I know Thai cooking makes generous usage of MSG, and that's something that I just don't prefer in my food. I have noticed my heart rate elevate and a flushing feeling every time I have had foods which have MSG in them. Whatever the scientific data has to say, imo its best to avoid if unsure what exactly it does. So, can anyone tell me how can I ask no MSG when I walk into a restaurant?

EDIT: I will also love to hear about other people's opinion on MSG, is it something you prefer in your food? Is it really "dangerous" even in normal everyday consumption?

Edited April 17, 201313 yr by carlspencer

Mai sai, pong shoe rod (crap).

Mai ... tone ending up

sai ... tone ending up

pong ... tone neutral (even)

shoe ... tone neutral (even)

rod ... tone ending up

As for me ... I just get 'wacky dreams' if they pile it in, or I eat it late at night.

Hope that helps.

.

Mai sai, pong shoe rod (crap).

Mai ... tone ending up

sai ... tone ending up

pong ... tone neutral (even)

shoe ... tone neutral (even)

rod ... tone ending up

As for me ... I just get 'wacky dreams' if they pile it in, or I eat it late at night.

Hope that helps.

.

Close, but MSG is actually ผงชูรส or pong (rising tone) chuu (neutral) rot (high tone)

So, "mai sai pong chuu rot".

^^ Thanks for that clarification ... I'll just mention to my Thai girlfriend that she speaks Thai incorrectly ...

Reassurance that they will omit MSG from your order is no guarantee that it won't contain MSG. There is a curious oriental habit of saying yes to everything you request but failing to comply with the request. It's easier to say yes because it makes the customer happy. Try insisting that your eggs are protein free and see what happens! I'll bet they say "yes no problem".

Just how much food generally has MSG? Is it restaurants we need to watch out for or food vendors too?

food vendors too

Another word that Thais use for MSG is............MSG.

Check the photo below. Second line in the brackets (เอ็มเอสจี) reads M S G.

. Even if they don't add MSG in its powdered form you will still get some from the MSG in sauces like Maggis seasoning , oyster sauce etc. MSG also occurs natually , altho in a slightly different chemical composition, in Tomatoes, prawns and other shell fish, oranges and many other fruit, vegetables and foods.

There have been numerous debates about MSG on TV before and the end result is usually to agree to disagree.

In a previous life my ex wife and I ran Thai restaurants in Sydney and we never added MSG because

• we would like to believe a good cook doesnot need to add a flavour enhancer like MSG
• The majority of our customers were innercity, well educated professional people who in main choose not to have MSG so it was a draw to our restaurants.
• The risk of inducing a reaction is too great and being sued (altho we had insurance ) is not worth the risk.

It is interesting to note the correlations between asthma, migraine, gout, arthritus and other common ailments . It is however very random and many people have different tolerances to MSG and i believe in many cases that your intolerance can be lessened by using small doses of MSG rather like homepathic medicine. It is my theory and no way scientifically based and probably the only way to find out what reactions MSG causes is to take a log the reactions .

Mai sai, pong shoe rod (crap).

Mai ... tone ending up

sai ... tone ending up

pong ... tone neutral (even)

shoe ... tone neutral (even)

rod ... tone ending up

As for me ... I just get 'wacky dreams' if they pile it in, or I eat it late at night.

Hope that helps.

.

Thanks! yes that does help, I only hope now that the restaurants I go to will comply

Edited April 18, 201313 yr by carlspencer

Numerous and creditable studies recently have shown that SMG doesn't harm your health

what so ever, and there is nothing to worry about from consuming MSG in moderation,

further more, those studies have shown that 2 groups of diners could not tell the different between

dishes prepared with MSG to the dishes prepared with out,

and on a lighter note, if you do not wish to have MSG in your food you should ASK FOR MSG TO

BE ADDED TO YOUR FOOD, as normally, Thai cooks do the opposites of what I have asked for.

mdg has been proven to be carceagenic, in other words causes cancer.

"I have noticed my heart rate elevate and a flushing feeling every time I have had foods which have MSG in them."

Exactly the same thing happens to me and now I try to stay away from it. I try to order food that generally does not need much MSG. Food courts seem to be fond users of MSG in my experience. Where the food sits and needs to stay tasty for a long time...

Ive seen some studies on MSG proving it very unhealthy as well.

"I have noticed my heart rate elevate and a flushing feeling every time I have had foods which have MSG in them."

Exactly the same thing happens to me and now I try to stay away from it. I try to order food that generally does not need much MSG. Food courts seem to be fond users of MSG in my experience. Where the food sits and needs to stay tasty for a long time...

Ive seen some studies on MSG proving it very unhealthy as well.

It affects me as well, but not in that way, however I get a dry throat and a headache, which later on results in a "flu-like" feeling.

Numerous Internet searches have shown that there are many people affected by MSG, although some research tends to think it is harmless, but for my money there are far too many people posting about side-effects for it to be dismissed lightly. Not only that if you see the amount of MSG which is spooned into the Thai cooking, along with that which is already contained within the seasoning sauces, it would make you cringe.

One particular Thai restaurant a lady friend of mine used to like to frequent always ended up with me feeling unwell, and when I looked into the kitchen at one dish being prepared, a heaped dessertspoon of MSG was added to the dish!! I decided to give it one more try and asked for no MSG, which was duly noted, however I looked at the Cook preparing a meal and in went the MSG as per usual so have never been back to that restaurant.

