain bread. 

 

So, I'm not sure what caused the allergy in San Diego, but it fits the usual pattern for me.  Food allergen + exercise = reaction.  The Japanese food I ate was a Yakatori lunch.  It came with some rice and a small salad, I believe.  Anyway, unless they somehow made the glaze using oatmeal as in ingredient, who knows? I'm pretty sure the lunch had something to do with it. 

[ravip]

1 hour ago, CallumWK said:

 

You don't know how to use an internet search engine?

Never heard about them.

Replies like yours make people sick of public forums. 

Thank you. Enjoy your day.

[ravip]

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

While some people may be more sensitive to MSG than others, experts generally consider it safe, especially in smaller doses.

 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/msg-good-or-bad

Exactly. I've read and heard many stories about MSG, the reason I started this thread to see what results I would get from people with first hand experience.

If I remember right, couple of decades ago MSG had a very bad reputation, but now seems to have changed.

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, jas007 said:

 When I was a little kid, I used to have a similar reaction to eating oatmeal, especially after doing some exercise or playing outside.  The doctor prescribed something similar to Benadryl. Anyway, I learned to avoid oatmeal and did OK that way, although they sometimes put oatmeal in food as one of the ingredients, and if you're not careful what you eat, you can end up in trouble.  For example, I don't eat multi-grain bread. 

 

So, I'm not sure what caused the allergy in San Diego, but it fits the usual pattern for me.  Food allergen + exercise = reaction.  The Japanese food I ate was a Yakatori lunch.  It came with some rice and a small salad, I believe.  Anyway, unless they somehow made the glaze using oatmeal as in ingredient, who knows? I'm pretty sure the lunch had something to do with it. 

As a kid, I ate a whole blueberry pie once .. little piggy, and broke out in hives.  For years I thought I was allergic, and avoided.  It was just that I OD'd on them, that time.   Love blueberries and eat frequently, with not issues.

 

Thankfully not allergic to any foods.   I'd be reading labels, and with that, be careful, and what out for oat flour, though doubt if used too much, as pricier.   Anyone pushing a 'healthier' menu might use it though.

 

HAPPY MUNCHING

[xylophone]

54 minutes ago, ravip said:

Exactly. I've read and heard many stories about MSG, the reason I started this thread to see what results I would get from people with first hand experience.

If I remember right, couple of decades ago MSG had a very bad reputation, but now seems to have changed.

On one of my earlier visits to Patong, I met up with a friend from Oz and a couple of his Thai girl friends and we went to a Thai restaurant which in those days was amongst quite a few Thai restaurants behind Bangla Road.

 

Not long after finishing the meal (and I do like spicy food) I started to get symptoms similar to flu with a raw throat, runny nose and not feeling particularly well, so I went home. All over and done with the next day, and a couple of days later we met up with the girls again and went to the same restaurant and the same thing happened to me, so I decided to take a look around the corner of the "kitchen" where the cook was preparing the food and I actually saw him add about half a ladle of MSG to the dish he was stir frying!!

 

As it was a favourite restaurant of the girls, my friend and I accompanied them one more time and I specifically asked the waitress "No MSG" please, and she must have complied because I had no ill effects.

 

I did a bit of research on MSG and the symptoms I experienced were typical of an MSG "overdose", I say "overdose" because I like strong cheeses and Thai food and have never been affected by it since, even though occasionally I add a little bit of MSG to my Thai cooking.

 

Everything in moderation and with me it's definitely the case with MSG.
 

[NativeBob]

the "amazing taste" of thai food is solely based on MSG. take it away and you shall get salty dirty water or just a freaking mess of something. 

Healthy or unhealthy >>> who cares? Just avoid it.

[ravip]

6 minutes ago, xylophone said:

On one of my earlier visits to Patong, I met up with a friend from Oz and a couple of his Thai girl friends and we went to a Thai restaurant which in those days was amongst quite a few Thai restaurants behind Bangla Road.

 

Not long after finishing the meal (and I do like spicy food) I started to get symptoms similar to flu with a raw throat, runny nose and not feeling particularly well, so I went home. All over and done with the next day, and a couple of days later we met up with the girls again and went to the same restaurant and the same thing happened to me, so I decided to take a look around the corner of the "kitchen" where the cook was preparing the food and I actually saw him add about half a ladle of MSG to the dish he was stir frying!!

 

As it was a favourite restaurant of the girls, my friend and I accompanied them one more time and I specifically asked the waitress "No MSG" please, and she must have complied because I had no ill effects.

 

I did a bit of research on MSG and the symptoms I experienced were typical of an MSG "overdose", I say "overdose" because I like strong cheeses and Thai food and have never been affected by it since, even though occasionally I add a little bit of MSG to my Thai cooking.

 

Everything in moderation and with me it's definitely the case with MSG.
 

Everything in moderation and with me it's definitely the case with MSG. - That's one good rule of the thumb, I believe.

[ravip]

Seems there are foods that "trigger" MSG toxicity in sensitive individuals.

 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5938543/