The Myth of MSG

[xylophone]

Quote Tim Armstrong: "For sure there is an overuse of pesticides. But surprisingly good fish still come from the canals besides the rice paddies, and whatever Thais are doing, they are not obese, except for mainly young people growing ever more used to fast food. If you go to any market ( there are many) near our house, the food is fresher than any supermarket food, which takes at least 3 days to get there. I have only once in 13 years been sick from street food, and we knew we shouldn't eat there, but were very hungry".

Not meaning to be cantankerous Tim, however fertiliser and pesticides and anything else used in the rice paddies drains into the water and contaminates it, and the fish as well.

Also the report in my previous post stated that pesticides and herbicides found in vegetables sold in fresh markets, smaller local markets and even those sold from the back of pickup trucks and some labelled fresh, are not, and contain chemicals harmful to health. So you may buy the food near your house from a local market, but that is not to say that it is not contaminated far above that which is healthy for you.

The problem with things like this is that chemicals like this can take a long time to manifest themselves as an illness/condition in your body, by which time it is probably a little too late.

[MJP]

I like MSG, but I know what it does to me later, so I usually avoid it. I can tell when I have had MSG. Serious gut cramps about 5 hours later, and a strong thirst.

A friend of mine quit MSG and her headaches disappeared. They reappear when MSG is ingested.

Obviously it effects different people in different ways. Moderation is the way to go, unless you have serious reactions.

It won't kill you.

MSG causes an extreme insulin response. If you're getting that kind of reaction to MSG, best get a diabetic check to see if you're pre-diabetic. Just sayin' is all. I've been diabetic for seven years now and it's really no fun at all. Best catch early.

MSG causes a very large insulin response after it is ingested since there are glutamate receptors in the pancreas.

http://www.msgtruth.org/diabetes.htm

Edited November 16, 2013 by MJP

[attrayant]

so keep on eating the garbage it must be good for you !!!! ...I stopped with this poison years ago and felt the benifit after about 2 weeks.

MSG is a chemical produced to trick the brain that bland food is good ..nothing else, why would i want my brain tricked when I can eat good healty food?

Salt = sodium and chlorine. Has an LD50 of 3 grams per kg in rats.

Sodium: a soft, toxic metal that explodes on contact with water.

Chlorine: a highly poisonous gas that can cause contact burns to skin, eyes and lungs when inhaled.

MSG - has an LD50 of 15 grams per kg in rats.

In other words, salt is five times more "poisonous" than MSG.

[attrayant]

I am not eating any MSG as it is a poison, just as artificial sweeteners, HFCS, colourants, flavourings and other chemical additives are!!

It's easy to casually toss around alarmist words like "toxic" and "poison". So easy, in fact, that we forget those words have clinical definitions.

Ordinary, "natural" (I put quotes around that word because there are people out there who think that just because something is "natural", it must automatically be good for you) table sugar has a median lethal dose (LD50) of about 30 grams per kg in rats. That means when that amount of sugar was fed to rats, it killed half of them.

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) has an LD50 of 12 grams per kg. But wait, I thought vitamin C was a vital nutrient! How can it be toxic?

Do you drink coffee? You better hold on to your hat. Caffeine has an LD50 of two-tenths of a gram per kg of subject body weight.

And - get ready - water has an LD50 of 90 grams per kg of rodent body weight. Extrapolating to human body mass, that works out to 8 liters of water having a 50% chance of putting you in the ground.

So what is the moral of the story? Toxicity is not an intrinsic quality of a substance, rather it is a function of the dosage. Too little vitamin C and you're dead (eventually). But too much is "toxic".

Why on earth would anyone want to ingest toxic artificial substances that the body cannot metabolise?

Artificial substances - another culinary boogeyman. Plant fiber (cellulose) is completely indigestible by the human body. But we eat loads of it and we seem to be okay.

Others chiming in with stories about your friend's friend or neighbor or dear old auntie's experience should proceed with caution, and remember that the plural of anecdote is not data, and that correlation does not imply causation.

Expressing opinion is one thing. But framing your personal anecdote as an objective truth is quite another.

