American Restaurant Syndrome?

[Guest guest]

American Restaurant Syndrome? JoAnn Guest Sep 07, 2005 19:10 PDT

 

 

http://www.msgtruth.org/whywe.htm

 

MSG Symptom Complex

 

For years MSG Symptom Complex has been known in the US by the misnomer

Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. We do not use that term anywhere on this

site, except this page. The reason is quite simple. Calling this health

problem Chinese Restaurant Syndrome not only does a disservice to

Chinese Restaurant owners who do not add MSG, but it also dangerously

hides the fact that American processed food is now so loaded with the

flavor enhancer Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) as to be the largest source

of MSG in the average American diet. Most Americans, when told MSG is

harmful respond with " I don't eat Chinese food, so I don't need to

worry " .

 

However, Consider this:

 

American Diet Syndrome

 

FRIED CHICKEN - What could be more American than Fried Chicken? KFC

chicken actually contains so much MSG that in one country at least, KFC

exceeded the legal limit for adding MSG to their chicken.

FLAVORED SNACK CHIPS - Most flavored potato chips and snack chips

contain MSG. Doritos, a very popular food among American teens, has at

least four sources of free glutamate - the business end of MSG.

CANNED AND INSTANT SOUP - Lipton, Knorr, Progresso and ramen noodle, and

boullion cube manufacturers put MSG in their products. Products most

Americans have been raised on, and not a few American office workers

have stashed in their desk for those overtime evenings when a home

cooked meal is out of the question, and foods poor college students

practically live on.

CANNED TUNA - Most brands of canned tuna in the US have " broth " added or

hydrolyzed vegetable protein added, which can contain up to 20% free

glutamate. Manufacturers add this to hide any off flavors.

FRESH TURKEY - Many " self-basting " fresh turkeys and chickens sold in US

supermarkets have solutions injected into them - solutions that contain

free glutamate.

 

This is only a few of the products that have MSG added to them -

products most Americans are unaware have MSG added to them.

 

Difference Between Chinese and American Restaurants

 

Chinese food, for the most part consists of fresh vegetables quickly

cooked. MSG is added at the end as a condiment. It can be NOT added at

the consumers request. Most Chinese Restaurant owners also know what

else on the menu contains natural MSG - soy sauce for instance is

naturally loaded with free glutamate. Wait staff at a Chinese restaurant

will often steer the MSG sensitive patron away from dishes containing

soy sauce as well as MSG. At Asian restaurants, they know what is in the

food because they put it there.

 

Most American restaurants today purchase their foods from large US food

companies that have what are called " Food Service " divisions. In

American restaurants, most wait staff and often the cooks don't know

what is in the food, because the soup base probably came from a can,

those cute little jalapeno poppers came from a brightly colored bag in

the freezer, and very little is actually " fresh " . And, unfortunately,

most American food scientists use the fact that soy sauce, and

hydrolyzed vegetable protein naturally contains free glutamate to give

their free glutamate containing products what is called " a clean label " .

So even cooks and wait staff don't even know what they are reading on

the labels. The people who create the foods supplied to American

restaurants have absolutely no compunction about hoping you don't know

that MSG is in your food when you are consciously trying to avoid it.

 

Who Started It?

The truth is, the country where MSG was first isolated (in 1908) and

used was Japan. A Japanese company called Ajinomoto - only recently

found guilty of price-fixing MSG on the world market, is today the prime

maker of MSG. Japan is also where taurine and CoQ10 are now used to

treat heart disease, and ginger and taurine-rich sushi are eaten

alongside MSG sprinkled food. These foods have protective effects

against an MSG reaction. However, even the Japanese have found recently

that MSG fed to mice can lead to blindness. The Japanese are concerned

about the health affects of MSG. Should we not be also?

 

Then Why Chinese Restaurant Syndrome?

The reason MSG may have been associated with Chinese food, and not

Japanese food, may be the protective effects of raw fish and fresh

ginger in Japanese cuisine mentioned above, but also that taurine is

found mostly in animal products, and that Chinese food is often low in

meat. Also, taurine is destroyed by high heat, and foods are often

cooked at high temperatures in Chinese stir frying.

 

It is interesting to note the joke that after eating MSG in foods at a

Chinese restaurant " you are hungry an hour later " , may have some merit.

The glutamate in MSG acts as an insulin trigger. This will definitely

give you a hunger response about an hour and a half later. This fact has

not been lost on American food manufacturers. They know the value of an

addictive food ingredient. If they keep you hungry for more, they have

succeeded.

 

MSG-free Tips on Eating at Asian Restaurants

We don't want to discourage anyone from the pleasures of eating Asian

cuisine. MSG is actually easier to avoid in an Asian restaurant, than in

an American one.

 

Ask for NO MSG in your food.

 

Do not use soy sauce - period

 

Avoid soups, and sauces

 

Instead of a sushi roll ask for sashimi - no seaweed

 

Make sure no MSG was added to the rice if you order Chirashi

 

Use vinegar and wasabi instead of soy sauce to dip your sashimi

 

Think fresh - ask for a quick MSG-free stir fry of fresh vegetables,

water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, unmarinated meat, plain noodles, fresh

ginger.

 

Avoid dishes that look too mixed together and marinated.

 

Avoid saki - sometimes MSG is added to warmed saki to remove the

bitterness. In fact, go easy on alcohol altogether - your liver is

needed in good condition if you should have an MSG reaction

 

Avoid those little crunchy appetizers - they often contain MSG.

 

Green tea is a good idea to drink with your meal.

 

Avoid sauces and dishes like Egg Foo Yung which consist of sauces likely

to contain MSG

 

Most Asian restaurants serve very simple desserts which often consist of

fresh fruit - usually oranges. It is a good idea to eat this, as Vitamin

C helps mitigate any MSG reaction.

 

Korean food is interesting as there are safer dishes like those served

in very hot bowls, where rice, raw vegetables, and raw egg are added to

the bowl, and it cooks right in front of you at the table. Sauce is

suppied on the side, but you don't need to use it.

 

In Korean restaurants steer clear of the Kim Chee, the red pickled

cabbage - it often contains MSG.

 

Try Thai food - there are many soy-free choices - it has fresh bright

flavors - but also ask for NO MSG. Thai sauces which are creamy are

usually made from coconut milk, an interesting flavor.

 

Vietnamese food - vietnamese food is also interesting to try, in some

dishes, star anise gives this cuisine the exotic flavor of licorice.

Again, ask for NO MSG.

 

Do not drink any aspartame diet drinks with your meal. Aspartame is just

as bad for you as MSG. Aspartame and MSG have a synergistic effect.

 

So - basic rules of thumb-

Always ask for NO MSG,

Think fresh - avoid marinaded foods

Eat your fruit, drink your green tea, eat fresh ginger

No soy sauce, limit alcohol, avoid diet drinks

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

Asian cuisine should be treasured and enjoyed for the fresh vegetables,

and fresh fish it contains. MSG is considered an avoidable condiment in

Asian cooking, not the main attraction. In American Restaurants often

MSG is added because the other ingredients may be inferior or already

processed, or out of a can, or not as fresh as you'd like. Because of

this MSG Symptom Complex could just as easily be called American Diet

Syndrome.

 

Unfortunately, Americans are not looking for MSG in the most important

place they should be: American food. That is why we DON'T call MSG

Symptom Complex - Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.

_________________

 

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets

 

 

 

 

AIM Barleygreen

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Diets.html