Is MSG as bad as it's made out to be?

Monosodium glutamate is blamed for a range of nasty side effects. But is there evidence to back up these claims?


It used to be called ‘Chinese Restaurant Syndrome’: a collection of symptoms such as headache, nausea and a strange numbness that certain people seem to suffer after a meal of Chinese food, which went beyond the usual queasiness and self-loathing at having eaten one too many barbecued pork buns.

The ingredient allegedly to blame is a commonly used seasoning called monosodium glutamate, better known as MSG.

Monosodium glutamate’s notoriety took off in 1968 when Dr Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine musing about the possible causes of a syndrome he experienced whenever he ate at Chinese restaurants in the US.

In particular, he described a feeling of numbness at the back of his neck that then spread to his arms and back, as well as general weakness and heart palpitations.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151106-is-msg-as-bad-as-its-made-out-to-be

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