However I wanted my sons to avoid taking chips (whether potato or corn, or any other), it is quite unachievable. Foremost, they are sometimes too curious about those cheese- and barbecue-flavored snack items, so once in a while, I do purchase for them. Honestly, seldom do I leave the decision-making to them, when it comes to buying snack foods. So while having my trip to the chips’ alley in the supermarket, I happened to see this snack item labeled as “No MSG.” Most adults are aware that MSG stands for Monosodium Glutamate. But do we really have to mind whether a food has MSG or none? Well, yes. We should always know what is in the food that we eat. I have been used to hearing adults say “Huwag masyadong maraming Vetsin (a trade name for MSG).” Is MSG bad for health? Per se, it is not; but as the usual health note says: “Anything in excess is bad”. Let’s get to know more about MSG.

MSG, is a food additive that is commonly marketed as a flavor enhancer. It is commonly made from the fermentation of carbohydrates like (starch, sugar beets, sugar cane, or molasses). Common food commodities which contain MSG are bouillon cubes, barbecue sauce, salad dressings, snack foods, and other seasoning mixtures. Products like soy sauce, steak sauce and worcestershire sauce have glutamate contents similar to foods with added MSG.

This food additive has a history of being associated with a condition called “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome.”  This condition  is a collection of symptoms that some people experience after eating from Chinese restaurants,  which many has thought of and have proven that foods in Chinese restaurants are high in MSG (but  there is no scientific study to done to prove that MSG has fully caused the syndrome. The symptoms attached to the syndrome consist of: chest pain, flushing, headache, numbness, sense of facial pressure (or swelling) and sweating. In 1995, US FDA has concluded that MSG was safe for most people when eaten at a customary level. To simply put, people who experience the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome may have low tolerance levels to MSG in foods; thus, in most countries, it is recommended that food labels must indicate “contains MSG” for foods containing such additive.

Aside from being associated with the Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, a research has been shown to implicate MSG as a factor that caused weight gain. The study had 750 Chinese men and women as subjects. They were aged 40 to 59. Most of the subjects prepared their meals at home without commercially processed foods and roughly 82 percent of them used MSG. The study participants who used the highest amount of MSG had nearly three times the incidence of overweight compared to those who did not use MSG even when physical activity, total caloric intake and other possible explanations for body mass difference were accounted for. This human study had actually confirmed what animal studies have been suggesting for year.

For these possible health hazards from consuming MSG, I now understand, why that snack chip I bought has to write “NO MSG.” Writing this article was not meant for everyone to get away from consuming MSG, this is simply to provide caution, that while we may be enjoying flavorful food (with MSG), we must not forget not to over-consume. Again and again, anything in excess is bad for health.

(Write the author at wellbeing@mb.com.ph.)