Edited November 16, 2013 by attrayant

[attrayant]

MSG is a poison worse than cigarettes and Alcohol. You may want to do a little more research. Here is 1 of many links that will confirm that it is indeed extremely bad for your body.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/21/msg-is-this-silent-killer-lurking-in-your-kitchen-cabinets.aspx

Sorry, a link to a quack selling snake oil doesn't confirm anything. Mercola is a well-known anti-vaccination nut and even questions whether HIV is the cause of AIDS. The wiki intro on him is enlightening:

Joseph M. Mercola is an alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and web entrepreneur who markets a variety of controversial dietary supplements and medical devices through his website. Mercola criticizes many aspects of standard medical practice, such as vaccination and the use of prescription drugs and surgery to treat diseases.

(snipped for brevity)

If a link to a commercial quack site all it takes to provide "proof" of some unsubstantiated claim, then I can furnish "proof" that the Earth is flat.

Edited November 16, 2013 by attrayant

[manarak]

My wife is a food scientist with 13+ years experience and she strictly warned me not to feed any such food with MSG added in it to our baby?

Are you expert of that level?

If so, kindly elaborate.

Never feed any ...

Only rarely can truth be expressed in absolute terms.

[manarak]

so keep on eating the garbage it must be good for you !!!! ...I stopped with this poison years ago and felt the benifit after about 2 weeks.

MSG is a chemical produced to trick the brain that bland food is good ..nothing else, why would i want my brain tricked when I can eat good healty food?

Salt = sodium and chlorine. Has an LD50 of 3 grams per kg in rats.

Sodium: a soft, toxic metal that explodes on contact with water.

Chlorine: a highly poisonous gas that can cause contact burns to skin, eyes and lungs when inhaled.

MSG - has an LD50 of 15 grams per kg in rats.

In other words, salt is five times more "poisonous" than MSG.

Another highly explosive substance that is practically everywhere is Hydrogen!

I never warn enough about the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide !

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

[SageYoung]

so keep on eating the garbage it must be good for you !!!! ...I stopped with this poison years ago and felt the benifit after about 2 weeks.

MSG is a chemical produced to trick the brain that bland food is good ..nothing else, why would i want my brain tricked when I can eat good healty food?

Salt = sodium and chlorine. Has an LD50 of 3 grams per kg in rats.

Sodium: a soft, toxic metal that explodes on contact with water.

Chlorine: a highly poisonous gas that can cause contact burns to skin, eyes and lungs when inhaled.

MSG - has an LD50 of 15 grams per kg in rats.

In other words, salt is five times more "poisonous" than MSG.

Are you a shill for MSG interests? Far be it from me to criticize, but this has gotta be about the most flawed, foolish logic I've ever heard on the topic.

Hydrogen and Oxygen carry none of the same properties as H2O (water)

Sodium and chlorine seperate carry none of the same properties as NACL (salt).

Chemistry just doesn't work with your logic my friend.

Here's the reality...

Salt, full spectrum mineral salt, is long been a necessary source of natural minerals in our diet. Deny any mammal salt, and they go to great lengths to get those minerals, chewing wood, dirt, ashes... anything.

The same applies to humans. Full sepctrum, none-processed salt is a critical source of minerals for humans.

MSG is a chemical neurotoxin. Plain and simple.

To equate the 2 could not be more flawed logic.

[attrayant]

Regarding the chemistry, I am well aware that compounds acquire characteristics that are different from their constituent elements. It was hyperbole poking fun at the wingnuts who look at the name of a substance, see something that looks like a scary chemical or "unnatural" (ooh, scary!) and assume instant death from ingestion.

I shall make a mental note to watch my use of hyperbole as many people don't understand it for what it is.

MSG is a chemical neurotoxin. Plain and simple.

Cite or retract. And by cite, I mean from peer-reviewed research. Not from blogs, opinion articles or quack sites that have something to sell.

I like how you toss in the word "chemical" as if that automatically makes a substance bad. Would a "natural" neurotoxin be better? If not, then why bother to add the word "chemical" at all? Because it sounds scarier, that's why!

