3/11    Anyone here thinks MSG is bad for you?
        bad     : ..
        not bad : ..
        \_ If you think MSG is bad for you, I hope you avoid ripe tomatoes,
           seaweed, and aged cheeses.
           \_ The amount of MSG in tomatos is insignificant compare to
              the MSG you buy in supermarkets. I haven't heard of anyone
              allegic to tomatos, but quite a number of people are allergic
              to MSG in restaurants.
              \_ I've heard that most bad reactions are due to impurities
                 in the MSG they buy & use.  If you get high quality,
                 well-refined stuff, supposedly it's much better.
           \_ I don't think that's really MSG, I think it's just glutamate.
              I assume that sodium in monosodium glutamate makes some
              kind of difference.  Probably makes it last longer.
        \_ MSG is an excitotoxin. It excites your neurons (like in you taste
           buds) but it is bad for your central nervous system. MSG is
           really bad stuff and shouldn't be put in food.
           \_ See, I really don't get this.  I looked into what MSG is.  It
              turns out MSG is just glutamate, (as said above) with a sodium
              instead of a hydrogen, converting it from an acid to a salt.
              However, I looked up the equilibrium constant for MSG.  It turns
              out that both glutamic acid and MSG dissociate in water to
              a positive Na+ or H+ ion and -glutamate, to within a few PPM.
              So, like .0001% of MSG is actually MSG once it hits your mouth.
              Now, glutamate is about 34% of all proteins.  So when you eat
              protein, and you eat it with salt (NaCl), you've got all the
              ingredients for MSG in your stomach--the protein gets chopped up
              into glutamic acid by your digestive processes.  And by the
              equilibrium constants and the presense of Na+ from NaCl, some
              MSG is going to be made spontaneously.  So, as I understand it,
              eating salted chicken is equivalent to eating MSG.  But no one
              decries eating salted chicken.  Given my researches, I just don't
              understand how MSG can be harmful.  It seems that the theory
              that it's MSG contaminants that cause the problem, is more plausible.
              Is the source for your claim mainstream?  Or is it just that
              "MSG" sounds scary so people scapegoat it?  --PeterM
              \_ Whenever I eat food with high MSG level, I don't get
                 a good night of sleep. My brain just doesn't drift
                 into a sleep mode and I am sort of half awake for a
                 long time. When I don't eat MSG food I can sleep
                 fine. I am a light sleeper so YMMV, but it does seem
                 to have a caffeine effect on me and make me agitated
                 when I am trying to sleep. This sort of makes sense
                 after I read about how it excites your neurons. I
                 can't say I am allergic to MSG, but when I eat at
                 crappy Chinese restaurants that puts in a lot of MSG,
                 my mouth gets very dry afterwards and I need to drink
                 a lot of water or fruits to 'counter' the effect. I
                 think the key here is the level, it is significantly
                 higher than what's present in natural food. I'd
                 rather be safe than sorry and avoid it when I can.