MSG can cause headaches, rapid heartbeat, and drowsiness, and worsen asthma symptoms, numbness, and chest pain. It is added to food to enhance flavor and is commonly found in Asian foods, flavored crackers, and frozen dinners. While not considered dangerous, those who experience side effects may need to avoid foods containing MSG. Avoiding MSG is easy when grocery shopping, but may be difficult in restaurants. Studies on the safety of MSG have been inconclusive.
Side effects of MSG (monosodium glutamate) often include headaches, rapid heartbeat, and drowsiness. Some people also report experiencing worsening asthma symptoms, numbness, and chest pain. Not everyone experiences side effects from MSG, and side effects are more often experienced by people who have a sensitivity to the substance. Even though the side effects aren’t considered dangerous, people who experience them frequently may need to avoid foods that contain MSG most of the time. Some foods that contain a lot of MSG are Asian foods, some types of flavored crackers, and many different frozen dinners.
MSG is normally added to food to enhance its flavor, and the use of this substance can be traced back to early 1900s Japan when a professor at the University of Tokyo invented it. Many other countries were quick to adopt the use of MSG for the purpose of flavoring food because the substance was cheap, effective, and readily available. MSG consists of a substance created by the fermentation of starch and sugar. The brand name to which MSG belongs varies from country to country, but there are no differences in the actual product apart from the brand name.
The side effects of MSG weren’t typically of much concern until the substance became so widely used. Despite the side effects, most experts have concluded that MSG is not a dangerous substance. There have been many different studies and tests performed on MSG and the results have been mostly inconclusive. Some studies have indicated that large doses of MSG could be harmful and could increase the risk of obesity and possibly brain injury. These studies were done on animals and most researchers said that most people could not consume the amount of MSG necessary for these problems to occur.
A person who wants to avoid the side effects of MSG can do so by avoiding all foods that contain it. Avoiding MSG should be relatively easy when grocery shopping because most nutrition information labels list it as an ingredient when it’s present. Staying away from MSG in restaurants may be more difficult because most restaurants don’t disclose the ingredients of the foods they serve. A person who has an MSG sensitivity may want to talk to restaurant managers about their MSG sensitivity before ordering anything to find out if there are any MSG-free foods on the menu. It may also be a good idea for a person to avoid most Chinese or other Asian restaurants because MSG tends to be a very common ingredient in foods served in these places.
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