All matter in existence is a chemical, or is composed of them. As has already been said in this thread, MSG the salt of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring (i.e. not artificial) amino acid.

[SageYoung]

Regarding the chemistry, I am well aware that compounds acquire characteristics that are different from their constituent elements. It was hyperbole poking fun at the wingnuts who look at the name of a substance, see something that looks like a scary chemical or "unnatural" (ooh, scary!) and assume instant death from ingestion.

I shall make a mental note to watch my use of hyperbole as many people don't understand it for what it is.

MSG is a chemical neurotoxin. Plain and simple.

Cite or retract. And by cite, I mean from peer-reviewed research. Not from blogs, opinion articles or quack sites that have something to sell.

I like how you toss in the word "chemical" as if that automatically makes a substance bad. Would a "natural" neurotoxin be better? If not, then why bother to add the word "chemical" at all? Because it sounds scarier, that's why!

All matter in existence is a chemical, or is composed of them. As has already been said in this thread, MSG the salt of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring (i.e. not artificial) amino acid.

There are plenty of studies to "prove" both sides of this argument. Seperating the shill studies from the true science is the trick though. And because so much is vailed the true interests behind the studies are hard to pin down.

Having said that, do your own #$%^ test.... you're so confident MSG isn't a neuro toxin... then $$%& prove it.

Get a baseline metric of your computation & reaction times from any of the hundreds of online sources. (Stay off msg for at least a week before doing this). Then have whatever you consider is a reasonable and safe dose of msg.

Then run the tests again. Watch for yourself your metrics plummet!

Edited November 17, 2013 by SageYoung

[attrayant]

And by the way, you'll get a better quality of scientific research if you use Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com

[attrayant]

Having said that, do your own #$%^ test

You know what? I believe the Earth to be spherical, even though I've never personally performed any tests to verify that it is. I have a day job, you know. So what options am I left with? Go with the 99.99% of astronomers and geologists who tell me that the Earth is round? Or the .01% who insist that it's flat? The answer is best left as a though experiment for the reader.

That is why we have hundreds of thousands of scientists all over the world. Yes you have to be wary of the occasional unscrupulous scientist with an agenda, but when the vast preponderance of the evidence shows a clear result, that's what we go with. Unless you're going to posit that all of them are on the take. And if that is one's position, then we're venturing into conspiracy theory territory and I don't much care to participate in those kinds of discussions. That is best left to professional pig wrestlers.

And what's all this about shills and shill studies? Is there some Powerful Global MSG Cartel that I'm unaware of?

[SageYoung]

Having said that, do your own #$%^ test

And what's all this about shills and shill studies? Is there some Powerful Global MSG Cartel that I'm unaware of?

Seems you are...

To believe science, politics, & economics are seperate in todays world is pure idealistic fantasy.

You belief in science without a cricital eye you'll be played like a pawn... and suffer the result of that ingorance.

A few examples to jog your memory...

Thalidomide: Had plenty of "studies" to prove it was safe too.

Smoking: Plenty of "studies" claimed it was good for you... even promoted by doctors as healthy.

Gardasil: Yep, sure proved to be as safe as the "studies" claimed.

Cell phone radiation: I'm sure it's gotta be as safe as they say (despite a simple reflex test proving it kills reflex response by 50% or more). Ignore your own test. All the "studies" and "science" PROOF cell phones are safe... nothing to see here...move along.

Aspertame, MSG's cousin: That sure as hell doesn't have a lobby behind it, nor a host of doctors claiming it to be "safe". The scientists could never be politically/economically motivated. (Yet even so, pilots are forbidden to drink it on or before flights.) I guess for practical reasons the FFA can't buy into the science behind aspertame as "safe".... I'm sure they would if they could.

Next on the list...

GMO's... of course, cows dropping like flies after eating GMO crops... that couldn't possible contradict all the "science" that proves GMO's are safe. No, those scientists could never be politically motivated either. Those animals must be dying from something else.

...no worries... you're safe mate... MSG's safe too... you have plenty of "scientists" to assure you of that.

