THE concept of “no added MSG” has become a popular marketing tool for restaurants and food manufacturers, preying on a public fear of this common food additive.
This perception has led many to believe that it is something of a chemical villain lurking in their favourite meals.
But what does science say about the flavour enhancer and its supposed dangers? Is it true that MSG causes headaches?
Verdict:
FALSE
MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a food additive widely used in many cuisines, including those here in Malaysia.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classifies it as “generally recognised as safe” (GRAS). This status is supported by extensive scientific research conducted over more than 40 years.
The glutamates in MSG are chemically identical to the natural glutamate found in protein-rich foods such as cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
The human body metabolises both sources of glutamate in the same way and the average person consumes significantly more natural glutamate from food than from added MSG.
The term “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” was first coined in a letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine in 1968 by Dr Robert Ho Man Kwok.
He was a Chinese-American doctor who reported feeling symptoms like neck numbness, general weakness, and palpitations after eating at a Chinese restaurant.
He speculated that the symptoms could be caused by the cooking wine, the high sodium content, or the MSG.
This letter, combined with other anecdotal reports, led to a widespread public fear of MSG.
Despite the lack of scientific evidence, the term became a cultural shorthand for the alleged adverse effects of the food additive.
Subsequent studies have failed to replicate Dr Kwok’s findings under controlled conditions.
A 1995 report from the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) for the FDA concluded that MSG is safe when “eaten at customary levels.”
While a small number of people reported mild, short-term symptoms when consuming three or more grams of MSG without food, these effects were not severe or life-threatening.
When consumed with food, the evidence of a link disappears.
The International Headache Society has removed MSG from its list of headache triggers due to a lack of convincing evidence.
The society’s decision was based on a review of numerous clinical studies, none of which could definitively link MSG to headaches in the general population.
Some studies exploring a link between MSG and headaches have been inconclusive or flawed. They often used a high dose of MSG dissolved in a liquid, which does not reflect normal consumption.
Major health bodies like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Food Safety Association (EFSA) have also found no credible evidence that MSG causes health problems.
Nutritionists and food scientists emphasise that the aversions some people feel towards certain foods may be due to other ingredients, the sheer volume of food consumed, or an underlying food intolerance unrelated to MSG.
The widespread fear of MSG has, in many cases, led to a form of nocebo effect, where a person experiences negative symptoms simply because they believe they will.
References:
1. https://www.fda.gov/food/
2. https://www.nejm.org/doi/
3. https://www.sciencedirect.
4. https://www.sciencedirect.
