Monosodium Glutamate <--that's Msg, Right?

[Sweetfudge]

Hey all - I'm kind of having a brain fog day...I think it's due to hypoglycemia though, and not CC...I hope. Difficult to tell as it is also that time of the month and I get ill for a few days. Anyway, couldn't bear to sort through the archives, so I just thought I'd refresh the question. Thanks

[Shalia]

MSG is gluten free. It isn't good for you, but it's gluten free. (Mostly. If made in the US. If made in Asia, it's usually a wheat source.) (Source, Triumph Dining book, I think. *grin*)

Edit: Your in Provo? Cool. I'm in Salt Lake. Hellp fellow Utahn!

[happygirl]

sweetfudge---sorry you are having a rough patch! i hope you get to feeling better.

and yes, msg is gluten free when made in the US. you are correct

[Rusla]

I have read conflicting stuff to do with msg. Outside the fact I have a severe allergy to it and it makes me killer sick. I have read that sometimes it is gluten-free and sometimes not. So, why take the chance not only that, but my personal feelings are that the darn stuff should be made illegal.

[Shalia]

I have read conflicting stuff to do with msg. Outside the fact I have a severe allergy to it and it makes me killer sick. I have read that sometimes it is gluten-free and sometimes not. So, why take the chance not only that, but my personal feelings are that the darn stuff should be made illegal.

I've never read conflicting info on the gluten aspect, but I wholeheartedly agree with you on the illegal aspect.

I've been losing a lot more weight ever since I decided no more MSG. It's amazing.

Evil stuff that stuff is.

[MistressIsis]

I've heard the conflicting info too. In fact, the local chinese food place near work that I always go to brought the jar out to me & it said wheat starch on it so I just ask for whatever I want without it & tell then I'm allergic. It could be something else in it but I notice if I forget I get mild symptoms.

I've been thinking about the labeling issue. Yes they now have to label things correctly on the wheat side but I wonder how long it takes to get the older items off the shelves & the new correctly labeled items on. I gotta believe most restaurants & stores are gonna sell the unlabled stuff before bringing out the new...

[Kody]

I've never read conflicting info on the gluten aspect, but I wholeheartedly agree with you on the illegal aspect.

I've been losing a lot more weight ever since I decided no more MSG. It's amazing.

Evil stuff that stuff is.

I'm having a brain foggy day too -- can anyone tell me what MSG is? like what foods are they in and why is it so bad?

[pamelaD]

I'm having a brain foggy day too -- can anyone tell me what MSG is? like what foods are they in and why is it so bad?

MSG is monosodium glutamate, which is the sodium salt of glutamic acid (not gluten!). It is used as a flavor enhancer all over the world in many cuisines.

An analogy would be what we call 'salt', sodium chloride, which is the sodium salt of hydrochloric acid and also used as a flavor enchancer.

The difference is that sodium chloride ('salt') is in-organic. Glutamic acid is organic (meaning made up of carbon, hrydrogen, oxygen). Some people claim to be sensitive and/or allergic to it in a very similar way to other who are sensitive to other organic food additives like sulfites (this is just an analogy- msg and sulfites are not chemically related).

Hope this helps....

Pam

(chemist)

[Kody]

MSG is monosodium glutamate, which is the sodium salt of glutamic acid (not gluten!). It is used as a flavor enhancer all over the world in many cuisines.

An analogy would be what we call 'salt', sodium chloride, which is the sodium salt of hydrochloric acid and also used as a flavor enchancer.

The difference is that sodium chloride ('salt') is in-organic. Glutamic acid is organic (meaning made up of carbon, hrydrogen, oxygen). Some people claim to be sensitive and/or allergic to it in a very similar way to other who are sensitive to other organic food additives like sulfites (this is just an analogy- msg and sulfites are not chemically related).

Hope this helps....

Pam

(chemist)

geez, how do you find out if you're allergic to it? Any testing available anywhere? I could do trial and error, but how would i do that? read all my food labels for MSG?