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Discussion » Questions » Food and Drink » Yes...I use MSG (monosodium glutamate). Do you? Why or why not?

Yes...I use MSG (monosodium glutamate). Do you? Why or why not?

Posted - June 15, 2019

Responses


  • I don't deliberately add it to my food, but I don't go out of my way to completely avoid it either. I love really good Chinese cuisine so I'm certainly not looking for the menu to say "no MSG" when I'm out at a restaurant.
      June 15, 2019 10:07 AM MDT
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  • 13395
    My mother used MSG but I discovered onion powder which gives a good flavor to foods I am cooking. 
      June 15, 2019 10:45 AM MDT
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  • 46117
    Main reason?  It tastes like chemical and I eat foods that have flavor already.  If you eat raw and organic, you don't need to put garbage on the food to make it have some flavor.  It has a flavor. The intended flavor. 

    MSG is not body-friendly.  This is something that has been proven decades ago.  It causes high blood pressure at the very least.   I know that the nonsense about MSG is just that.  NONSENSE. It is not more dangerous than say too much salt intake or anything else we are not supposed to have too much of.  It is not that bad.  But, I certainly would not add it.  I would try and see why my food needs a flavor boost in the first place.

    I am more of this type of school of thought:

    n some ways, Meyer and other experts see the story of MSG repeating -- and deepening -- in the current "clean-eating" trend. Where MSG was once the ingredient to banish, many big food brands are culling all chemical, artificial and genetically modified ingredients at consumers' behest.

    But most of these ingredients have been used safely for decades. And many improve the nutrition and shelf life of packaged foods. Nadia Berenstein, a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania researching the history of flavor, recently wrote that removing them is often "more about catering to a culture’s fears and biases than the genuine pursuit of better-for-you food."

     

    “Sometimes it’s easier to put a 'free from X' label on something than to actually educate consumers about it,” said Lisa Watson, the spokeswoman for the Glutamate Association, an MSG trade group. “Personally I wish food companies would take the longer view.”

    Watson says her industry is still trying to dig out from the MSG backlash, five decades later. According to Mintel, the number of new processed foods with MSG is decreasing. And sales of products advertised as “MSG-free” are expected to grow 22 percent between 2016 and 2021, according to market research firm Euromonitor.

    In an effort to push back, Watson and her member companies regularly meet with chefs and nutritionists to talk up the merits of MSG. She has been heartened by statistics that show younger consumers are not quite as adverse to the product as their parents were. She has been glad to see media outlets run debunks of the MSG myth, and celebrity chefs, such as Hugh Acheson and David Chang, vocally embrace the seasoning.

    The "foodie movement" also has revived interest in cooking that shows off science, said Sarah Tracy, an adjunct professor at UCLA's Institute for Society and Genetics who will publish a history of MSG this year. While Tracy isn't entirely willing to give the seasoning her seal of approval -- it is being researched for its possible role in promoting weight gain, she points out -- she sees other cooks and consumers embracing the seasoning as a sign of their culinary savviness.

    Lately, Watson said, the Glutamate Association has tracked the same trend. It monitors references to MSG on social media, and they have grown more positive. Asked if the online sentiment was good overall, however, or just good compared to years past, Watson laughed.

    “Let’s not put the cart before the horse,” she said. “It’s pretty clear that there are still a lot of misconceptions.”

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    This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at June 15, 2019 3:09 PM MDT
      June 15, 2019 10:50 AM MDT
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  • 44175
    Very well thought out. Our body actually makes glutamic acid, a non-essential amino acid. Some plants also make it. The taste sense 'umami' is real. Check this out.

    https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/monosodium-glutamate/faq-20058196
      June 15, 2019 1:21 PM MDT
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  • 4631

    The tongue has six flavour receptors. The sixth is umami, the protein glutamic acid - common in mushrooms, tomatoes, dairy, grapes, meat and other foods. Hard to identify, it is responsible for the reaction, "that's delicious!" 
    Monosodium glutamate is a salt form of glutamate.

    In the 1960s, nutrition scientists developed a theory that monosodium glutamate might be highly likely to cause brain damage, especially in high concentrations such as found in commercially prepared foods and especially in foetuses and very young children.
    Recently, experimentation with animals has found that monosodium glutamate is harmless.

    Nevertheless, too much of any salt on a regular basis is not ideal for good health.
     
    This post was edited by inky at June 15, 2019 3:10 PM MDT
      June 15, 2019 1:47 PM MDT
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  • 44175
    Hey...why are your answers always better than mine? Well, at least I got the glutamic acid before you.
      June 15, 2019 2:47 PM MDT
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  • 1430
    you use that ? monosodium glumatame is like the worst poison there is. My mom tells me about it. They have some in some chips that i buy sometimes, and if there was some in some food, i'D stop buying it because its poison
      June 15, 2019 2:14 PM MDT
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  • 44175
    Another 'parent myth'.

    Answer From Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

    Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that's "generally recognized as safe," but its use remains controversial. For this reason, when MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that it be listed on the label.

    MSG has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — include:

    Headache
    Flushing
    Sweating
    Facial pressure or tightness
    Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas
    Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
    Chest pain
    Nausea
    Weakness

    However, researchers have found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and these symptoms. Researchers acknowledge, though, that a small percentage of people may have short-term reactions to MSG. Symptoms are usually mild and don't require treatment. The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid foods containing MSG. This post was edited by Element 99 at June 15, 2019 2:49 PM MDT
      June 15, 2019 2:44 PM MDT
    0

  • 17364
    I avoid it.  It is really the only foodstuff that I have to avoid.  It causes dangerous allergic reaction.  If I eat out I always ask if it is used.
      June 15, 2019 5:33 PM MDT
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