Readers Report on MSG
Of the dozens of responses to the Memos on MSG, most readers reported the types of symptoms commonly attributed to MSG along with some interesting physical responses. Several people responded that they had always heard to avoid MSG, so they have. I thought one particular comment was interesting: upon looking at the foods that contain MSG, especially snack food, he wouldn’t eat them anyway so it was never an issue for him.
Many people get a true allergic response within minutes of ingesting MSG. This is the list of reactions: swelling, hives, itching, redness, headache, migraines, coughing, palpitations, shortness of breath, numbness around the mouth and cheeks, joint stiffness, pain in the arms, sleepiness, stupor, trouble sleeping, vomiting, and diarrhea. If they avoid MSG, they don’t have the symptoms.
There were a couple of unusual reactions I have to mention. One individual found that if he has MSG in food for dinner, he has vivid dreams, usually involving someone chasing him around or being in a struggle situation. He never gets them otherwise, so he avoids MSG.
Another person said when he eats food with MSG, he craves chocolate.
The common theme was that everyone used trial and error to find the culprit. Here’s your challenge, even if you’ve never attributed a problem to MSG: if you get some of the symptoms on the list, examine the content of the foods you eat. Can you narrow down a suspect for your symptoms? The goal is know yourself and the way to do that is to pay attention.
What are you prepared to do today?
