January
2008
Spar of the Day: Taking on MSG
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
MSG: Naughty or Nice?
Now and then, we at MDA like to branch out from our usual shrinking violet positions and journey into the precarious territory of current controversy. Today we venture into the debate over a disputed additive/ingredient: MSG—flavor friend or fodder foe?
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG as we commonly know it, is a stabilized, processed version of glutamic acid, which in its unprocessed form, is a common and naturally occurring amino acid found in numerous foods like meats, milk, cheese and certain vegetables. The label MSG is often used to refer to all forms of processed glutamate.
In short, flavor. MSG activates what is now recognized as a fifth taste receptor labeled “umami” (Japanese for savory). MSG has very little taste in and of itself but generally enhances the flavor and general meatiness of many foods.
What types of products have it?
MSG and other free glutamate forms are most often found in traditional Asian dishes and products as well as, more recently, an astounding number of processed foods in the West. Most foods that contain processed glutamate don’t list it as such. Following the first wave of MSG fear in the 1970s (ah, those were the days), the food industry, in its infinite wisdom, chose to simply rename or repackage the ingredient within other substance labels. These aliases continue to exist and have propagated to this day. Examples of MSG-associated ingredients include (but are by no means limited to): gelatin, hydrolyzed/autolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract, rice syrup, calcium/sodium caseinate, and textured protein.
This is where things start to get decidedly dicey.
Critics of these studies contend that administered dosages far exceed reasonable human intake. Critics of these critics respond that “reasonable human intake” doesn’t consider the physical and neurological vulnerability of children and those sensitive to processed glutamic acid.
The fact is, unless we’re talking about its straight use as a spice in Asian cooking, MSG (in its varying forms) is mostly limited to processed foods. Y’all know the MDA take on those, right?
Further Reading:
Sponsor note:
This post was brought to you by the Damage Control Master Formula, independently proven as the most comprehensive high-potency antioxidant multivitamin available anywhere. With the highest antioxidant per dollar value and a complete anti-aging, stress, and cognition profile, the Master Formula is truly the only multivitamin supplement you will ever need. Toss out the drawers full of dozens of different supplements with questionable potency and efficacy and experience the proven Damage Control difference!
Technorati Tags: MSG, monosodium glutamate, salt, umami, umame
I’ve seen some Chinese Restaurants Signs that have advertised under daily specials:NO MSG.
(Now is this saying something in itself) I think so.
Also, i know some people that will not eat MSG because it makes them feel ill. They stay clear away from it!
I just say better safe than sorry. I can’t see why not.
MSG makes me a my father extremely sick. I get a severe headache that usually leads to nausea and vomiting.
Better safe than sorry is my motto for any foodstuffs. MSG is sold in little plastic bags right next to salt in Asian supermarkets. If high MSG consumption can trigger Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s, then Asians should show very high rates of these diseases.
My sister in law had horrible migraines. It took her awhile to realize that MSG was the culprit. She’s fine now as long as she doesn’t eat it.
Oh, yes, migraineurs are generally advised to stay away from glutamate.
I used to use Accent on a lot of foods and never got an migrain or any other semptoms. Maybe it depends if your are senitive to it? Also read about it attacking the nerves, don’t know about that. It did make food taste better.
Healthy definitely tastes best! MSG and aspartame (like Equal or NutraSweet) make me very ill so I’ve learned to read labels, make more nutritious foods at home, and eat out only at restaurants that don’t use MSG. My allergies, jumpy nerves and headaches have cleared up. But even for people who don’t have symptoms, it makes me wonder what these excitotoxins are doing to them? Put it this way: my grandkids don’t get fed MSG. Nuff said.
i was suffering for years,with all sorts of symptoms. after eating at a asian resterraunt i had severe headaches,diarea,hives,dizines to the point i could not stand. the doctors found nothing wrong with me. thanks to my husband we figured out it was M.S.G. thank god for the internet. now i read lables, but you need to know what your looking for. it is hidden in so many things. my reactions to M.S.G. were so bad that my now 12 year old gets afraid when i eat.she has seen what it can do first hand.
Did anyone else notice the angel and devil drawn into the chemical structure of MSG? Very funny…
[...] have led them in recent years to issue tougher label requirements for foods that contain MSG. The debate over MSG is long and varied, and has been covered by us in the [...]
[...] red hues found in real crab meat. In some cases, manufacturers will also add monosodium glutamate (MSG) to help enhance the [...]