Was MSG or MonoSodium Glutamate ever proven conclusively to have adverse health effects?

You can get heartburn from having too much msg… you can get Chinese restaurant syndrome.

It can make some people’s mouths numb or tingly; if it doesn’t affect you that way, you should fine.

MSG is considered an excitotoxin and can damage your neurons.

Last I read the consensus was some people have reactions, but overall there is nothing to really give a second thought about when it comes to MSG. I guess it falls into the same category as sugar substitutes and other such substances. Some people see fit to avoid it.

Edit: I just wikipedia’d it. Some interesting info there. It’s in a lot of packaged food.

It Chinese Restaurant Syndrome a recognized disorder, @talljasperman? Some links I’ve seen consider it possibly racist based.

I’ve never had any change from using it, but for flavor, @janbb.

Seems the jury is still out, officially, @fluthernutter.
The most recent ‘news’ I could find and your view.

Interesting, @JLeslie, that I’d not heard MSG linked to aspartame until your post, then it appears in the last link I gave for @fluthernutter above. While I’ve never had a problem with MSG, I’ve had a low tolerance for aspartame since it came on the market. Crystal Light, in particular, tears my kidneys up.

Guess I’ll stick with avoiding aspartame and judicious use of MSG.

My brothers used to feel their jaws get numb from eating Chinese food when we were young and that was before we heard about MSG so I don’t think it’s a myth or racist based. However, as I said, if it doesn’t affect you, I wouldn’t worry too much unless there is other evidence. On the other hand, since so many restaurants now advertise their food as “MSG free” there must be some issue there.

I feel the same about aspartame, @janbb. I know it messes with me, but the majority of people seem fine with it. I seems to have no problem with other sweeteners, so it’s not a problem for me.

I hadn’t, until this question, realized there was a connection between the two.

Some people are sensitive to it and should avoid it. For the rest of us from what I understand it makes nutritionally poor food taste “edible” and can contribute to crappy nutrition. It’s hard to avoid but I generally try to by default because I generally avoid processed foods.

@ibstubro Your link was just opinions of some popular chefs? There’s no research there.

I think your reaction to MSG versus aspartame has to do with control of your intake. I suppose keeping it judicious will keep you from experiencing those side effects.

It’s kind of like smoking. You probably won’t get cancer from smoking a cigarette once in a blue moon. But it doesn’t chance the fact that it’s bad for you.

” (MSG, also known as sodium glutamate) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the most abundant naturally-occurring non-essential amino acids.[Manuf. 1] MSG is found in tomatoes, Parmesan, potatoes, mushrooms, and other vegetables and fruits.” Wiki.

It’s feckin’ salt, people.

Cyanide is naturally-occurring in apples. And solanine (nightshade) is naturally-occurring in potatoes. Only in trace amounts, so it’s not alarming. But that doesn’t mean that cyanide and nightshade are good for you.

Also, just because it says sodium as part of its name doesn’t just make it feckin salt. Sodium hydroxide is lye. Try putting that on your fries.

@fluthernutter Nonetheless, MSG is a salt.

Wikipedia has a nice, long section on the safety of MSG. The gist is that it’s safer than table salt, in terms of toxicity. A genuine sensitivity to MSG is exceedingly rare.

Potatoes that have had contact with the sun while growing will be green and will, in fact, contain cyanide. Okay if boiled, never to be eaten fried or baked.

Easy to read run-down on MSG

Anecdotal: My aunt had been gone over a decade, but in her day she was the local Paula Dean, Country Gourmet. Her ‘secret ingredient’ was MSG. When she cooked for crowds, I thing she used it by the handful.
I worked in a factory that packed MSG for retail sale. My aunt was always asking me to get her some. One day I thought, “I’ll fix her!” and bought her a bulk tin -probably 11’ tall and 6” around. Lifetime supply! I’ll be damned if it wasn’t but about a year and she was asking for more.
No known adverse side effects from eating her food (drinking her liquor is another story!), and working in the MSG room at work was a plum job…one of the few with AC at the time. I know of no intolerance’s working with it or subsequent illiness’.

Finally, from the May Clinic, hardly an indictment.
“If it bothers you, don’t partake.”
My personal stance on aspartame.

…Potatoes grow under ground. Green potatoes just means they aren’t quite ripe.

Wrong @Dutchess_III.

Probably took less time to prove you wrong than it took you to type the misinformation.

New potatoes are…er…new potatoes. White-fleshed no matter the size.

I stand corrected on my “ripe” comment. Just learned that if a potato is green it was exposed to sunlight.

But over all, they aren’t meant to be exposed to sunlight. Growers try not to let that happen. Potatoes are tubers, @ibstubro. So are carrots. They are roots. I realize they don’t “ripen,” but a green potato in a mess of brown ones means that one was exposed to sunlight. The fact is, it’s pretty rare to see a green potato because most of the time they aren’t exposed to light.

A lot of snack foods in Central America have MSG in them, I hate it. MSG causes my mouth to get really tingly and numb, I find these sorts of snacks tend to cut my mouth up more too.

Potatoes can also go green if stored in a place hat gets light, in a bowl on a countertop, or a basket for food storage.

@dappled_leaves
Yes, it is technically a salt. But not salt (without an article generally implies they are referring to table salt).

Big difference.

Answering this question while munching on some potato chips laden with delicious neuron-killing flavor-enhancers. :P

@fluthernutter “without an article generally implies they are referring to table salt”

Not to anyone who has ever taken a chemistry course.

@dappled_leaves Ha! I was thinking the exact opposite. I simply infer that because I’ve taken several chemistry classes. I would think a layman wouldn’t use an article when referring to table salt either?

And there’s general context. Unless we’re talking about chemistry, I don’t think they’re talking about ionic compounds.

Am I totally off here?

A popular chef has been trying to discredit the claims We were about ⅔ of the way through a meal at one of his restaurants when my heart started racing and I felt a little lightheaded – it was only then that I remembered that it was his place. The confirmed to m that I am sensitive to it – I had only suspected previously. A few months later I bought some Ruffles Sour Cream & Cheddar potato chips to go with my sub, and I noticed a reaction pretty quickly – I found MSG on the label (I was bummed, too – I love those chips). I seem to be more aware of the sensitivity now that I eat so little processed foods.

Oddly, David Chang is also ” Noted for his ‘bad-boy attitude (no reservations, no vegetarian options)’”

@ibstubro I’m not saying it’s linked to the fake sweetener, I’m saying I think the fears about it are similar. I can tell when something has Equal in it. It makes my throat feel a little funny. I avoid all artificial sweeteners in general. I don’t worry about msg.

Here’s a re-run of the link I found using @fluthernutter‘s info above, @JLeslie.
I’m the same as you…I avoid aspartame in particular, but have no problem with MSG.

@ibstubro Another possible reason why MSG may not affect you the same way as aspartame is that MSG may be offset by vitamin C and vitamin E.

Might explain why the Japanese have not had as much issue with MSG naturally found in kombu (a seaweed that is rich in vitamins).