Msg

[GB]

Here is a very interesting article I found on MSG. I love using the stuff personally, but a lot of my friends and family have looked at me like I was putting poison in my body. They have been conditioned by the media to believe that MSG is harmful. I do not believe it is (in moderation of course) and will continue to use it.

 

[marmalady]

GB, my Japanese friends use it all the time, as you said, in moderation. It's as much a staple of their cooking as salt is to ours.

 

[GB]

There is a lot we can learn from our Japanese friends

 

[Andy M.]

Many years ago, I was involved in sponsoring a Laotian refugee family. We set them up with an apartment and jobs. The night they arrived we asked if there was anything they needed. The first thing they asked for was MSG!

I agree with GB that it is harmless when used appropriately. This is not true, of course, for the small percentage of the population that is allergic to MSG.

 

[Mac-n-Cheese!]

well it is poison to me...im highly allergic to the stuff! so when I come over to eat dont put any in mine please.

 

[AllenOK]

My mother is allergic to it as well. I don't think I am, but, I do try to stay away from it. I've inherited at least one allergy from my Mom, and don't want to develop of sensitivity to anything else she's allergic to, like shellfish or MSG.

 

[Piccolina]

I have been very sensative to MSG for my entire life. For example when I was little I would always get sick when we went to Chinese restaurants (which, I guess fortunately was only once in a while) and didn't know why. Later in life I learned that I was sensative to MSG.

I've read extensively on both sides of the argument, because it affects me and I feel that in order to make a choice not to consume MSG I should know a bit about it.

I'm not one of those folks who insists that no one should use it, if you can eat and you feel fine, go ahead (it does enhance many flavours). I just try to stay away from it when I can (which can be tricky as it is found in zillions of commercially prepared products and used by many restaurants, and because it is not always required to be labelled directly as "MSG" on food packaging, it can go by other names too)

 

[GB]

When I was younger I convinced myself that I was allergic to it also. Anytime we went to a Chinese restaurant I always felt like I got a headache afterwards. I now know it was all in my mind. The headache probably came from the company we were with .

I am not saying that people are not allergic to it and those people who are know without a doubt that they are (like Mac-n-Cheese, AllenMI's mom, and Piccolina). I was a young kid when I thought I was sensitive to it and the only reason I felt that way was that the media told me that is how I should feel. I am glad as I got older I learned not to always believe the media.

 

[middie]

i like the stuff but it used to trigger migraines. now i think i know why.
it made my blood pressure spike. i haven't used it since i've been on bp medication so i'm not sure how i'd re-act to it now.