From: dougb@comm.mot.com (Doug Bank)
Subject: Re: Is MSG sensitivity superstition?
Reply-To: dougb@ecs.comm.mot.com
Organization: Motorola Land Mobile Products Sector
Nntp-Posting-Host: 145.1.146.35
Lines: 39

In article <1993Apr14.122647.16364@tms390.micro.ti.com>, david@tms390.micro.ti.com (David Thomas) writes:
|> cnavarro@cymbal.calpoly.edu (CLAIRE) writes:

|> >>Is there such a thing as MSG (monosodium glutamate) sensitivity?
|> >>I saw in the NY Times Sunday that scientists have testified before 
|> >>an FDA advisory panel that complaints about MSG sensitivity are
|> >>superstition. Anybody here have experience to the contrary? 
|> >>
|> >>I'm old enough to remember that the issue has come up at least
|> >>a couple of times since the 1960s. Then it was called the
|> >>"Chinese restaurant syndrome" because Chinese cuisine has
|> >>always used it.

|> So far, I've seen about a dozen posts of anecdotal evidence, but
|> no facts.  I suspect there is a strong psychological effect at 
|> work here.  Does anyone have results from a scientific study
|> using double-blind trials?  

Here is another anecdotal story.  I am a picky eater and never wanted to 
try chinese food, however, I finally tried some in order to please a
girl I was seeing at the time.  I had never heard of Chinese restaurant
syndrome.  A group of us went to the restaurant and all shared 6 different
dishes.  It didn't taste great, but I decided it wasn't so bad.  We went
home and went to bed early.  I woke up at 2 AM and puked my guts outs.
I threw up for so long that (I'm not kidding) I pulled a muscle in
my tongue.  Dry heaves and everything.  No one else got sick, and I'm
not allergic to anything that I know of.  

Suffice to say that I wont go into a chinese restaurant unless I am 
physically threatened.  The smell of the food makes me ill (and that *is*
a psycholgical reaction).  When I have been dragged in to suffer
through beef and broccoli without any sauces, I insist on no MSG.  
I haven't gotten sick yet.

-- 
Doug Bank                       Private Systems Division
dougb@ecs.comm.mot.com          Motorola Communications Sector
dougb@nwu.edu                   Schaumburg, Illinois
dougb@casbah.acns.nwu.edu       708-576-8207                    