Edited November 17, 2013 by SageYoung

[partington]

Having said that, do your own #$%^ test

And what's all this about shills and shill studies? Is there some Powerful Global MSG Cartel that I'm unaware of?

Seems you are...

To believe science, politics, & economics are seperate in todays world is pure idealistic fantasy.

You belief in science without a cricital eye you'll be played like a pawn... and suffer the result of that ingorance.

A few examples to jog your memory...

Thalidomide: Had plenty of "studies" to prove it was safe too.

Smoking: Plenty of "studies" claimed it was good for you... even promoted by doctors as healthy.

Gardasil: Yep, sure proved to be as safe as the "studies" claimed.

Cell phone radiation: I'm sure it's gotta be as safe as they say (despite a simple reflex test proving it kills reflex response by 50% or more). Ignore your own test. All the "studies" and "science" PROOF cell phones are safe... nothing to see here...move along.

Aspertame, MSG's cousin: That sure as hell doesn't have a lobby behind it, nor a host of doctors claiming it to be "safe". The scientists could never be politically/economically motivated. (Yet even so, pilots are forbidden to drink it on or before flights.) I guess for practical reasons the FFA can't buy into the science behind aspertame as "safe".... I'm sure they would if they could.

Next on the list...

GMO's... of course, cows dropping like flies after eating GMO crops... that couldn't possible contradict all the "science" that proves GMO's are safe. No, those scientists could never be politically motivated either. Those animals must be dying from something else.

...no worries... you're safe mate... MSG's safe too... you have plenty of "scientists" to assure you of that.

You do understand that glutamate is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter right? That your own nerve cells make it and package it and secrete it to transmit nerve impulses? That glutamate is secreted intentionally at gaps between nerve cells in order for your brain to function correctly? (hint look up "glutamate receptors")

That your blood has glutamate in it at all times as a perfectly normal and natural component, because glutamate is produced from proteins after every single meal you eat through digestion, because glutamate is one of the 20 amino acids that make up every protein, and that your digestive enzymes break down proteins to their constituent amino acids?

That there is glutamate present in high concentrations in both cows milk and human breast milk, and it is unlikely evolution would design milk to contain poison?

And before you tell me it this glutamate is a different chemical composition to that in MSG, it is not. This is mythological. It is exactly the same (the L-stereoisomer if you want the details). In studies where they measure changes in blood concentration of glutamate following ingestion of MSG they use the same chemical test to measure glutamate in the blood before eating MSG and after, and there is no way of telling apart chemically the glutamate coming from digesting a pork chop or eating MSG.

[xylophone]

I have a great deal of respect for partington and what he says, having followed some of his posts In other forums, so I would go with his explanation.

However what I have taken from this discussion and others of similar ilk, is that although msg is a natural substance, too much of it can have an effect on some folk, me included. So I simply stay away from the restaurants where I see the cook happily ladling in huge quantities of the stuff when he is cooking.

There are plenty of natural substances and foods which affect people in different ways, for example 2 cups of coffee a day and I will be awake all night; chocolate and red capsicums give me reflux etc, so surely the thing is not trying to decide if something is good or bad in general, but how it affects the individual, and if it does affect individual, then stay away from it.

[SageYoung]

Having said that, do your own #$%^ test

And what's all this about shills and shill studies? Is there some Powerful Global MSG Cartel that I'm unaware of?

Seems you are...

To believe science, politics, & economics are seperate in todays world is pure idealistic fantasy.

You belief in science without a cricital eye you'll be played like a pawn... and suffer the result of that ingorance.

A few examples to jog your memory...

Thalidomide: Had plenty of "studies" to prove it was safe too.

Smoking: Plenty of "studies" claimed it was good for you... even promoted by doctors as healthy.

Gardasil: Yep, sure proved to be as safe as the "studies" claimed.

Cell phone radiation: I'm sure it's gotta be as safe as they say (despite a simple reflex test proving it kills reflex response by 50% or more). Ignore your own test. All the "studies" and "science" PROOF cell phones are safe... nothing to see here...move along.

