Is MSG Bad for Your Health?

For many years I saw "No MSG" signs on many Chinese restaurant menus, but like most people, I had no idea what MSG actually was. When I began doing some research, I was shocked that the FDA allowed this chemical to be used as a food additive.

First of all, what exactly is MSG? Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a part of a chemical group known as excitotoxins. Excitotoxins interfere with brain chemistry and have been linked to many neurological disorders and health issues such as obesity, migraines, seizures, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, hives, and skin rashes, among other things. So, why is MSG being added to food? Because it a flavor enhancer that can make bland foods more palatable and make flavorful foods even more tasty. Many snacks and other food products would cease to exist if MSG was outlawed.

In the early 20^th century, Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda discovered that glutamic acid, a substance that occurs naturally in some foods, was the component responsible for the distinct flavor of kombu (a type of edible kelp) and other seaweeds. After evaporating large quantities of kombu he discovered that glutamic acid crystals were left behind and he later patented a method to mass produce the glutamic acid crystals, a.k.a. MSG.

In 1959, the FDA declared monosodium glutamate as generally recognized as safe, although it has been linked to health issues such as Chinese Food Syndrome, whose symptoms include numbness of extremities, headaches, nausea, and weakness, as early as 1968. Other reported side effects of MSG consumption include joint pain, lethargy, irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, anxiety, and even runny nose and sinus problems, which brings us to my health issues.

Several years ago after moving to New York City, I found myself consuming Chinese food several times a week because it is was so readily available and so cheap. I also consumed lots of processed foods, including Ramen Noodles and other things that contained MSG, although I was unaware of this fact at the time. Within two years, I found myself with arthritis, severe skin rashes, weakness, lethargy, numbness in my hands and feet and digestive problems and I was only 29 years old. The doctors did many tests, but had no idea of the cause of my sudden decline in health. Even the acne that I had suffered from as a teenage had returned to my face and back.

It was only by accident that I started reading up on MSG. It was after I saw a flyer from a Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood that advertised "No MSG". For the first time, I decided to find out just what MSG was and I was shocked to see the health problems it was linked to. I was also shocked that I had many of those health problems myself.

After four years of suffering with poor health, I decided to cut MSG out of my diet to see if it was indeed the culprit, but I was surprised to learn that MSG was in seemingly everything! Sauces, soups, frozen foods, potato chips, the list went on. I started reading the labels of everything in the grocery store, but it was a daunting task considering that MSG can be disguised under many names such as, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, yeast extract, vegetable protein extract, and even an innocent-sounding name such as spices. I finally cut MSG out of my diet and eventually, the skin rashes, itchy hives, digestive and other health problems went away.

This made me think of my health problems in the past. When I was a small child, I would have these rashes that would appear on various parts of my body then vanish and reappear somewhere else. I also used to periodically get these itchy hives on my fingers that wouldn't stop itching no matter how much I scratched. (I usually broke the skin from scratching so hard.) Was MSG the cause of these problems? I can't say for sure, but I can say maybe.

As a teenager I suffered from face and back acne that would not go away no matter what product I used. During the years that I was vegetarian and not eating processed foods, I had no acne or other skin problems. The acne only returned after I began eating many foods loaded with MSG. I also remember a time in college when I always ate Ramen Noodles often and suffered from numb hands and feet. I now know for sure that it came from the MSG in the flavor packets of the noodles.

There is still some debate over whether or not MSG is actually dangerous since it doesn't seem to affect everyone, but how can we know who is really affected by it when the symptoms can be so subtle? Like a teenager with acne, who would think to link that to MSG consumption?

As with any chemical, some people are more sensitive than others and some people are not sensitive at all. I can say from my personal experience that MSG affects me and if I "cheat" and have Chinese food or snacks with MSG I start itching and small hives begin to appear on my skin.

I would suggest that anyone experiencing any of these MSG-related symptoms or sudden change in health to do some research to see if MSG could be the culprit because the root cause of these health problems can be easily missed or misdiagnosed by doctors. There is no need to get into a debate with other people over whether or not MSG is dangerous because all that matters is whether or not it is dangerous to you.