File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
What does /fit/ think of MSG? I love the stuff. I keep a salt shaker full of it at home and add a few sprinkles to my dinner.

Now, there are a lot of websites that claim that it's bad for you. And it is true that some people are apparently allergic to it. I am not one of them.

The FDA reports that despite some people having allergies, it's totally safe in the general population. There's also not a single recent scientific study that acknowledges any danger for non-allergic people. Finally, even though a lot of people will claim "Oh, I get sick whenever I eat Chinese... must be the MSG," it's probably due to sodium, not MSG. MSG is found in most brands of potato chips, as well as occurring naturally in high concentrations in red meat, parmesan cheese, and tomatoes (yet nobody claims they feel sick after potato chips or tomatoes).

So what gives, /fit/? Is there any reason I shouldn't be using a little MSG on my dinner? It's just soooo good.
>> Anonymous
sage
>> Anonymous
>"Oh, I get sick whenever I eat Chinese... must be the MSG," it's probably due to sodium, not MSG.

Sodium gives heart-palpitations and shortness of breath?
>> Anonymous
MSG is synonymous in modern cuisine. We are exposed to the substance on a daily basis, with no ill-affect. Use of MSG in food has grown in the last 30 years and is still growing. Free glutamates or MSG are added to McDonald’s French Fries, KFC Fried Chicken, Boar’s Head cold cuts, Hamburger Helper, Doritos, Pringles, Progresso and Lipton Soups.

It’s found in restaurant gravy from food service carts, marmite, sausages, sushi rolls (even at Whole Foods), and in almost every Japanese or Chinese restaurant dish.

A 1979 glutamate industry sponsored study by G.R. Kerr found that approximately 1.8% of the population is sensitive to MSG. That’s not much higher than the rate of peanut allergies (1.1%) or shellfish (2%). If you regularly experience severe symptoms after eating any food, you might consider visiting an allergist.

The FDA has classified MSG as GRAS or Generally Recognized as Safe since 1959. According to Linda Tollefson, an FDA epidemiologist, “There is sensitivity to MSG that is transient. If given enough, especially on an empty stomach, anyone would react with headache, flushing, and chest pain.” In 1986, FDA’s Advisory Committee on Hypersensitivity to Food Constituents concluded that MSG poses no threat to the general public but that reactions of brief duration might occur in some people.

And a 1991 report by the European Communities’ (EC) Scientific Committee for Foods classified MSG’s “acceptable daily intake” as “not specified,” the most favorable designation for a food ingredient. The EC Committee stated, “Infants, including prematures, have been shown to metabolize glutamate as efficiently as adults and therefore do not display any special susceptibility to elevated oral intakes of glutamate.”
>> Anonymous
>>32137
Maybe they're allergic to MSG. I have never, ever had that happen, and I've used tons of MSG.
>> Anonymous
>>32144
I wonder if it's genetic? If that's an allergy instead of a normal MSG reaction, then me, my mother and my sister are all allergic to it. I always read labels on things I buy because half the time, packaged stuff has MSG. Fucking annoying.
>> Anonymous
>>32146
Do you get the same reaction from potato chips, McDonalds french fries, lots of tomatoes, or lots of parmesan cheese?