Aspertame, MSG's cousin: That sure as hell doesn't have a lobby behind it, nor a host of doctors claiming it to be "safe". The scientists could never be politically/economically motivated. (Yet even so, pilots are forbidden to drink it on or before flights.) I guess for practical reasons the FFA can't buy into the science behind aspertame as "safe".... I'm sure they would if they could.

Next on the list...

GMO's... of course, cows dropping like flies after eating GMO crops... that couldn't possible contradict all the "science" that proves GMO's are safe. No, those scientists could never be politically motivated either. Those animals must be dying from something else.

...no worries... you're safe mate... MSG's safe too... you have plenty of "scientists" to assure you of that.

You do understand that glutamate is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter right? That your own nerve cells make it and package it and secrete it to transmit nerve impulses? That glutamate is secreted intentionally at gaps between nerve cells in order for your brain to function correctly? (hint look up "glutamate receptors")

That your blood has glutamate in it at all times as a perfectly normal and natural component, because glutamate is produced from proteins after every single meal you eat through digestion, because glutamate is one of the 20 amino acids that make up every protein, and that your digestive enzymes break down proteins to their constituent amino acids?

That there is glutamate present in high concentrations in both cows milk and human breast milk, and it is unlikely evolution would design milk to contain poison?

And before you tell me it this glutamate is a different chemical composition to that in MSG, it is not. This is mythological. It is exactly the same (the L-stereoisomer if you want the details). In studies where they measure changes in blood concentration of glutamate following ingestion of MSG they use the same chemical test to measure glutamate in the blood before eating MSG and after, and there is no way of telling apart chemically the glutamate coming from digesting a pork chop or eating MSG.

The exact same argument is made about synthetic vitamins. Yet they act entirely differently in the system. Recent studies of synthetic vitamin E prove this.

In the end, all that really matters with MSG is the biological effect.

It's a neurotoxin… plain and simple. If you doubt it, run your own experiments.

A simple reflex test will prove its neuro toxic effect.

…or you can trust all the "science" that claims otherwise (tongue in cheek).

Edited November 18, 2013 by SageYoung

[attrayant]

To believe science, politics, & economics are seperate in todays world is pure idealistic fantasy. You belief in science without a cricital eye you'll be played like a pawn... and suffer the result of that ingorance.

So instead of putting my trust in tens of thousand of scientists who peer-review each other's work (any one of who would be dying to find a mistake in a published paper), I should put my trust in some folks on the Internet, whose credentials are unknown? Sorry, that's not going to happen.

Thalidomide: Had plenty of "studies" to prove it was safe too.

Smoking: Plenty of "studies" claimed it was good for you... even promoted by doctors as healthy.

Gardasil: Yep, sure proved to be as safe as the "studies" claimed.

Cell phone radiation: I'm sure it's gotta be as safe as they say (despite a simple reflex test proving it kills reflex response by 50% or more). Ignore your own test. All the "studies" and "science" PROOF cell phones are safe... nothing to see here...move along.

Some of your statements lack scientific rigor. Plenty of studies? How many is "plenty"? What kind of studies? Clinical trials? Double-blind and controlled? Taste tests? Anyway that is all outside of the scope of this discussion.

The thing about science is that it's self-correcting. As you correctly note - some things initially considered safe are later found to be questionable (remember the appetite suppressant fen-phen?). When that happens, the knowledge base is updated and everybody gets a little bit smarter. The point of this thread is that, with regard to MSG, this has not yet happened. And until data comes in that shows clear correlation and causation, I remain unconvinced by anecdotal claims made on the internet.

I've got a better one for you: Go read the story of N-Rays. In their quest for notoriety, scientists allowed themselves to be fooled into "seeing" a form of radiation that did not, in fact, exist. However, when exposed to the peer review process, the truth quickly came out. Science made the mistake, and science corrected the mistake.

Aspertame, MSG's cousin:

I really don't want to get into aspartame as this thread is too deep in the weeds already. But I am curious as to what metric you use to classify two chemical compounds as cousins. I scanned their structures and aside from both being organic compounds, I don't see much of a kinship.

