Stop Being Afraid of MSG
If you are still afraid that MSG will spice up your headache, know that you have believed the age-old myth. Do not despair! Now that you know the truth, you can celebrate with dinner at your favorite restaurant that uses monosodium glutamate, or treat yourself to a cute panda shaped bottle of this drink .
The panic over MSG or MSG began with a1968 letter to the New England Journal of Medicine in which a Chinese researcher living in the United States said he felt numbness in his neck and arms after eating in some Chinese restaurants. but not after a homemade meal. Perhaps it had something to do with the preparation of the wine, he suggested, or, more likely, the high amount of sodium in the combination of soy sauce and MSG. Soon after, doctors and everyone else started talking about “Chinese restaurant syndrome” and blamed MSG for it.
The only problem? The syndrome cannot be replicated in a laboratory. Chemically, it never made sense: MSG is exactly what it looks like: sodium plus the amino acid glutamate. Both of these ingredients are found in a wide variety of foods, and not just in Chinese restaurants. Soy sauce is rich in glutamate, as well as tomatoes and parmesan cheese. The absence of “Italian Restaurant Syndrome” suggests that perhaps (whites, Americans) people were keen to blame Asian restaurants long after the syndrome was debunked.
Therefore, if you feel strange after a heavy meal – Chinese or otherwise – you can imagine symptoms or experience something completely unrelated to monosodium glutamate. In this case, consult a doctor.