MSG in Food: What We Dodge
You won’t see us turning away good food at this house… unless that good flavor comes from the nasty little chemical compound called monosodium glutamate (MSG). This scary little food additive can be found in a lot of prepackaged foods, fried foods, and meats. Chain restaurants, locally owned restaurants, fast food, slow family restaurants – a lot of ‘em have this little additive.
You and I chose foods based on taste. MSG’s main function is to enhance the taste of food, so we naturally turn to food products with more MSG. The United States Food & Drug Administration says that MSG is okay in our food at this point, but a lot of scientists disagree.
Every time Martin and I move, I start thinking about our diet. It shifts slightly each time as our meals match what’s readily available. You can probably bet there wasn’t an organic Sri Lanka restaurant back where I was learning to fly in the US, and I don’t think we’ll be finding fresh raspberries on the side of the road in Berlin. Those changes are easy to recognize; it’s the chemical adjustments that have me thinking – you know, stuff like MSG.
So what’s the big deal?
MSG tears open your taste buds to heighten the flavor of food. If you eat a lot of MSG in your meal, your mouth will feel kind of funny afterward. Martin would describe it as raw feeling. For me, it’s kind of waxy. I feel like a dog trying to lick peanut butter off the roof of my mouth. Try eating a bunch of jerky or a shrimp basket at your favorite restaurant, and you’ll see what we mean when you walk out the door.
Some scientists believe MSG is one of the biggest causes of obesity in the US, and others worry about how it over-stimulates our brains. A lot of people get headaches after eating Chinese food in the US. It’s because of MSG. I’ve read about how it increases chances of cancer, asthma, and Alzheimer’s. I suppose the argument could be that everything that we do or eat influences these diseases. MSG is something we can feel, which is rare, and it doesn’t feel natural at all… which is reason enough for our house and maybe yours to try and steer clear. Here’s how:
In Your Cupboards
There are a lot of arguments about MSG. I even caught a commercial for MSG-free soup while I was watching TV with my grandma in the US. The easiest way to avoid MSG at home is to:
At the Restaurant
We ask. A lot of waitresses will have no idea what MSG is, so ask about preservatives in the food. At our house, the easiest way we’ve found to avoid MSG is to avoid fried food.
We don’t know the answers, but I just thought I’d pass on one of the little chemicals we dodge like the plague at our house in our efforts to simplify our diet and our lives.
How does dinner roll at your house? Are you reading labels and watching out for MSG or other additives? Got ingredients you nix from your shopping cart? You know we’re hungry to hear!
(Data from Healthy Choices; image from Boston)
Keep it green and simple with 2 more ideas:
September 15th, 2009 at 6:09 am
Hi,
You won’t believe how many items we DO NOT buy anymore from the supermarket due to additives, colorings etc etc. Things like ketchup, sausages, smoked turkey, salami, salt(!), deserts, sweets and the list is endless..
Thankfully in Greece people still cook at least one meal at home from scratch. That means that when I want to eat french fries, I go to the groceries buy fresh potatoes, peel them off, slice them and then fry them in olive oil. In fact, a friend of mine that lives in Germany for a year now, is shocked by the things that Germans eat and worst of all, feed their children. Always prepackaged or precooked meals…tons of MSG there, as you can understand.
As for the things I’ve changed:
- I no longer use iodised salt. I buy sea salt in large quantities from locals. No additives at all.
- I no longer buy milk from the “big” companies. I’ve found a local family business and get my milk from them. Their farm is immaculate.
- I make my own bread and pizzas. Toast bread, loaf bread, whole wheat bread you name it, I make it. Not perfectly yet but decently enough.
- I try to eat fruits and vegetables at their own time
- I buy meat from local producers. Quite more expensive but we eat meat only once or twice a week so the expense isn’t that big
- I make basic cooking staff like chicken broth and tomato sauce once every couple of months and freeze them so as not to buy them in cans
I also make my own cleaners and detergents and I’ve gotten rid of the chemicals, too!
I don’t think or feel that I’m doing more now than before. It just needs more organization. To tell you the truth, sometimes I think I spent more time into the supermarket reading labels than baking or cooking!
September 15th, 2009 at 11:46 am
You know a way that food companies make their “MSG-free” food taste good? They add ingredients that have MSG in them. They are not required to add MSG to the ingredient list, even if one of the ingredients in their ingredient list has MSG in it. They are “hiding” it in our food.
In German, it is “Glutamat” and on the package, if it is without Glutamat, it will say “Ohne Geschmacksverstärker”.
In our family, we avoid it in our food at home most of the time. If I can’t find something that I need without MSG, like chicken bouillon granules, I still buy it but rarely use it. We are guilty of eating fast food about once every 4 months or so and I know they add kaboodles to their food.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
For a list of the ingredients in which MSG is hidden, you can go to the web site of the Truth in Labeling Campaign: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html.
September 15th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
it was unavoidable growing up in Indonesia. They put msg in everything, far moreso than we do here.
September 16th, 2009 at 6:04 am
The ingredients I try avoid are high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. These are also found in a lot of packaged foods, ketchup, and salad dressing. I definitely read labels, limit packaged foods, and try to buy fresh fruits and veggies.
September 16th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Thumbs up, thumbs up! I love all of the tips you all have. Ketchup? I didn’t even think about that one… but of course it would!
Thanks for the word on labels, Katie: “glutamat” Got it.
I love when I can learn from all of you.
Katie
September 18th, 2009 at 6:43 am
While I’m 100% with you on avoiding an excess of packaged foods, I think that singling out MSG may be a bit unfair.
Have you ever seen recommendations to add Parmesan rinds to vegetable stock? Wondered why Japanese cooking uses dried shiitakes so often? Parmesan cheese and shiitake mushrooms both contain high amounts of naturally occurring msg. As for ketchup? Tomatoes have a fair amount of it too (not saying there isn’t more added, but even homemade ketchup wouldn’t be msg-free).
There are a LOT of reasons to avoid regular dinners of fried shrimp doused in ketchup without even considering msg.
My philosophy is everything in moderation. I try to avoid things I know aren’t wholesome….but a few pieces of jerky on a road trip aren’t going to kill me.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Planting Oaks, you are completely right about the idea of everything in moderation. I’m not trying to eliminate natural msg in foods. It’s the addition of msg to foods that I am avoiding. Wonderful point; I’m sorry for not clarifying.
Katie
September 19th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I don’t avoid MSG specifically. However, I do avoid packaged, processed foods as much as possible. They have so many ingredients that concern me. High-fructose corn syrup, genetically modified corn starch, artificial colours and flavours. There are just so many reasons to buy stuff that you can identify and then cook it yourself.