That kind of talk (aimed at proving danger via relationship with some other questionable substance) reminds me of the people say that margarine [or whatever scary food you want to demonize] is one molecule away from being plastic. The proper response to which is: "yeah, so what?" Breathable oxygen (O₂) and deadly ozone (O₃) are only different by a single atom. So the "death by similarity" tactic is really not a good way to "prove" how dangerous something is.

Edited November 18, 2013 by attrayant

[partington]

I have a great deal of respect for partington and what he says, having followed some of his posts In other forums, so I would go with his explanation.

However what I have taken from this discussion and others of similar ilk, is that although msg is a natural substance, too much of it can have an effect on some folk, me included. So I simply stay away from the restaurants where I see the cook happily ladling in huge quantities of the stuff when he is cooking.

There are plenty of natural substances and foods which affect people in different ways, for example 2 cups of coffee a day and I will be awake all night; chocolate and red capsicums give me reflux etc, so surely the thing is not trying to decide if something is good or bad in general, but how it affects the individual, and if it does affect individual, then stay away from it.

This is a very rational response and I agree completely. If something disagrees with you, you should avoid it.

And yes, even though salt is not "poison", and nor is fructose "poison", and nor is water, I would not disagree with anyone who said consuming too much of any of these things can do you harm, even though they are all natural compounds. So it is not impossible that MSG could do you harm in vast excess. I am sceptical because for me the evidence isn't convincing, but seriously if something makes you feel bad it's just sensible not to eat it.

Your example of eating capsicums is a good one. You don't need to claim that capsicums are the equivalent of anthrax to say that they don't agree with you.

What I dislike is the accumulation of totally false, totally exaggerated scare stories about MSG ( or anything else) that are a feature of awful websites like Mercola's, and which encourages people to believe any old rubbish with no scientific verification.

Clearly countries where the people eat 3-6 kg of MSG a year like China are not exhibiting vastly different health profiles to for example, Norway, where they don't. It does have to be questioned why Chinese people don't get headaches all the time, or exhibit strange neurological phenomena.

And why we have a fifth major type of taste bud (umami) on our tongues in addition to those for salt, sweet, sour, and bitter, that is only for binding and responding to glutamate in food, clearly designed by evolution to make us find foods containing glutamate nice to eat...

[attrayant]

The exact same argument is made about synthetic vitamins. Yet they act entirely differently in the system. Recent studies of synthetic vitamin E prove this.

That's not really the "exact same" argument. Synthetic E is chemically different from alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol, which are the two most common types of naturally occurring E. DL-alpha-tocopherol (the synthetic) is less easily metabolized, and therefore has lower bio-availability. So the difference in effectiveness is not really surprising there.

It's a neurotoxin plain and simple. If you doubt it, run your own experiments.

And the Earth is flat. I swear it. You have to believe me until you personally run your own experiments. Don't trust those millions of elitist scientists who obviously have some political agenda to push.

or you can trust all the "science" that claims otherwise (tongue in cheek).

When you put science in scare quotes like that, I get mental images of somebody adjusting his tinfoil hat.

(tongue in cheek)

[MJP]

I just know that, as someone with Type II diabetes, even a small dose of MSG causes acute diabetic symptoms to erupt. I can't go near the stuff.

[tw25rw]

I just love conspiracy theories. If your countries' western style food industry was being threatened by an 'Asian' takeover of cheap, filling, fresh and generally healthy food, and your local shopping centre was suddenly awash with Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese restaurants - would you be worried ? So why not find something wrong with the food ?

Sound familiar. What about the anti dairy lobby, or the anti beef, or pork lobby. Funny I haven't yet heard about chicken or fish, except for KFC. As far as I can tell there has never been ONE reliably documented case of a human dying from eating MSG.

Don't forget the "Fruitarians"! They believe that fruits have feelings, so they will only eat fruit that has fallen from the tree or bush. Personally, I only eat vegetarians, such as cows, pigs, and lamb.

Maybe some weird ones. Most just do it because it's healthy and enjoyable.

