MSG Investigation

I very seldom eat at Chinese restaurants or include soy sauce with my meals at home because I don't feel good after eating either one.  I get a headache, my heart starts pounding hard, and I can't sleep.

I always thought that it was because MSG is a form of salt and I was sensitive to it.

So I decided to investigate.  I found out I was wrong in my assumption about salt.

I also learned that scientific studies have shown that MSG can impact your health, but the FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS).

MSG is monosodium glutamate.  It is the sodium salt of glutamic acid.  It is 78.2% glutamic acid, 12.2% sodium and 9.6% water.  In the human body, glutamic acid almost always exists as glutamate.  Chemistry Description

MSG is a flavor enhancer and preservative commonly added to canned vegetables, soups and processed meats.

Many restaurants such as McDonald's, Arby's, Chili's, Pizza Hut and Outback Steakhouse also add  MSG to their foods.*

Side effects that have been reported related to MSG consumption include severe headache, flushing, sweating, facial tightness, heart palpitations, chest pains, shortness of breath, nausea, muscle weakness; and numbness, tingling or burning of the mouth, around the face and in the limbs, according to MayoClinic.com.

MSG disrupts brain chemicals because it breaks down into glutamate, which is an important chemical messenger in your brain. Short Term Impact

In the book by John and Michelle Erb, The Slow Poisoning ofAmerica, several health problems are attributed to the consumption of MSG.  The book references scientific studies to show that Diabetes, Headaches and Migraines, ADHD, Autism and Alzheimer's can be caused by MSG.

The FDA requires that any foods that have added MSG list it in the ingredient panel on the packaging as monosodium glutamate.

However, MSG occurs naturally in ingredients such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts and protein isolate as well as in tomatoes and cheeses.  These ingredients must be listed on the ingredient panel but they do not have to indicate that they naturally contain MSG. FDA internet site

Unfortunately, it is perfectly legal for a company to say their food product has "No added MSG" so long as they don't add an ingredient called "monosodium glutamate" to their food.  MSG, however hides in more than 40 commonly used ingredients.  For example, soy sauce has naturally occurring MSG that is formed during production but it is not added to the product.

This link (Ingredients which have MSG) provides a list of ingredients which contain MSG.

I checked this list with the food in in my cupboard.  I was surprised to find the following:

• No MSG:  Quaker oatmeal, Tostitos, Siracha sauce, Thomas english muffins, Cheerios, Jiff peanut butter and Toufayan gluten free wraps 

• Has MSG:  Morning Star Farms spicy black bean veggie burgers, Schuler's cheese spread, Doritos and Swanson's vegetable broth.

As a result of my investigation I plan to:

• continue to minimize processed foods in my diet
• only eat out occasionally
• always read labels  

Whether or not MSG will impact my health long term I do not know, but I do know it effects me immediately when I eat a lot of it.

You should form your own opinion about the impact of MSG on your body.  Pay close attention to how you feel after eating at home and at restaurants.

*Erb, John E., Erb, Michelle, The Slow Poisoning of America. Paladins Press, 2003, pps. 91-95.