Food Additives

[JJReyes]

My wife noticed she would get a headache after eating at certain restaurants. Sometimes it included the swelling of her lips.

The culprit turns out to be MSG sold under the popular brand name Ajinomoto and other food additives known as "sprinklers." It is added to food to enhance taste. Most Filipinos don't suffer because they consume soft drinks and sweetened fruit juices as part of their meal. She only drinks water. For some reason the sugar helps counteract the chemicals used.

Any comments? 

[Gary D]

MSG is just fermented Cassava and baking soda but that is not to say someone may be allergic to it.

[not so old china hand]

Years ago on "Letter from America" on what was then the BBC Home Service the late, great, Alister Cooke reported the following. "The American Medical Association investigated reports of "MSG headache syndrome' with people complaining of hangover-like symptoms after eating Chinese food heavily laced with MSG. Then someone pointed out that meals in Chinese restaurants are often accompanied by copious amounts of beer..."

On the other hand since the S stands for sodium it's not good for those on a low Na diet.

[jpbago]

1 hour ago, JJReyes said:

Any comments? 

Majic sarap is another one that is used here as an enhancer. They are high in salt content so it preserves the side dishes that are made one morning and left unrefrigerated until it is all gone. I was having a reaction similar to that of your wife so I stopped eating those "side dishes" and we don't use either at home. Locals use lots of salt. Those enhancers don't affect the locals as they dilute the side dishes with 6 cups of rice. Onions, garlic, peppers, ginger and curry are better enhancers. 

[virginprune]

I won't have MSG or any other flavour enhancers in the house, although I do use soy sauce occasionally depending on the dish. I do 90% of the cooking and make everything from scratch, including curry pastes and spice rubs etc. For seasoning I use sea salt and I'm not heavy handed with that. We seldom eat out but if we do and there is MSG in the food I can tell straight away as it gives me a thirst I cannot slake but no headache thankfully!

 

[SNAFU]

Ditto that Magic Sarap, MSG is a listed ingredient. We try to limit our use. Here's a Mayo Clinic link:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/monosodium-glutamate/faq-20058196

[i am bob]

5 hours ago, SNAFU said:

Ditto that Magic Sarap, MSG is a listed ingredient. We try to limit our use. Here's a Mayo Clinic link:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/monosodium-glutamate/faq-20058196

Yeah, she's going by the FDA and not from many others have found.  MSG has been banned or limited in it's use in several countries now.  Excessive intake has been linked to heart, kidney and liver disease and has also been found to be responsible for quite a few deaths.  One of the former Soviet countries (I forget which one at the moment) was even putting it in baby formula and saw a rise in infant deaths by over 20%.  I'll see if I can find my references later today...  I'm just taking a short with break at the moment.

 When I had my first heart failure, one of the first questions I was asked was if I ate a lot of canned or Chinese food...  Why?  Ex-military with no prognosis of a heart condition yet I was admitted for a wild arrythmia, congestive heart failure and with a heart almost twice the normal size...  According to the doc, my heart size was possibly due to MSG intake.  Turns out that my heart really is that big.  Still, MSG gives me every one of the symptoms listed above...  Including a wild bout of arrythmia...  Needless to say, MSG is banned from my house...  

[JJReyes]

My wife's solution to the MSG issue is to cook at our rental apartment. We had visited one of my classmate's hydroponic project in Tagaytay. He had purchased greenhouses and the technology from Israel to produce tomatoes and peppers for hotels and restaurants. My wife bought 3 kilos of tomatoes, making her a happy camper. 

The hydroponic project was very interesting. Each greenhouse produces 400 kilos per day. Whenever production falls below that level, the plants are removed and they replant. An Israeli technician monitors the amount of water with nutrients each plant receives using a computer. Each greenhouse requires three full-time Filipino workers. In Israel, only one.

[SNAFU]

22 hours ago, JJReyes said:

Each greenhouse requires three full-time Filipino workers. In Israel, only one.

Why is that, JJR? Skills, learning curve, environmental/resource/tech limitations, etc.?

[mogo51]

MSG has long been a no no in our house.