From: julie@eddie.jpl.nasa.gov (Julie Kangas)
Subject: Re: Is MSG sensitivity superstition?
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In article <michael.735318247@vislab.me.iastate.edu> michael@iastate.edu (Michael M. Huang) writes:
>MSG is common in many food we eat, including Chinese (though some oriental
>restaurants might put a tad too much in them).  I've noticed that when I
>go out and eat in most of the Chinese food restaurants, I will usually get
>a slight headache and an ununsual thirst afterwards.  This happens to many
>of my friends and relatives too.  And, heh, we eat Chinese food all the
>time at home :) (but we don't use MSG when we're cooking for ourselves)
>
>So, when we put one and one together, it can be safely assumed that
>MSG may cause some allergic reactions in some people.
>
>Stick with natural things.  MSG doesn't do body any good (and possibly
>harms, for that matter).  So, why bother with it?  Taste food as it should
>be tasted, and don't cloud the flavor with an imaginary cloak of MSG.

As I understood it, MSG *is* natural.  Isn't it found in 
tomatoes?

Anyway, lots of people are terribly allergic to lots of natural
things; peanuts, onions, tomatoes, milk, etc.  Just because something
is 'natural' doesn't mean it won't cause problems with some folks.

As for how foods taste:  If I'm not allergic to MSG and I like
the taste of it, why shouldn't I use it?  Saying I shouldn't use
it is like saying I shouldn't eat spicy food because my neighbor
has an ulcer.

People have long modified the taste of food by additives, whether
they be chiles, black pepper, salt, cream sauces, etc.  All of these
things cloud the flavor of the food.  Why do we bother with them?
How should food be tasted?  Isn't it better left to the diner?

Julie
DISCLAIMER:  All opinions here belong to my cat and no one else