"I will also love to hear about other people's opinion on MSG,"

It tastes lovely

There is no such thing as an "allergy to MSG".

Broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, inosinate, guanylate, and autolyzed yeast extract, parmesan

cheese and a host of other foods are all sources of monosodium glutamate (MSG).Why do people

who are "allergic" to MSG not get any reactions to these foods ?

It is amazing what the mind can do to the body !

^^ Thanks for that clarification ... I'll just mention to my Thai girlfriend that she speaks Thai incorrectly ...

Maybe she's from Isaan, where 'ch' becomes 's'. The cool kids in Bangkok have taken to doing it too -- for 'Chitlom' I now often hear 'Shitlom'.

Mai sai phong shou roat or bahasa Indonesia jangan pakai fichin ya..................MSG is extremely dangerous to many people. I've had 2 major MSG attacks, once in Bangkok in 2002 and again in Nakorn si Thammarat in 2008. The Nakorn Dr's strapped a heartbeat monitor on me for 24 yrs and the results we're frightening with my heart racing to high's 155 beats per min to a low of 40 beats. The Dr wanted to put me on beta blockers but in the end I refused instead changed my diet to poached eggs and steamed white rice and slowly started to feel better. I've had numerous MSG illness, you name it, I've had it. I finally moved to Bali which is pretty much MSG free and have fully recovered. On the other hand it is an amazing drug as it can truly convince you that something that is garbage tastes good and that is worth money, barrels of money...........JP

It just makes me thirsty, like too much salt, especially after eating noodle soup. In Laos it's added to virtually everything as they believe MSG or 'Knorr' makes it taste better. They even use it a 'dry dip' for fresh vegetable snacks. You will only avoid it by eating at home where you will personally need to oversee food preparation. Never rely on verbal compliance!

Edited April 19, 201313 yr by laobali

Broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, inosinate, guanylate, and autolyzed yeast extract, parmesan

cheese and a host of other foods are all sources of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

No they're not. What they contain is L-glutamic acid. MSG doesn't occur in nature.

Numerous and creditable studies recently have shown that SMG doesn't harm your health

what so ever, and there is nothing to worry about from consuming MSG in moderation,

further more, those studies have shown that 2 groups of diners could not tell the different between

dishes prepared with MSG to the dishes prepared with out,

and on a lighter note, if you do not wish to have MSG in your food you should ASK FOR MSG TO

BE ADDED TO YOUR FOOD, as normally, Thai cooks do the opposites of what I have asked for.

You must work for the food industry........MSG is cumulative, to start with you might only feel drowsy after eating, followed by mood swings, once you've reached this point, don't drink alcohol as it will trigger mean spiritness or worse, followed by shortness of breath, headaches, chest pressure, palpitations, hot flash, confusion and finally you've hit the big time, when your heart is mis- firing, scary Sh#t, arrhythmia.no fun at all full on panic mode. I've counseled more then 40 people (all expats) who've spent too many years eating the poison and the most receent was a 32 yr old marathon runner, who flew to Singapore thinking his heart was kaput. The food industry is all about money be careful what you consume. JP

Broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, inosinate, guanylate, and autolyzed yeast extract, parmesan

cheese and a host of other foods are all sources of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

No they're not. What they contain is L-glutamic acid. MSG doesn't occur in nature.

Correct...

Mai sai, pong shoe rod (crap).

Mai ... tone ending up

sai ... tone ending up

pong ... tone neutral (even)

shoe ... tone neutral (even)

rod ... tone ending up

As for me ... I just get 'wacky dreams' if they pile it in, or I eat it late at night.

Hope that helps.

.

The negation is mai with tone ending/falling down in thai, ending/climbing up is the word for silk!

There is no such thing as an "allergy to MSG".

Broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, inosinate, guanylate, and autolyzed yeast extract, parmesan

cheese and a host of other foods are all sources of monosodium glutamate (MSG).Why do people

who are "allergic" to MSG not get any reactions to these foods ?

It is amazing what the mind can do to the body !

Actually there are recent studies that are connecting kidney disease and kidney failure with msg.

And they do no exist in nature...my cousin is a professor in biochemistry and a doctor in internal medicine she told me the opposite of what you said it can also disprupt function in the endocrine system she said, adding that there are two things that should never cross your lips into your mouth and those are aspartame and msg.

Mai sai, pong shoe rod (crap).

Mai ... tone ending up

sai ... tone ending up

pong ... tone neutral (even)

shoe ... tone neutral (even)

rod ... tone ending up

As for me ... I just get 'wacky dreams' if they pile it in, or I eat it late at night.

Hope that helps.

.

Close, but MSG is actually ผงชูรส or pong (rising tone) chuu (neutral) rot (high tone)

So, "mai sai pong chuu rot".

I second that. And the "mai" is actually a falling tone.

Good luck with telling the waitress etc that you do not want MSG. I frequently say that I do not want tomatoes but they still put it on my plate 9 times out of ten, and before anyone asks, yes I do say it in Thai.

personally i don't eat thai food that often so haven't noticed i prefer my own cooking,also after spending some time in the village and seeing the family what they eat, tripe and other stuff the sort of ingredients that i feed my dog in the uk, some how a mc d junk food looks so good

Is MSG not harmfull?

Reminds me the decades of dispute if smoking is harmfull.

Yes both are harnfull.

Haim

mdg has been proven to be carceagenic, in other words causes cancer.

Any chance of any links to this proof ?

Funny this question....I normally ask for 'extra MSG' when I order food....