Monosodium GLutamate

Monosodium GLutamate

i'd have to say

the dieters worst nightmare

if you dont know what this little sneaky flavour enhancer is, then the chances are it's something that's doing your dieting harm

it's the flavour enhancer that basically makse you want to eat more (supposedly adds a 5th to the flavour, which is why one brand without wont taste as good, hell you can buy yourself a bag of it if you want and add it to your own food, you'll notice what it does then, it's kind of like an extreme salt)

it's in almost all the snacks chips/crisps/fast foods that you buy

it's even in the coating of dry roasted peanuts

This will almost certainly give you that horrible feeling which personally i hATe that goes in your head

.... im full............. but i still want more

if i urge you, do your best to avoid anything with this in

damn, they even put it in beef jerky.

and if the food you love has msg in it, then its not the food you love, it's the MSG

My OH and i were talking about this today.

 

Do you know if it increases water retention .. like sodium does ?

 

k

The clue is in the name mono-sodium-glutamate.  It's a sodium salt of glutamic acid.  Yes, it increases water retention.

It's actually a neurotoxin as well.  I'm highly sensitive to it, if I eat something with a lot of MSG in it I will be vomitting within 30 minutes. 

In addition to most chips and crackers, it's also in most prepared sauces and marinades, also in soup mixes, canned soups, dips, oxo cubes, lipton sidekicks, gravy, etc.  I really have to watch out because a lot of restaurants use these things (soup mixes, etc) to flavour their foods, like mashed potatoes, or whatever. 

Developing this 'sensitivity' (because it isn't an allergy) has actually been really good for me.

Yeah there are so many adverse reactions to MSG (621) ... in another forum I had posted a list of additives in which to avoid in food products when I go shopping because the other day I bought diet yoghurt..read the ingredients list and noted no aspartame instead it read "sweeteners (950,951)".. and I was shocked later to find out that "951" is actually the code for aspartame!!

Also, I read that manufacturers can include MSG(621) without having to declare it on the label if they list these: Yeast extract, hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP) and hydrolysed plant protein (HPP).

BUYER BEWARE...

I read a lot about it the other day, because I was curious.  And yes... its bad because it enhances the flavors of foods that should be consumed in moderation, and yes its bad if you have a 'sensitivity' to it.  But, if you have the self-discipline to not eat the whole can of nuts (not saying that I necesarily do) and you're not one of the people who reacts physically to it, there's not any conclusive evidence that its otherwise harmful.

I cook a lot at home and add a handful of parsley here and a dash of pepper there but I don't think I've ever tasted a simmering panful of anything and thought 'hmm.. what this needs is a little monosodium glutamate'.  

I'm not totally anti-chemicals or preservative-phobic and I don't think something like MSG is harmful in small doses.  But I do worry that as society loses touch with food, moves away from preparing food and towards relying on others to make it, flavour it,  package it up and make it last 5 months on a shelf.... the small doses are adding up. 

My personal belief: no evidence but personal experience... Its responsible for that crappy feeling you get after eating at some Chinese places... Is that just me?... I dunno, maybe...

MSG may be a factor.  But more commonly it's that the food served in chinese restaurants is almost all highly refined starch and sugar with quite a lot of fat and salt thrown in for good measure.  Sticky white rice, sugary sauces, noodles, won-ton, batter....  all turn instantly to sugar in the bloodstream and that's quite a hit for a body at one go.  You'd feel as bad if you ate an entire box of chocolate biscuits, for example.  And as well as the crappy feeling there's the 'hungry again' feeling about 2 hours later.  Same reason.

Will this effect the number of grams of sodium in the product or food than or will it be listed as something else or nothing at all???  I find this really interesting since I have been on a special diet with my husband who has kidney problems that we are trying to stablize.

I think High Fructose Corn Syrup is waaaaaaaaay worse than MSG and in a lot more common household items - soda pop, prepared garlic and ginger, canned goods, even BREAD!!!

Growing up in an asian family, I won't lie - I've eaten a lot of MSG! It's in stir frys, noodle dishes, sauces, takoyaki, fish cakes. We even have some on the table next to the regular salt and pepper! I don't think it's that bad for you, as long as you keep an active lifestyle of course. The worst I've ever had is a little bloating but that goes away fast with a little stretching or exercise.

It's weird though because I do refrain from eating a lot of other chemicals like BHT, table salt, dyes and colorings, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (as I said... BAD), bleached flour, refined sugars and starches, etc. I agree with gi-jane it's important to know what exactly it is that you're putting into your body! Everyone is different and it's good to figure out what ingredients are incompatible with your own personal body chemistry.

Yes, MSG adds to your sodium count. Not as much as salt does though, if you believe the packaging.

lol gorecore we have MSG next to the salt and pepper too...