It is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that's "generally recognized as safe," but its use remains controversial. The FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. However, a small percentage of people may have short-term reactions to MSG.
I had a friend who used to get headaches from it. I believe he also had blood pressure issues. I worked in a remote part of northern Virginia before The Sprawl expanded that far out, and lunch choices were 7-11, Wendy's or Golden Dragon. I ate at Golden Dragon at least 3 times a week for a couple of years (I really like Chinese food) and suffered no apparent ill effects, save an elevated thirst. I truly wonder how unsafe some of this stuff really is. It seems that things hit the news as though they're a crisis, and after all the sensationalism has been wrung from it, nothing has changed and the subject goes away, as so many new pandas at the zoo (It's panda_monium!!)
The FDA has said that for the most part, MSG is safe but I personally would not allow the stuff in any of my kitchens. There’s way too much controversy about it and no restaurant can stand a law suit no matter if the restaurant wins or loses, they lose. I treat MSG like the sulfides and sulfates a lot of commercial kitchens use to preserve lettuce and other veggies: I don’t use them. There are far too many ways to enhance one’s food and keep it fresh without the use of chemicals that frankly, aren’t food. Now, do I know that a lot of food I eat when we go out to dine is laced with MSG? Sure. I just do not use it myself when I prepare someone else’s food.
I bought an Excalibur dehydrator last year. They have a section extolling the benefits of dehydrated foods, and cite a health institute founded in the 60s based on a raw, organic diet (Hippocrates Health Institute.) They called it "Living Foods," and Excalibur extols the virtues of dehydration as playing a key part in this health movement. THEN the manual tells you that the best way to preserve those healthy dehydrated foods are to use sodium bisulfite, which Excalibur happens to sell. When I first started dehydrating, I was on the fence about using it. I even put a few in my Amazon Wish List (they may still be there.) But I opted to stick with vacuum seal bags and oxygen absorbers. That being said, if I were really preppring for TEOTWAWKI, I'd have a supply of bisulfite-preserved foods on hand. It would beat starving.
there are so many things that damage our bodies.... it would be difficult to research and stay away from the additives that do that... I guess...something's gonna kill us all.... that's my little joke about it...but it's true
That's right. Preservatives and processes have contributed to a steady food supply. The only effort we have to put forth is to push a cart around the store and put stuff in it...and we get to listen to cheesy music while we do it. So many of these studies are built on non-real world levels of consumption. I've commented before about the scientist who petitioned Congress to take pennies out of circulation because when he ground them up and fed them to rats, the rats got cancer; therefore, pennies are carcinogenic. It was crude, but he was making a point. Common sense must prevail, both in how we evaluate this data as well as the personal health choices that we make.
so right....I remember there was a country that refused our corn because it had been engineered..somewhere in Africa or India???... Regions of their country were starving from the drought.... if I were starving...please...pass me the corn
It's easy for the "fat & happy" leaders to reject aid on behalf others, huh? Those starving people would love to have whatever we offer them.