MSG

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My apologies if this appears twice on the list. I've waited for it to post,

and it hasn't, so I thought it might be rejected by eGroups. For some

unknown reason, sometimes when I e-mail from Netscape Communicator, eGroups

rejects the post saying it contains HTML when it doesn't. I then send the

same post from OE, and it works. Go figure.

 

There have been several comments made on the list and privately concerning

MSG in some of the recipes recently posted from the cookbook, Simply

Heavenly!. I thought it would be appropriate for me to post the following

information about MSG from the book. *Please note*: I am neither

advocating or discouraging the use of MSG. This is something everyone can

decide for themselves. I am only providing the information from the book

for your consideration.

 

Also, this is a vegetarian list, not necessarily a " health food list " . If a

recipe is vegetarian and in MasterCook format, it is acceptable. There is

no possible way to please all of the people all of the time, so if a

particular recipe does not appeal to you, simply use your delete key. I

greatly appreciate those who contribute recipes to the list, and I don't

think they should be discouraged from continuing to share them.

 

Karen

List Owner

 

INFORMATION FROM BOOK:

 

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG):

 

Now here is something really important. A vegan friend of ours with a

doctorate in chemistry provided the following information: " MSG is a

flavor-enhancing food product made from gluten, usually wheat gluten.

The gluten is simply hydrolyzed with hot, dilute hydrochloric acid,

about the same concentration as stomach acid. After digestion is

complete, the gluten has been broken down into its main amino acid

component, glutamic acid, whereupon the glutamic acid is simply

neutralized with baking soda, filtered, and crystallized from the

solution by slow evaporation.

 

Monosodium glutamate is a natural food product, but a number of people

react badly to it mainly because they are sensitive to wheat gluten, and

while they may not react to wheat all the time, the highly soluble MSG

gets into the bloodstream very rapidly and causes them problems.

 

To most adults, MSG acts as a brain nutrient and actually improves brain

function such as concentration and memory. However, babies are not

adults and their systems usually cannot handle glutamates, and soluble

glutamates may cause brain lesions in severe cases. Of course, all

mothers know that babies should not be fed wheat products until after

the first year, so they should be doubly careful of soluble wheat

derivatives such as MSG.

 

And all this goes without saying that for some people the sodium part

must cause this food to be used somewhat sparingly. So people with MSG

problems should find out if they might actually have a problem with the

wheat gluten itself. "

 

Our friend who wrote us the above was intrigued as to how Asians can eat

so much MSG and have no problems at all -- actually be in better health

than most of us in the West. His investigations revealed that even

infants are not harmed by it unless they are also being fed adulterated

foods. The combination with the adulterants produces as allergy that

persists into adulthood and causes them to experience " Chinese

restaurant syndrome. " So the culprit is not the MSG, but the

adulteration of our food!

 

Our experience has carried this research one step further. When we used

dairy products we too would sometimes get " MSG hangovers " after eating

in an Asian restaurant. But after becoming vegans, we never had any

such reactions. In fact, we eat more Asian food than before, since we

are safe. Apparently, animal protein of any kind, including that from

eggs and milk, is considered an adulterant by the body and causes an

allergic reaction when MSG meets any residue of it in the body of the

eater.

 

Realizing how tricky this whole matter of MSG can be, it is only listed

in a recipe when the flavor desired cannot be obtained any other way.

If you wish, you can substitute salt in the soups, but in a couple of

the flavoring broths, it is just not possible to get a satisfactory

flavor without it. Even in the recipes that contain MSG, not much

really goes into a serving since it is diluted in the broth that flavors

the dish. And also it will usually only be in one dish at a meal.