# When Ordering Chinese Food (MSG)



## SJ1985 (Apr 1, 2006)

I mentioned this in another discussion, but thinking about it, it might be worth mentioning in a topic.A lot of us get majorly debilitated once we ingest a bit of Chinese food, and in a lot of cases it's because of a certain flavour enhancer called MSG, or *mono sodium glutamate*. What a lot of sufferers don't realise is that this is a granulated ingredient which is just thrown in like salt or sugar.







^ This is the fabled MSG which causes so many problems, allergic reactions and even, in some people, fits. It's a granulated flavour enhancer like salt (sodium chloride). It's not something which is doomed to be in all Chinese ingredients. It's something they add when cooking your meal.I always loved Chinese, but after getting IBS finding what it did to my bowel (far worse than any other food, some days I would find myself in unbearable pain on the loo the next day, trying not to scream even), and to my oesophagus (would make my acid reflux worse than ever and actually give me strong physical chest pain) I had to find out about this MSG and why it's so evil, because all things considered, most Chinese food is made out of otherwise very healthy ingredients.What some people don't realise is that they add MSG into the meal in the same way we add salt. It's not an E-Number or a "cheating" ingredient, it's just a slight enhancer. It actually achieves a taste which is popular in China, called "Umami", considered to be the fifth basic taste - salt is salty, sugar is sweet, grapefruit is bitter, lemon is sour and MSG is umami (and pretty much the only common ingredient which gives the taste). It's really no different to us throwing salt all over our chips (fries, if you're American







).So if it's just one supplemental ingredient, a seasoning, and they make your food while you're there, why are we all avoiding the food altogether? Why not just ask for them to make it without MSG? The Chinese lady who runs my local Chinese restaurant (well, local to my girlfriend's house) makes me an MSG-free meal every time, but always warns me that there will be some in the prawn crackers because she can't make a new batch just for me. I asked at another Chinese restaurant a while back and they happily did so there as well.Surely enough, when I do this, I can eat the lot of it without as much as a hiccup. So long as it's a restaurant they cook the food while you're there (or between when you order over the phone and go to pick it up), they should do this for you, the only stuff they can't make without MSG is the stuff they make a batch of at the start of the day and then use them up when they're ordered, like prawn crackers or maybe chips.Funnily enough, while I think the noodle soup is missing a little something, I actually found the chow mein at my local to taste nicer without it. A *lot* nicer, actually! Perhaps I don't like umami as much as salty, heheh... Just put a bit of salt on in it's place and it still tastes great, and you can actually taste the proper ingredients of the food more.Sorry if this is obvious, but you'd be surprised at the number of people who haven't thought to try it. Try it. See if they'll do it for you, see if it still affects your IBS without the MSG in there!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Yes for sure you can request things be made without it and still enjoy that type of food! I would definitely ask your local Chinese Restaurant if they can indeed serve you without adding MSG.I'm kinda lucky myself... the Chinese Restaurant closest to me doesn't use MSG at all. Thanks for posting this.All the bestBQ


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## KLG (Jul 8, 2002)

You need to be careful though because most food labeled "NO MSG" still has it in there, it just isn't MSG...its free glutamate in other ingredients. They can say "broth", "natural flavors", "spices" , "seasoning" etc. Accent is MSG, and yet most other flavor enhancers for meat have it in too. MSG is just the purest most potent form. It depends on how much the place makes from scratch. Also if you react to MSG, Soy sauce is naturally extremely high in free glutamate so whether it is unami or not there is a good chance you will still react because it is the glutamate that causes the reaction. If you order soup and they aren't making it from scratch as many places don't..., they are still most likely going to have it in there. What are the ingredients in their fortune cookies....most store bought cookies have at least one ingredient containing glutamate. Here is the list of free glutamate containing ingredients: http://www.msgmyth.com/hidename.htmI am MSG sensitive and I can say I cannot even take a supplement in a gelatin capsule. I hate eating out anywhere....not just Chinese food. They put it in everything. I bring a benadryl with me to help dampen its effects on me.


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