What is MSG and why is it so bad for you?

Question

I have been eating a lot of asian food lately and saw some signs that say "no msg". Why is it so bad for you and what is it used for? To make the food taste better or to keep it fresh longer?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

MSG is technically, a "flavor enhancer". It activates the tastebuds, making them more receptive to flavor. It makes things taste better by making your taste buds better at tasting.

If that was the only thing it did, there would be no problem. Unfortunately, it isn't. Equally unfortunate is that our FDA has not caught on to the problem and MSG maintains its status, "generally regarded as safe". It should be banned, especially since it is abused by the food industry so much. Here is a summary of the problems:

1. Some people are sensitive to it. They east a small amount of it and they get an anaphylactic reaction to it. Like other allergies....peanut, wheat, citrus, shellfish etc. the reaction runs the gambit from causing discomfort to life threatening. Because MSG is so widely abused, it actually should be banned. The reason is simple. If someone has a deadly allergy to peanuts, they don't eat peanuts or products that have peanuts in them. The few products that have peanuts in them but are not obvious, mark this on the package. Contrast that with MSG where most packaged foods have MSG in them but, because of a loophole in labeling laws, it's not on the ingredients list, and you have a bad situation that requires government intervention. At least force them to label the foods correctly.

2. MSG does more than enhance flavor. It dramatically stimulates appetite and causes binging. If you ever wondered why you can't eat only one potato chip.....MSG is the reason. You eat. You are full. But, MSG is activating the part of your brain telling you to eat some more. Food manufacturers use MSG to make their foods addicting. This causes obesity. It takes away a person's choice in what they eat by turning food into something crack cocaine. That is immoral and should be illegal. MSG is a major contributor to the incredible increase in diabetes in our society. It's also a major factor in bulemia. MSG causes people to binge. That's why it is put into food. More and more,people are figuring this out and choosing not to eat food with MSG. However, food manufacturers are not content to allow even this personal choice for people. Because of the GRAS designation, they are allowed to include MSG as an ingredient in a list of so-called "secret ingredients"....those that you can't put on a food label because competitors will figure out your recipe, copy you and then use this knowledge to take your business. Further, there are products that have MSG in them. Put the fact that you include the product on your ingredient list and you don't have to label the individual ingredients. The names of the most common products? Things like Natural Flavorings....Naturally Flavored....Artificial and Natural Flavors. THESE ARE PRODUCT NAMES, not FDA designations. They are intentionally given deceitful names like these in order to trick you into thinking that those products weren't added. Since those products are mostly MSG, anytime you see them in the ingredients list, just replace the word MSG...because that is basically what it means.

3. The most controversial problem with MSG is what it does to stimulate your appetite. It is what is known as an "excitotoxin". This is a chemical that stimulates your nervous system using the mechanism that is used for fighting off infections or removing damaged tissue. Your brain is normally sterile and it doesn't have the normal type of immune system the rest of your body has. The rest of your body, the immune system is based off an inflammatory mechanism. Inflammation in your brain will kill you pretty damn quick, so that mechanism is the technique of last resort for you body fighting off such things. Instead, it has a glial system. The glial system secretes various chemicals that rip things apart. The chemicals also, stimulate the brain. Guess what the mechanism of action for MSG is? Guess what the side effect is? The long term effect of this is a slow degradation of the surrounding tissue. MSG has been implicated in Alzheimer's. The mechanism for this is obvious for those who understand the science.

MSG is bad news and to be avoided. Most chinese restaurants understand this and have removed this ingredient from their cooking.

The problem is packaged and processed foods, especially the food you buy at fast food restaurants. The bottom line is this. The only way to avoid MSG in rather large amounts is to not eat those foods.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thanks :)

Answer 2

Monosodium glutamate. Mainly salt. ANything tastes better with salt, but MSG is also loaded with other chemicals. Not all of them are good for you. But if not for MSG most asian food would be tasteless.

Answer 3

MSG is monosodium glutamate. MSG is used as a flavor enhancer as it can turn up any flavor its next to. SOME people are allergic to MSG and experiance chest pain. Weather or not MSG is bad for everyone is still subject to debate.

Answer 4

Monosodium glutamate. Somone explained to me once like this: "MSG contains chemicals which cause food to taste better by swelling your tastebuds. Those same chemicals are also bad for your brain."

Here's a quote from the FDA:

"Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well. Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain. Consumption of glutamate in food, however, does not cause this effect. While people normally consume dietary glutamate in large amounts and the body can make and metabolize glutamate efficiently, the results of animal studies conducted in the 1980s raised a significant question: Can MSG and possibly some other glutamates harm the nervous system?"

Some people believe that MSG has no ill effects, however. Especially those that make and sell it.

Here's a quote from an MSG promoting site:

"Scientists now believe that glutamates impart a fifth tast, described as savoury and meaty, independent of the four basic tasts of sweet, sour, salty and bitter. When it is added to food, it is perceived to 'enhance' the natural flavours present. However MSG cannot improve bad tasting food or make up for bad cooking. The desirable level of MSG enhancing effect is usually around 0.2% to 0.8%. A typical serve of Chow Mein (fried noodles) normally contains no more that 1/8th teaspoon of added MSG. Excessive MSG will spoil the taste of food."

Source(s):

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/msg.html
http://www.msg.org.au/

Answer 5

MSG is monosodium glutamate and is used a lot in Asian cooking as a flavor enhancer however, very many paople are highly allergic to it hence the "no msg" statement.

Answer 6

Not enough Rum.

Answer 7

MSG helps food taste better... it's not a preservative.

The problem with asian restaurants is that they used it heavily like salt in their cooking...

There was a medical fad in the 80's and still continues today where people were claiming to be "allergic" to msg.

The reason I call it a fad is that people were claiming to be allergic to MSG so they'd request "no msg" in their chinese food, but at the same time they'll eat processed foods which contain msg and have no problems.

other forms of msg in food labels: "hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, hydrolyzed yeast, soy extracts, and "natural flavorings"

The upside is that restaurants are not using it as much... which is good.

Source(s):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_…