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Dabin Han
Carolyn Holloway
English 2010
8 of Agu 2014
Avoid MSG, and use the natural seasoning
These days, a growing number of people prefer to eat at food stands or restaurants
because of their convenience. In contrast to the trend, I definitely feel that eating food at home
is better. The rationale behind this is that most restaurants use MSG in the food.
Like its name suggests, monosodium glutamate
(MSG) is the product of two smaller components: sodium (found, for example, in table salt) and
glutamate (an amino acid). Glutamate is naturally abundant in our own bodies and in the foods
we eat. Therefore, it is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food. MSG is found in the
majority of items at local grocery stores and restaurants. For instance, processed snacks, soups,
juices, broths, dressings, and meats often have this synthetic chemical glutamate as an additive.
In general, if food has been processed, canned, or frozen, it is probable that it contains MSG. It
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has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many
anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG; Headache, Flushing, Sweating,
Facial pressure or tightness, Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas,
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations).
We need to use natural seasoning because we can see the bad things about MSG. I have
a good experience about natural seasoning. Someday, my skin was broken after I did swimming.
So, I went to go to see a doctor. And, doctor recommended me to eat the foods using natural
seasoning because that helps the blood to be cleaned. And, he explained how bad MSG is by
speaking about mice, which had MSG. According to doctor, when doctors want obese mice for
their experiments, they pump them full of MSG at a young age, then feed them normally and let
them grow up normally. But, there is nothing normal about the rats, they were huge. That
made me feels that I needed to avoid MSG food. After coming back home, I made natural
seasoning and surprisingly, my skin got better after eating the natural foods.
Also, I can feel when I eat the foods that
have MSG, it does to stimulate our appetite. It is what is known as an excitotoxin. This is a
chemical that stimulates our nervous system using the mechanism that is used for fighting off
infections or removing damaged tissue. Our brain is normally sterile and it doesnt have the
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normal type of immune system the rest of our body has. The rest of our body, the immune
system is based off an inflammatory mechanism. Inflammation in our brain will kill us pretty
damn quick, so that mechanism is the technique of last resort for your body fighting off such
things. Instead, it has a glial system. The glial system secretes various chemicals that rip things
apart. The chemicals also, stimulate the brain. The long term effect of this is a slow degradation
of the surrounding tissue. MSG has been implicated in shimmers. The mechanism for this is
obvious for those who understand the science.
A significant problem that can occur in many individuals is MSG sensitivity. An allergic
reaction to the ingestion of MSG is common. According to the Food and Drug Administration
Expert Panel, there can be manifestations of MSG Symptom Complex. The FDA agreed that a
number of people could experience the following symptoms: Burning sensation of the back,
forearms, and chest, facial pressure/tightness, chest pain, headache, nausea, palpitations,
numbness in back of neck radiating to arms and back, tingling warmth, weakness in face,
temples, upper back, neck and arms, bronchospasm (observed in asthmatics only), drowsiness,
and weakness
In conclusion, the truth is that its very hard to avoid 100% of MSG because it has been
used in the food industry since the 1950s. Therefore, it has made itself quite the presence in our
foods. Therefore, we should try to use natural seasoning and need to prefer to eat the foods at
home without MSG.


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Works Cited

Anglesey, Debby. MSG Monosodium Glutamate. Washington: Front Porch Publications, 2003.
Blaylock, Russell. Interview. News Target.com. 27 Sept. 2006 26 Feb.2007 <http://
www.newstarget.com/020550.html>.
Kindwell, Judith L. FDA Considers Food Whole Labels say NO MSG or No Added MSG to be
Misleading if the Food Contains Ingredients That are Sources of Free Glutamates, Such as Hydrolyzed
Proteins. 20 March 2002. 3 March 2007 http://truthinlabeling.org/FDA-3-20-02-letter.html.
Raiten, Daniel J., John M. Talbot, and Kenneth D. Fisher. Executive Summary from the Report:
Analysis of Adverse Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate. The Journal of Nutrition 125 (1995): 2892S.