eat healthy foods...
- Tyler
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eat healthy foods...
“First lesson: money is not wealth; Second lesson: experiences are more valuable than possessions; Third lesson: by the time you arrive at your goal it’s never what you imagined it would be so learn to enjoy the process” - unknown
- Innocent Bystander
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- chrisoff
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MSG is an additive used in asian cooking to enhance flavour, it does the same job as the basic stock used in most asian cooking, dashi. There isn't any great reason to use it other than it's easy, but also there's not a convincing argument (as in there really isn't. I don't mean there isn't a convincing argument in the global warming, head in the sand sense) that it causes the problems reported.
Here's a good, balanced article about MSG:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmont ... 68,00.html
Here's a good, balanced article about MSG:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmont ... 68,00.html
- Innocent Bystander
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Kwok syndrome/Kong Syndrome/Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.fearfaoin wrote:Why is that? I know some folks are hypersensitive to it, but IA-Musing wrote:In prain Engrish, MSG velly velly BAD!!!
can't figure out what caused the general public to try to avoid
the substance.
If you wake up in the middle of the night with palpitations and a galloping headache after eating Chinese food, it's probably the MSG. (or the vast amounts of alcohol used to wash it down...)
Wizard needs whiskey, badly!
- djm
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Couldn't resist. I had to look up needle mushroom. This one turned out to be valid. Golden needle mushroom is the common translation for enoki mushrooms.
MSG is a modern substitute for a natural starchy enzyme product used in Chinese cooking for as long as anyone can remember. It can be used as a tenderizing agent, but mostly it is used as a "filler" flavour.
Why are people down on MSG? As others have noted here, some people are really sensitive to MSG, but in reality, lots of MSG is usually a sign that the food isn't very fresh, and the cook is trying to cover this up. Some Chinese are really crazy for MSG. If their tongue isn't numb by the end of a meal they say there wasn't enough MSG in the dishes. I don't know why, but Coke seems to help counter the effect of MSG on the tongue.
Another thing that people refer to was a study a few decades ago by WHO that pointed out that Chinese have more stomach cancer than any other group. There was no direct correlation with Chinese cuisine or MSG in the study, but of course those who are looking for a scape-goat often immediately point to MSG. It could just as easily turn out to be a genetic predisposition for stomach cancer.
Personally I don't mind MSG in small portions, though it does instantly remind me that they are covering the taste of stale food. I have experienced the wooden tongue of too much MSG at a few Chinese banquets and cannot find anything good to say about it.
djm
MSG is a modern substitute for a natural starchy enzyme product used in Chinese cooking for as long as anyone can remember. It can be used as a tenderizing agent, but mostly it is used as a "filler" flavour.
Why are people down on MSG? As others have noted here, some people are really sensitive to MSG, but in reality, lots of MSG is usually a sign that the food isn't very fresh, and the cook is trying to cover this up. Some Chinese are really crazy for MSG. If their tongue isn't numb by the end of a meal they say there wasn't enough MSG in the dishes. I don't know why, but Coke seems to help counter the effect of MSG on the tongue.
Another thing that people refer to was a study a few decades ago by WHO that pointed out that Chinese have more stomach cancer than any other group. There was no direct correlation with Chinese cuisine or MSG in the study, but of course those who are looking for a scape-goat often immediately point to MSG. It could just as easily turn out to be a genetic predisposition for stomach cancer.
Personally I don't mind MSG in small portions, though it does instantly remind me that they are covering the taste of stale food. I have experienced the wooden tongue of too much MSG at a few Chinese banquets and cannot find anything good to say about it.
djm
I'd rather be atop the foothills than beneath them.
Is that where you wake up thinking you're a Chinese Restaurant?Innocent Bystander wrote:Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.
And what's that have to do with King Kong?
Interesting, thanks. Sounds like it may or may not be popularchrisoff wrote:Here's a good, balanced article about MSG:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmont ... 68,00.html
misinformation...
I've had the numb tongue before, but I thought it was from the
Chinese insanity peppers. Oy.
Last edited by fearfaoin on Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- jkwest
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Doritos have a lot of MSG. Just last week a guy I work with got a bag of the Nacho Cheesier flavor. At the bottom of the bag was a huge glob of flavoring. We saved it and now refer to it as our 'MSG lick'. It was about the size of two bullion cubes squeezed together. We haven't had the stomach to try it yet..
- cowtime
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We saved it and now refer to it as our 'MSG lick'.
I just picture cows licking the "salt rocks". (rocks that are licked smooth by countless cow tounges where we always threw loose salt for them-"salted the cows")
"Let low-country intruder approach a cove
And eyes as gray as icicle fangs measure stranger
For size, honesty, and intent."
John Foster West
And eyes as gray as icicle fangs measure stranger
For size, honesty, and intent."
John Foster West
- anniemcu
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Tell that to my husband, who can tell you within less than10 minutes of eating it that "there must have been some MSG in that...."... and lo and behold... there always has been ... He gets a specific kind of headache with it.chrisoff wrote:... there's not a convincing argument (as in there really isn't. I don't mean there isn't a convincing argument in the global warming, head in the sand sense) that it causes the problems reported.
anniemcu
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- Tyler
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- Tell us something.: I've picked up the tinwhistle again after several years, and have recently purchased a Chieftain v5 from Kerry Whistles that I cannot wait to get (why can't we beam stuff yet, come on Captain Kirk, get me my Low D!)
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Isn't that what one of the guys on Heroes can do, or am I thinking of X-Men?anniemcu wrote:Tell that to my husband, who can tell you within less than10 minutes of eating it that "there must have been some MSG in that...."... and lo and behold... there always has been ... He gets a specific kind of headache with it.chrisoff wrote:... there's not a convincing argument (as in there really isn't. I don't mean there isn't a convincing argument in the global warming, head in the sand sense) that it causes the problems reported.
“First lesson: money is not wealth; Second lesson: experiences are more valuable than possessions; Third lesson: by the time you arrive at your goal it’s never what you imagined it would be so learn to enjoy the process” - unknown
- Jerry Freeman
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This kind of headache reaction is common.anniemcu wrote:Tell that to my husband, who can tell you within less than10 minutes of eating it that "there must have been some MSG in that...."... and lo and behold... there always has been ... He gets a specific kind of headache with it.chrisoff wrote:... there's not a convincing argument (as in there really isn't. I don't mean there isn't a convincing argument in the global warming, head in the sand sense) that it causes the problems reported.
If you look at the list of glutamate containing foods the article's author touts as proof MSG is harmless, you'll see a number of foods known to trigger migraines in susceptable people.
The source of glutamate is irrelevant; significant amounts of glutamate from any source cause headaches in susceptable people. If it's true that Japanese and Chinese don't get headaches from glutamate, then perhaps there's a genetic susceptability that's more common in non-Asian populations.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=5364970
We've dramatically reduced Arleen's migraines, as well as my own, less severe headaches by following Dr. David Buchholz's advice (Faculty and Director of the Division of General Neurology, Johns Hopkins; author, Heal Your Headache).
Best wishes,
Jerry