How bad is MSG

[CharlieD]

I would say that pretty much makes the case for the rising rate of obesity among Americans!

Nonsence.

You picked all the article that did not like MSG. And it's fine with me. I had no opinion about it untill I read an article that completely diagrees with anything bad that was ever said about it. I wish I had the source at hand, but in the end it doesn't matter. Like GB said mind is powerful thhing. And the obisity is not what we eat, but how much of it. I came to America some 20 years ago, size 28, now I am 38, and I know it is from overeating, 100% of it. Has nothing to do with msg.

 

[TheMetalChef]

Well, Charlie, while I don't dispute your assertion that overeating plays a huge role, I'll also submit that the overall quality of food has deteriorated severely in this country over the last 50 years, with the grocery stores stocked full of utter crap, loaded with chemical flavorings, chemical preservatives, petroleum-distillate dyes, and generally empty calories in virtually every aisle.

It used to be a joke - stay on the outside aisles at the grocery and you'll be fine.

Now it's practically words to live by. Buy the whole food on the outside lanes (produce, meat, dairy) and skip the crap in the middle, and you'll find yourself a lot better off....

 

[CharlieD]

That I can agree, chemicals do cause harm, but MSG is not a chemical it is naturally (mmm, what’s the word I'm trying to use, it's on a tip of my tongue. darn not separated, not ... grrr I cannot think in English, it’s too early in the morning for that)

Well, anyway chemicals are bad, too much of anything even the good is still bad. Not enough exercising bad, let's move back a 2 centuries could have been good, but it is still bad because there was no prepare medical or dental care. There were all kind of bad health problems and other stuff that was bad so that's also bad. Darn was there ever time that it was good?

 

[msmofet]

That I can agree, chemicals do cause harm, but MSG is not a chemical it is naturally (mmm, what’s the word I'm trying to use, it's on a tip of my tongue. darn not separated, not ... grrr I cannot think in English, it’s too early in the morning for that)

Well, anyway chemicals are bad, too much of anything even the good is still bad. Not enough exercising bad, let's move back a 2 centuries could have been good, but it is still bad because there was no prepare medical or dental care. There were all kind of bad health problems and other stuff that was bad so that's also bad. Darn was there ever time that it was good?

would the word you are looking for be "occurring"? as in naturally occurring ....

 

[suzyQ3]

That I can agree, chemicals do cause harm, but MSG is not a chemical it is naturally (mmm, what’s the word I'm trying to use, it's on a tip of my tongue. darn not separated, not ... grrr I cannot think in English, it’s too early in the morning for that)

Well, anyway chemicals are bad, too much of anything even the good is still bad. Not enough exercising bad, let's move back a 2 centuries could have been good, but it is still bad because there was no prepare medical or dental care. There were all kind of bad health problems and other stuff that was bad so that's also bad. Darn was there ever time that it was good?

Well, anyway chemicals are bad

Some are harmful; some are benign; and some are very useful and beneficial.

 

[jennyema]

MSG is indeed a chemical. And it's manufactured, not found in nature. There are similar chemicals called glutimates that are naturally occuring.

Just because something is naturally occuring doesn't mean it's not a chemical. Water is a chemical.

Plenty of chemicals are good, even essential to your health. Others are very harmful.

"Without chemicals, life itself would be impossible."

 

[TheMetalChef]

Again, it's worth noting that glutamic acid is naturally occurring. Monosodium Glutamate is not - it's a synthetic.

 

[Thaicooking]

After I had food added MSG, I got acne on my face!!

 

[Arky]

I just picked up a quart of papaya juice at my local health food store for less than $4.00. As I understand it, papaya marinade is the best tenderizer known to man; natural, chemical or otherwise!

Just the treatment I'll need for some skirt steak later this week.

 

[Wyogal]

Yep, papaya and pineapple. They contain the enzyme that does the tenderizing.

 

[jennyema]

MSG is a flavor enhancer, not a tenderizer.

 

[Wyogal]

Accent is also used as a tenderizer, that is the link.

 

[Andy M.]

There is a component to the papaya juice, papain, that is the tenderizing agent. It is also present in pineapple and the commercial product Adolph's Meat Tenderizer.

 

[jennyema]

Accent is also used as a tenderizer, that is the link.

Accent contains papain, so it purports to tenderize meat.

But MSG doesn't.

 

[Wyogal]

correct. I was just commenting on the tenderizing statement, not claiming that MSG is a tenderizer.

 

[msmofet]

There is a component to the papaya juice, papain, that is the tenderizing agent. It is also present in pineapple and the commercial product Adolph's Meat Tenderizer.

did you know that a paste made out of meat tenderizer and water applied to a bee sting takes the burn out!!

 

[jennyema]

correct. I was just commenting on the tenderizing statement, not claiming that MSG is a tenderizer.

Cool.

 

[GB]

Accent contains papain, so it purports to tenderize meat.

But MSG doesn't.

My shaker of Accent only has one thing listed under the ingredients, MSG.

 

[msmofet]

My shaker of Accent only has one thing listed under the ingredients, MSG.

yup mine also. i use it in a lot of things i make.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

There is a component to the papaya juice, papain, that is the tenderizing agent. It is also present in pineapple and the commercial product Adolph's Meat Tenderizer.

Just splitting hairs here, so please don't take it personally. For Andy, you know that I hold your culinary knowledge in high regard. Papain is indeed found in papaya, and also, I believe in kiwi fruit. The tenderizing enzyme found in pineapple however, is bromelain. As you stated, Adolph's Meat tenderizer contains papain. McCormic's Meat Tenderizer uses bromelain.

An interesting fact about fresh pineapple is that the bromelain is powerful enough, along with the naturally occuring acids, to cause skin irritation and sometimes damage. People who work with raw pineapple must wear protective gloves. To much raw pineapple can cause your tongue to actually bleed.

I'm not sure about papain, but bromelain is denatured by heat, which is why you can use canned pineapple in jello, while fresh pineapple prevents it from setting up.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North