Can I eat MSG?

Question

I've been eating Ramen noodles, and they're really good and really cheap, but the flavoring has MSG in it. Can it hurt me? Shouls I stop eating it, or maybe substitute the flavoring?

Answer 1

it is safe, dont buy into the myths... these health organizations all over the world have researched it and these are the conclusions:

In 1959, FDA classified MSG as a "generally recognized as safe", or GRAS, substance. This action stemmed from the 1958 Food Additives Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which required premarket approval for new food additives and led FDA to promulgate regulations listing substances, such as MSG, which have a history of safe use or are otherwise GRAS. Since 1970, FDA has sponsored extensive reviews on the safety of MSG, other glutamates and hydrolyzed proteins, as part of an ongoing review of safety data on GRAS substances used in processed foods. One such review was by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Select Committee on GRAS Substances. In 1980, the committee concluded that MSG was safe at current levels of use but recommended additional evaluation to determine MSG's safety at significantly higher levels of consumption. Additional reports attempted to look at this. 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. Other reports gave similar findings:

* A 1991 report by the European Community's (EC) Scientific Committee for Foods reaffirmed MSG's safety and classified its "acceptable daily intake" as "not specified", the most favorable designation for a food ingredient. In addition, the EC Committee said, "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."
* A 1992 report from the Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association stated that glutamate in any form has not been shown to be a "significant health hazard".
* Also, the 1987 Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization have placed MSG in the safest category of food ingredients.

Scientific knowledge about how the body metabolizes glutamate developed rapidly during the 1980s. Studies showed that glutamate in the body plays an important role in normal functioning of the nervous system.


AND just so you know, it is not only used in asian foods... every single beef bouillon, chicken bouillon, most fast food chains, most processed foods sold in western supermarkets contain some amount of it as a flavor enhancer

Answer 2

ModelFlyerChick: That website is pure quackery! Mumbo-Jumbo designed to part the stupid from their money!

MSG is safe for 99% of all people.

PS, I take it back!! After reading how extensive the use of MSG is and how sneaky companies are about adding it to foods, I am now worried. Why would companies hide it if it was safe? Look for a substitute for your Ramen noodles like angel-hair pasta and top it with something like MSG free boulillion cubes. (They probably have MSG too tho.)

From what I read today, MSG is added to over 50% of all processed foods. If Anyone who is sensitive to it must be sick all the time!

Answer 3

MSG is supposed to cause "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" - the headaches, dizziness, and chest pains that some people experience after dining at a Chinese restaurant. It is not scientifically proven that MSG is the culprit. While the U.S. FDA states that MSG is generally safe, it acknowledges the seasoning may pose problems for certain individuals. Specifically, asthmatics and people who can tolerate small, but not large, amounts of MSG may be at risk.

So, if its not causing any side effects, then you may continue eating it.

Answer 4

Some people have a bad reaction to MSG. It can also cause you to retain water. It makes my brain feel weird.

I'm sure you could find some noodles without it but maybe not as cheap as Ramen.

Answer 5

Almost all asian foods have MSG. It brings out the flavor in food. You can eat it yes, but alot of people get headaches from it. If you don't you are fine.

Answer 6

According to reports it is not harmful to take MSG but not recommended in great amount. However, you can substitude wtih it with olive oil / sesame oil / salt/ pepper/ chilli flakes/ spices etc . Blend it yourself to suit your taste of which it will taste much superb then the banded MSG.

Answer 7

Do some research on the internet. MSG is an excitotoxin which should be avoided at all costs, if possible.

Answer 8

MSg is suppose to enhance flovor,but it gives me a big headache.When you go to a chinese restuarant ,request that you do not want ANY MSG in your food.

Answer 9

If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache?
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmonthly/story/0,9950,1522368,00.html

Answer 10

msg is not exactly good for you so if you can eat something else with less MSG it can be good