Learn: Don't be scared of MSG

What comes to mind when you hear the 3 letters, MSG? Unfortunately, for many, it’s a sketchy Chinese restaurant with bad lighting, bad service, and consumption of Chinese food that made you feel sick. Or seeing an Asian food menu or restaurant with a line that reads “MSG free” and thinking “this place is safe”.

There are so many misconceptions about MSG and I hope that after reading this, you’ll understand that 1) it’s completely safe for consumption, 2) it’s literally umami and 3) the underlying racism that has made this ingredient so controversial.

First, let’s just go through what MSG actually is. Back in 1907, a Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, discovered MSG after asking his wife how she made her delicious soup. He spotted a large batch of kombu (the seaweed used to make dashi - a staple broth in most Japanese dishes). Kombu has a white layer on it and he discovered by isolating this he could create a crystal form of the flavor. Thus, MSG was born. MSG stands for monosodium glutamate and it’s a variant of glutamate which naturally occurs in “umami” flavored foods like mushrooms, tomatoes, soy sauce, parmesan cheese and even walnuts.

Japanese people quickly incorporated this ingredient into their daily cooking. Alone, there is not much flavor but combined with the right ingredients, it elevates food by providing a deep and savory depth that salt or soy sauce alone cannot achieve. MSG made its way to Taiwan and China and eventually even the United States. As America’s immigrant population was changing, the restaurant and food scene also evolved. More and more Chinese restaurants were popping up and up until about the 1960’s MSG was used and not questioned too much.

Then, in 1968, Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok (who was himself a Chinese immigrant) submitted a letter to the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine citing strange symptoms that he associated with eating at Chinese restaurants. He claimed numbness in his back and arms, general weakness and heart palpitations. The NEJM dubbed this “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”. According to an article from the Columbia Undergraduate Research Journal, this language had “shined a prejudiced spotlight on Chinese cooking that shapes our thinking to this day”.

More letters flowed in and studies began to take place on the effects of MSG. Still, to this day, there are no known links between MSG and adverse health effects. The FDA has also made statements that it’s safe to eat. Despite this, Dr. Kwok’s letter sparked a fear in the American people and more articles poured in that framed MSG as dangerous or from the “other” - a common way to perpetrate racist ideas rather than actually understanding the other. One NYT article even went as far as to connect the use of dog meat to the use of MSG. The CURJ nicely sums up what happened by stating, “Americans were primed to believe in this supposed disease because of their wariness of Chinese immigrants. MSG was just a racist little hat to hang our preconceived notions about the Chinese.”

There’s a lot of history about the studies that followed but according to the FDA, Americans consume roughly half a gram of MSG each day and there are still no significant studies that have proven a connection between MSG and poor health. Many of the early studies were flawed and people knew whether or not they were consuming MSG. Another fact that’s often ignored is that MSG was and is present in many American foods, like KFC, Doritos, canned soups, dressings, cold cuts and yes, even Chik-fil-A. So, why weren’t Americans experiencing symptoms when eating some Doritos? That’s because the studies attributed the health effects to the strange and weird cooking techniques of Asians… further classifying them as other, weird and different. Side note: This is why I try to never call someone else’s cultural food weird. It might seem weird to you, but to them, it might evoke memories of family, their heritage and so much more. Using the “term” weird lets them know you’re placing their values into the “other” bucket.

And lastly, the negative symptoms from MSG can be attributed to an excess of sodium, eating a large amount on a completely empty stomach, alcohol consumption, nocebo effect and deep seated anti-Asian prejudice (yes, that still exists).

So, next time you’re faced with eating something that has been prepared with MSG, I hope you’ll remember that it’s not bad for you and is going to make whatever you’re consuming delicious. Especially, those Chik-Fil-A nuggets.

If you’re looking for more articles about MSG, these awesome chefs and companies are a great place to start.

David Chang, Roy Choi, Eddie Huang, Andy Richter, Bon Appetit, Grant Achatz, me and hopefully, soon to be you!

Resources:

1. Barry-Jester, Anna Maria. “How MSG Got A Bad Rap: Flawed Science And Xenophobia.” FiveThirtyEight. N.p, 8 Jan. 2016. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.

2. Dewey, Caitlin. “Why some Americans avoid MSG, even though its ‘health effects’ have been debunked”. The New York Times. 20 Mar. 2018. Web.

3. Germain, Thomas. A Racist Little Hat: The MSG Debate and American Culture. Columbia Undergraduate Research Journal. 2017; 2:1. doi: 10.7916/D8MG7VVN