[thailandbeachisland]

Yes, animals meat full of antibiotics and fish fed with polluted food made with fish from Baltic sea that nobody wants to eat is also a myth.

As well as pesticide to treat the salmon that would die otherwise ?

All myth !!!

So wise :-)

Edited November 24, 2013 by thailandbeachisland

[lomatopo]

MSG has been around for ~ 100 years, and has been highly-studied. Suspect studies are probably influenced positively or negatively based on sponsorship and (pre-) bias.

I'm thinking if it were really bad, we'd see the results, especially in countries like Thailand, where the indigenous usage is probably pretty high per capita, and Thais seem unaffected. Ajinomoto manufactures billions of kilos of the stuff here - I see 50 kilo sacks re-used for construction detritus or sand-bags; and a lot of Thai food, especially protein that's gone off, taste a lot better when it is used. On many occasions I've commented positively on dishes here, only to be advised later when asking for a recipe, that MSG plays a significant part in the flavor profile.

Most packaged-prepared foods are labeled as having MSG so it is easy to avoid, or enjoy.

Some restaurants offer MSG-free entrees, preparation or entire menus.

It may be more challenging to get Thai food in typical preparations without MSG. In fact, your request may be interpreted to mean that you want extra MSG!

[bunnydrops]

so keep on eating the garbage it must be good for you !!!! ...I stopped with this poison years ago and felt the benifit after about 2 weeks.

MSG is a chemical produced to trick the brain that bland food is good ..nothing else, why would i want my brain tricked when I can eat good healty food?

Salt = sodium and chlorine. Has an LD50 of 3 grams per kg in rats.

Sodium: a soft, toxic metal that explodes on contact with water.

Chlorine: a highly poisonous gas that can cause contact burns to skin, eyes and lungs when inhaled.

MSG - has an LD50 of 15 grams per kg in rats.

In other words, salt is five times more "poisonous" than MSG.

Another highly explosive substance that is practically everywhere is Hydrogen!

I never warn enough about the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide !

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

After reading that link, try this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax

[manarak]

so keep on eating the garbage it must be good for you !!!! ...I stopped with this poison years ago and felt the benifit after about 2 weeks.

MSG is a chemical produced to trick the brain that bland food is good ..nothing else, why would i want my brain tricked when I can eat good healty food?

Salt = sodium and chlorine. Has an LD50 of 3 grams per kg in rats.

Sodium: a soft, toxic metal that explodes on contact with water.

Chlorine: a highly poisonous gas that can cause contact burns to skin, eyes and lungs when inhaled.

MSG - has an LD50 of 15 grams per kg in rats.

In other words, salt is five times more "poisonous" than MSG.

Another highly explosive substance that is practically everywhere is Hydrogen!

I never warn enough about the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide !

http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html

After reading that link, try this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax

seriously?

party pooper! LOL

[PoetDrunkInTheBoat]

I am not worried about health when I eat MSG.

But I don't want it in most of my food because I want to taste the food itself, not the MSG enhancement.

[IMA_FARANG]

The myth that MSG is bad for you is a just that. A myth.

Perhaps for you, but I react negatively to MSG.

I have high blood pressure (hypertension) anyhow and must watch what I eat to control my blood pressure.

MSG causes me to get severe headaches and raises my blood pressure to danger levels.

I'm not saying that's true with everyone, but it's something I have to deal with here in Thailand every day.

For me, problems with MSG in my food are no myth, they are a reality.

Edited November 27, 2013 by IMA_FARANG

[thailandbeachisland]

Anyway, why should we add <deleted> to our food ?

This is totally stupid.

[rice555]

Hello All, why do people put salt on french fries?

Why do people put sugar in coffee/tea?

Long as you know there's MSG in something, you

can make your own choice to eat or not to eat,

or add MSG if you want, why bitch??

I'm a diabetic with H-T, MSG doesn't cause me

problems like one person is saying.

I think more people have bad reactions to nuts,

peanuts for sure, or lactose intolerance than MSG.

rice555

[rucus7]

My personal observation is MSG has not yet had an adverse effect on me. Where as reading Thai Visa I often suffer from rapid onset headaches.