Excitotoxins, MSG

[Abyssal Echo]

I'm not sure if this is the right place for this please forgive me if it isn't. Mods please move it if necessary.

What is MSG ?

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a processed food additive.
it is an extreamly dangerous neurotoxin (excitotoxin) that shrivels and kills brain cells in the hypothalamus and has been linked to migraaines, seizures, ADD, ADHD, heart palpitations, tremors, and many other symptoms that can even be fatal.

for more info on this go to
http://www.realfoodwholehealth.com/2011/05/excitotoxins-msg-and-hidden-names/

[Gigablue]

I have to disagree. The website you mentioned seems to be nothing but unsupported fear mongering. It supports a huge amount of pseudoscience and long discredited ideas. It uses unnecessarily alarmist language, and many of its sources are clearly biased or unreliable.

Monosodium glutamate. It’s in your Chinese take-out. It’s in your finger-licking delicious Nacho Cheese Doritos. And it’s definitely in your late-night bowl of Ramen noodles. Used for decades as a food additive and flavour-enhancer, monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been called many things, from a merely unhealthy additive to an addictive neurotoxin. But is the hype really to be believed?

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, MSG is a safe food ingredient. The controversy about MSG, however, arises from a number of anecdotal complaints since the 1960s about adverse reactions when consuming foods with MSG. The “MSG Symptom Complex” or the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” includes symptoms such as headaches, flushing, sweating, numbness, chest pain, nausea, heart palpitations, and weakness. Still, researchers have not found any conclusive evidence that links MSG to any of these symptoms, though it is acknowledged that a small minority of people may have mild, short-term reactions to MSG. In addition, scientists cannot explain why natural glutamate, which is present in cheeses and hams, has not been associated with any symptoms, when the natural compound shares the same chemical properties as MSG. Although the stigma of this additive may still persist, the use of MSG and other related glutamates are generally perceived by the scientific community to be harmless.

Source (http://www.yalescientific.org/2011/04/is-msg-bad-for-you/)

This is a more scientifically accurate take in the subject. There isn't really good evidence for MSG being harmful. It may cause some negative effects in some people, it is not inherently dangerous.

[Human]

Unless you're injecting pure MSG I doubt anything will happen. The fact I've grew up eating it for 14 years can't mean it's so terrible although unhealthy

[MisterSix]

Its something you put into your food to make it taste great.

[FreeFall]

Linked to but not the cause of?
Extremely dangerous in high quantities and taken pure?
Since we've been eating them and no one's suddenly keeled over, that we know of, in eating a food it was added to. Not like they're globing the food up full of MSG. Right?

I'll keep eating. Don't much eat those "be-ware of" foods. No need to scare people into growing and eating only their home grown in their backyard food.

[Cicero]

I think that if they put any chemicals (that has extreme side effects of any degree) on the food, the company should be forced to put a "Warning" statement saying all the possible side effects and listing all the chemicals they put on/in that food. That's why I love organic food. But the only organic foods I sometimes (when I can afford it) eat is meats and milk. It's a waste getting organic veggies and fruits cause you can just wash most of it off.