After relishing a bowl of sweet-and-sour soup or savouring lip-smacking chicken noodles, have you ever felt your chest tighten, your limbs weak or your head ache? Or have you complained of facial flushing, profuse sweating, heartburn, palpitations, anxiety, excessive urination, thirst, nausea, asthma or depression? And has your child has had attacks mimicking epileptic seizures after gulping down spring-rolls?If so, you or your child has Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (which is more likely to be experienced by women than by men) and is sensitive to Mono Sodium Glutamate (MSG), commonly known as ajinomoto and a widely-used flavour-enhancing additive in Chinese food. MSG is a sodium salt of glutamate, an amino acid that occurs naturally in cheese, fish, meat, peas, mushrooms and milk and is used by the body as a protein-building block and also to “fine-tune” brain function.MSG is extensively added to meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables by restaurants and is also being liberally used in processed foods. It’s an ingredient of commercial spice mixtures, bouillon cubes, seasoned salt, soy sauce, gravy mixes, cheese dips, meat bases, crackers, dried and canned soups, frozen foods, mayonnaise and salad dressings. In some countries, it is used as a table-top seasoning.Research has shown that MSG intolerance may not be as common as previously thought with symptoms being subjective and transitory and without documented long-term effects. Studies have placed MSG on the GRAS (generally regarded as safe) list of food additives approved by the US FDA. Because of individual sensitivity issues, food labels are required to indicate the presence of MSG. The phrase “contains glutamate” appears on labels of foods containing MSG. While MSG may be safe for children, it may be prudent to limit its intake during pregnancy.MSG is not an allergen, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. But it is also true that some people might be sensitive to MSG, just as to many other foods and food ingredients. In healthy MSG-intolerant people, sensitivity symptoms tend to occur within an hour of eating. Severity depends on the dose, increasing on an empty stomach or if taken in a liquid form like soup. Caffeine and vitamin B6 are known to counter the effects of MSG. Add MSG to food before or during cooking. A teaspoon of MSG per kilo of meat or four to six servings of vegetables should be sufficient. Adding more won’t enhance the flavour further.Another concern about MSG is its sodium content, which at 13 per cent, is one-third the amount of sodium in table salt (40 per cent) and is used in much smaller amounts than table salt. But when used with table salt, the total amount of sodium increases. A skilful chef should be able to reduce salt when using MSG in a recipe and thereby decrease the total sodium intake by 20 to 40 per cent with enhanced flavor.It is believed that MSG imparts a fifth taste, other than the four basic tastes—sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Japanese call it “umami” and Americans described it as savory. MSG enhances flavour through the interaction of glutamate with other flavours. It harmonises well with salty and sour tastes, but does little for sweet foods such as cakes, pastries or candies. It just makes good food taste better but cannot improve bad-tasting food or make up for bad cooking!
