Investigating the MSG Myth

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MarioMasher

Well-known member
Before anybody reads this article and freaks out, you might want to read this...One of my favorite TV shows right now is called "Food Detectives" on the Food Network. On it, they use science and scientific tests to test out all sorts of food myths. And it's funny that you post this article now, because they just tested out the MSG myth last week. They took 100 random people off the street, and they did an experiment to see if people really are as sensitive to MSG as they think.To test MSG sensitivity, they basically divided the people into two groups and took them out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Half the people got food with MSG, half the people got the exact same food, only with no MSG. And then after the meal, they surveyed the people to see how many people were having "MSG reaction" to the food they just ate.The results? There were just as many people in the non MSG group who reported headaches and sweatiness and tingling, etc, as there were in the MSG eating group. Even people who swore they were sensitive to MSG got the exact same physiological reactions when they ate food where it had been removed. Thus proving that most people who think they are sensitive to MSG really aren't. Personally, I have never believed it deserves its bad reputation either.
 
That was one of the things I did when I cleaned up my diet - got rid of most of the chemical additives and high histamine foods. I have definitely felt better so I can believe most of this. The problem with Asian food is that most of the sauces have lots of msg and congeners that are a result of the fermentation process (fish sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, and on and on). So not willing to give up my Thai and Viet cuisine I cook it myself now. I've posted some about these histamine-laden foods so won't go into it again but it is not anecdotal stuff and can be documented through research studies.
 
I just think that it is a scary chemical and since I have had the **S scare, I try to avoid it as much as possible as this disease has higher levels of glutamate in the nerves, so if I am scared of a disease, why would I want to overdose myself on such a chemical anyway. The other thing is that they rarely label it as MSG. 'Natural Flavors' can be MSG and have you seen how many foods have that in their ingredients!!! Even Breyer's ice-cream... 'All Natural'... huh...
 
Hmm I didn't have time to read the long pages you guys are putting up but after skimming them want to point out that many foods on the 'restricted list' are also histamine producers and are high in histamine (natural and man-made) which are known to irritate the nervous system in humans and some animals to varying degrees. Most people can naturally break them down making them harmless but the body can get over-loaded if you get too much at one time. Ask any allergist or dietitian - this info has been out for a long time and correlations have been found to many 'new' ailments (hyperactivity disorders in children for one). Too much of this talk about food and chemicals is speculation - just like causes of BCFS/PNHE. :( It just may well be that many of the vets were exposed to a lot of crap over there that had nothing to do with what they ate or drank. And I don't know about the consumption rate - most soldiers I know don't drink a lot of diet drinks - a little too girlie - and they usually need the calories in the sugar when in the field of operation. I like to see well-run research studies because otherwise it can just make you crazy reading all this stuff. I believe that he safe way to eat for most people is with the fewest man-made preservatives and enhancers as possible, less processed stuff, and to be aware when you are consuming irritants (natural or otherwise) so you can give the body time to process and clean them out. This certainly works for my family as we all respond well to good food and a healthy diet.
 
Pop up this because it's important ...---nevertheless what say FDA or Health Canada or others....I had a problem in the past with ASPARTAME (for example).It took months to discover that my body was not processing ASPARTAME as everyone and, worst, i was already sick since one year before discovering this. So i spent more than one year in problems due to ASPARTAME.It took many months before ASPARTAME start triggering problems ... and so, how difficult it was to find it.So, how can you know that ASPARTAME or MSG is safe? How can you know you will not have problems since those problems will not show up after a very long time (cumulative effect).Ok it's "generally speaking" safe. It means that over 10000 people, there will be one that will be sick for example. Do you want to be this one?MSG is already in food (There is large amount in tomatoes for example).Why to add it in soup and more?I read somewhere that it may be added in some coffee too (?). And we drink coffee every days.Have a good day.
 

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