| Re: MSG is awful for some and can't be good for others
verbmerger,
I too have a negative reaction to MSG, although not quite as negative as you and your father. I sympathise.
I don't think that campaigning for a law to ban it from foods is going to work, because too many people think it's a benign additive. I am greatful, however, that there seem to be laws in place in North America, and in Europe where I live, to insist that manufacturers list ingredients on the label of the product. As you note, msg is "disguised" under various names, and one must learn to read labels carefully and thoroughly. I do this anyway because I have gluten intolerance, and have learned to read for the long list of "disguised" names that indicates that there is probably wheat and/or gluten present.
The one suggestion that I can recommend is to buy separate ingredients and cook from scratch as much as possible. A single ingredient has nothing else added, except for maybe salt. I make my own bread, mayonnaise, spaghetti sauce (canned tomato paste has only salt added, and I add my own veggies and herbs and lean meat), etc. I often bring my own lunch when I go out. I am careful to order simple things when I eat dinner in a restaurant, and I avoid Chinese restaurants and chain restaurants entirely. Look for restaurants that cook things from scratch. Or order a salad from a place that you trust, and bring your own salad dressing that you know to be free of ingredients that are a problem for you.
It does seem funny to me that people say "well, msg is a substance found naturally in foods, and so therefore if you can eat those foods, then you can't possibly have a problem with msg being added as an extra ingredient!" Well, there's a big difference between the chemicals found naturally in whole foods vs the concentrated single chemicals that are isolated from those foods and added in high concentrations to our products. I have no problems eating tomatoes or mushrooms or other foods that are high in natural msg. When someone adds isolated msg to products, I get sick. What's wrong with the natural flavor of foods???
So, again, I sympathise. Learn to cook from scratch.
--Rheanna
| 
