Monosodium Glutamate Intolerance

http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm

FYI - The following foods contain MSG or its business end - the free amino acid glutamate - in amounts large enough to cause reactions in those sensitive to it.:

The Following McDonald's Items:
Grilled Chicken Filet
Hot and Spicy Chicken Patty
Grilled Chicken Ceasar Salad
Grilled Chicken California Cobb Salad
Seasoned Beef
Sausage Scrambled Egg Mix, Sausage, and Sausage Patty
French Fries - a "seasoning" made from beef, wheat and milk, processed to break down the proteins into free amino acids like glutamate) is added to the oil the fries are precooked in. US laws allow "natural flavoring" to consist of "protein hydrolysates" containing free glutamic acid. (That's why they do it - to free glutamate to act like MSG so they can declare a "clean label" while misleading the consumer.)
Other menu items that contain soy sauce, natural flavors or hydrolyzed protein which can contain up to 20% free glutamic acid - the active part of MSG.
Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles® (targeted towards children)
Doritos®
Pringles® (the flavored varieties)
KFC® fried chicken and most of their other products
Boar's Head® cold cuts and most of their hotdogs
Progresso® Soups - all of them
Lipton® Noodles and Sauce
Lipton® Instant soup mix
Unilever or Knorr® products
Kraft® products nearly all contain some free glutamate
Gravy Master®
Cup-a-soup® or Cup-o-Noodles®
Planters® salted nuts - most of them
Accent® -this is nearly pure MSG
Braggs® Liquid Aminos - sold at Whole Foods
Tangle extract (seaweed extract) - found in sushi rolls (even at Whole Foods) Seaweed is what MSG was first isolated from.
Fish extract - made from decomposed fish protein - used now in Japanese sushi dishes - very high in free glutamate.
sausages - most supermarkets add MSG to theirs
processed cheese spread
Marmite®
supermarket poultry or turkeys that are injected or "self-basting"
restaurant gravy from food service cans
flavored ramen noodles
boullion - any kind
instant soup mixes
many salad dressings
most salty, powdered dry food mixes - read labels
flavored potato chips
restaurant soups made from food service soup base or with added MSG
monopotassium glutamate
glutamic acid
gelatin
hydrolyzed vegetable protein (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, like canned tuna and even hot dogs)
hydrolyzed plant protein (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, like canned tuna and even hot dogs)
autolyzed yeast (found in many processed AMERICAN foods, read labels)
sodium caseinate
textured protein
beet juice - it is used as a coloring, but MSG is manufactured from beets and the extract may contain free glutamic acid - Yo Baby - organic baby yogurt has just changed the formula to include beet extract
yeast extract
yeast food or nutrient
soy protein isolate
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Kombu extract
dry milk and whey powder
"natural flavors" - may contain up to 20% MSG
carageenan
dough conditioners
malted barley
malted barley flour - found in many supermarket breads and all-purpose flours including: King Arthur, Heckers, and Gold Medal flour
body builder drink powders containing protein
Parmesan cheese - naturally high in free glutamate
over-ripe tomatoes - naturally high in free glutamate
mushrooms - naturally high in free glutamate
Medications in gelcaps - contain free glutamic acid in the gelatin
Cosmetics and shampoos - some now contain glutamic acid
Fresh produce sprayed with Auxigro in the field. (Yes the EPA approved this. It appalled us too.)

Be aware it is not just the brand names mentioned, but many similar products to the ones listed also contain MSG. You must read labels. These product names were given as examples of the many products that contain MSG.

Four good rules of thumb are:

The more salty a processed food is, the more likely it is to contain MSG or free glutamate.
The more processed a food is, the more likely it is to contain MSG or free glutamate: powdered stuff that used to be food is likely to have added MSG because the original flavor has been degraded.
The more ingredients in a packaged food, the more likely MSG is present. Read labels carefully if a food has more than five ingredients.
Do not trust something simply because it is in a health food store and the label states it is natural or even organic.

The next wave of hastily approved "MSG replacers" you may wish to avoid will be Senomyx.
According to the New York Times April 6, 2005 article "Food Companies Test Flavorings That Can Mimic Sugar, Salt or MSG":

" Since Senomyx's flavor compounds will be used in small proportions (less than one part per million), the company is able to bypass the lengthy F.D.A. approval process required to get food additives on the market. Getting the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association status of generally recognized as safe, or GRAS, took Senomyx less than 18 months, including a 3-month safety study using rats. In contrast, the maker of the artificial sweetener sucralose spent 11 years winning F.D.A. approval and is required to list the ingredient on food labels."

And Senomyx DOESN'T have to be labeled as such. It will be grouped under "artificial flavors". They still don't believe the consumer should know what they are eating. In fact, that is exactly the strategy. Here is one last quote from the NYT article to leave you with:

"We're helping companies clean up their labels," said Senomyx's chief executive, Kent Snyder.

Mr. Snyder, that is EXACTLY what we are afraid of.

For more Information:
MSG and Aspartame
MSG as Crop Spray

http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm




Natural glutamate can be found in for instance tomatoes and Parmesan cheese. It does not cause the same negative health effects as the artificially produced MSG. Only the chemically produced MSG is suspected to trigger unwanted effects in human beings.

http://www.msgtruth.org/whywe.htm


American Restaurant Syndrome?



MSG Symptom Complex

For years MSG Symptom Complex has been known in the US by the misnomer Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. We do not use that term anywhere on this site, except this page. The reason is quite simple. Calling this health problem Chinese Restaurant Syndrome not only does a disservice to Chinese Restaurant owners who do not add MSG, but it also dangerously hides the fact that American processed food is now so loaded with the flavor enhancer Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) as to be the largest source of MSG in the average American diet. Most Americans, when told MSG is harmful respond with "I don't eat Chinese food, so I don't need to worry".


"................" etc etc


http://www.msgtruth.org/whywe.htm

Do you have something against MSG ivanhoe? I can't quite hear your message over the noise of copy paste.

Originally posted by ivanhoe
MonoSodium Glutamate [Much used flavour enhancer E621 in the food-industry, Vé-Tsin (Chinese name), Ajinomoto (Japanese name)] intolerance.

"There have been reports of allergies and/or sensitivities to MSG, sometimes attributed to the free glutamic acid component, which has been blamed for causing a wide variety of physical symptoms such as migraines, nau ...[text shortened]... h difficulties resulting from using MSG ?

I would appreciate hearing your experiences.

Originally posted by murrow
yes i get headaches from msg.

i love chinese food though ... you can always ask for them to leave it out.
crisps (US: chips) are the thing that I struggle to find without msg.