MSG Sensitivity

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http://www.vitamin-galore.com/Concern/MSG_Sensitivity.htm

 

 

MSG Sensitivity

 

 

 

Also indexed as:

Chinese Restaurant Syndrome

 

 

 

 

Introduction

Checklist

Symptoms

Conventional

treatment

Dietary

changes

Supplements

References

 

 

 

MSG sensitivity, also known as Chinese

Restaurant Syndrome, is a set of symptoms that may

occur in some people after they consume monosodium glutamate (MSG). The

syndrome was first

described in 1968 as a triad of symptoms: “numbness at the back of the

neck radiating to

both arms and the back, general weakness and palpitations.”1

Although some

Chinese (and other) restaurants now avoid the use of MSG, many still

use significant

amounts.

MSG is used worldwide as a flavor enhancer.

The average person living in an industrialized

country consumes about 0.3 to 1.0 gram of MSG per day. MSG is

classified by the Food and Drug

Administration as “generally recognized as safe.” Indeed, many

researchers have

questioned the very existence of a true MSG-sensitivity reaction. Most

clinical trials,

including some double-blind trials, have failed to find any symptoms

arising from consumption

of MSG, even large amounts, when taken with food.2 3

4

5 6 7 However, clinical trials have found

that MSG taken

without food may cause symptoms, though rarely the classic “triad”

described

above.8 9 10 A large trial and a

review of studies on MSG

both suggested that large amounts of MSG given without food may elicit

more symptoms than a

placebo in people who believe they react adversely to MSG. However,

persistent and serious

effects from MSG consumption have not been consistently demonstrated.11

 

12 13

People sensitive to MSG may also react to aspartame

(NutraSweet®).14

 

 

 

Checklist for MSG

Sensitivity

 

 

 

Rating

Nutritional Supplements

Herbs

 

 

 

Vitamin B6

 

 

 

 

Reliable and relatively consistent scientific data showing a

substantial health benefit.

Contradictory, insufficient, or preliminary

studies suggesting a health benefit or minimal health benefit.

An herb is primarily supported by traditional

use,

or the herb or supplement has little scientific support and/or minimal

health benefit.

 

 

 

 

 

What are the symptoms

of MSG sensitivity? The symptoms

of MSG

sensitivity have commonly been described as headache, flushing,

tingling, weakness, and

stomachache. After eating meals prepared with MSG, people with MSG

sensitivity may have migraine

headache, visual disturbance, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,

weakness, tightness of the chest, skin rash, or

sensitivity

to light, noise, or smells.

 

 

 

Conventional

treatment options: Doctors

typically recommend

that people with MSG sensitivity avoid eating foods containing MSG.

Severe reactions may be

treated with antihistamines. MSG sensitivity is not a universally

accepted medical condition.

Other than avoidance of foods containing MSG, there is no conventional

treatment for this

condition.

 

 

Dietary changes that

may be helpful: Simply avoiding

MSG will

prevent MSG-sensitive reactions. MSG is found in some Chinese and

Japanese food and is also

contained in some flavor enhancers, such as Accent® and the Japanese

seasoning

AJI-NO-MOTO™. MSG may be difficult to avoid completely, as it also

occurs in hydrolyzed

vegetable protein, textured

vegetable

protein, gelatin, yeast extracts, calcium and sodium caseinate,

vegetable broth, whey,

smoke flavoring, malt extracts, and several other food

ingredients—including “flavoring” and “natural

flavoring”—without otherwise appearing on the label.

 

 

Nutritional

supplements that may be helpful:

Years ago,

researchers discovered that animals who were deficient in

vitamin B6 could not properly process MSG.15 Typical

reactions to MSG have also

been linked to vitamin B6 deficiency in people.16 In one

study, eight out of nine

such people stopped reacting to MSG when given 50 mg of vitamin B6 per

day for at least 12

weeks.

The actual percentage of people with MSG

sensitivity who are deficient in vitamin B6 and

who respond to B6 supplementation is unknown. Nonetheless, many doctors

suggest that people

having MSG-sensitivity symptoms try supplementing with vitamin B6 for

three months as a

trial.

 

 

Are there any side effects or

interactions? Refer to the individual supplement for

information about any side effects or interactions.