MSG -- Do you use MSG in your cooking to enhance flavor?

no, i do not use MSG whenever i cook. as much as i can i extract the most flavor from the ingredients that i use. i dont buy frozen dinners, canned soups, canned goods. what i'm a little guilty though are junk food like chips and instant noodles. however, its not everyday that we eat those anyway!

I dont use msg to enhance the flavor of the food that I cook. There was a letter we received from a leader before that says we are not to use msg for food cause its not very good for the body. When I was young, my mom didnt use msg anymore, now that I am older and able to cook food for me and my husband, I dont and never put msg into any food I cook.

In the past there have been some concerns about MSG and I used to subscribe to them. Latest studies, however, conclude that there are no health risks associated directly with it and that it is perfectly safe for human consumption in normal amounts. In fact, there may be health benefits because the use of MSG reduces the need for salt in recipes and so can reduce the overall sodium content of foods by between 20% and 40% without affecting the flavour. Since glutamic acid is not an essential amino acid, it does no harm to avoid including it in food but it should be remembered that glutamates are naturally occurring substances and are present in many foodstuffs which are not (and have never been) considered harmful - for example, hydrolysed yeast products, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, parmesan, dried mushrooms and ripe tomatoes all contain significant amounts of glutamate. Before condemning it as 'food poisoning in disguise', therefore, you should understand that all countries which control food and food additives class it as safe for human consumption (and, of course, do so advisedly and after serious research). The following articles are worth reading: The European Food Information Council is a reputable body and gives this information: http://www.eufic.org/article/en/page/FTARCHIVE/artid/monosodium-glutamate/ This article is written in a rather more 'popular' style but contains essentially the same information: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/food-drink/MSG.html

Whether MSG is good or bad for you may not be the ultimate concern. But - what concerns me is prepackaged foods in the U.S. We are getting large amounts of all sorts of things like salt, MSG, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc. I have seen commercials saying that high fructose corn syrup is okay in moderation. Could this be the same for MSG? The problem with moderation is that foods contain things like MSG but the packaging does not usually list it as MSG. How many of us look at every amount of ingredient and add up what we get each day in various products. What a pain. I would rather eat something that is free of all the extra stuff. It would be nice to just have some pure food without all the added ingredients. If MSG is okay, why don't food manufacturers just call it MSG on the label instead of calling it by other names. You almost have to be a food scientist to figure out what is in the food. You can't just read labels and get a clear idea.

I remember it was featured in a tv magazine show MSG is not bad in the help and it has Umami that gives foods a different taste. I'm surprise at all cause I thought it is really bad on our health. We use Maggi Magic Sarap, I don't know if this has a bad effects on us too bad this makes our dishes more tasty.

I am quite concious with the food I eat. If I do eat out, I try my best to choose healthy food. Personally when I cook, i do not add MSG to it. There are side effects from consuming MSG for some people but generally it is safe to use. In addition, there are just so many processed food today that it is almost inevitable to avoid it especially in a fast paced world. Besides there are quite a lot of ingredients that you can use naturally, like mushrooms, cheese, tomatoes, which contain glutamates that does make food taste better. Use these ingredients instead of MSG. :)

I have one recipe that calls for MSG, and I don't make this recipe very often. But have tried it with out the MSG and it is not the same at all. I know it is reported as bad for you, and I also know it effect people in different ways. I guess if you use enough of anything in your every day cooking it can have bad effects on your body, but to use it once or twice a year I have not seen any effects from it. I do try to read labels and watch what I am using and what I cook, but not everything is good for us, so what do we do, it appears that everything you cook now adays has some hidden ingredient or is somehow bad for you.

I did read somewhere that MSG has harmful effect if we consume it for quite a time. But that's not the reason for me not using it. We don't have MSG at home but I used chicken cube to add flavour to my food. It's MSG free and add chicken taste to the meal. I don't like to add MSG as the food will taste sort of sweet. I rather put sugar in my food if I need it to taste sweet.

based on the show that i watched it deny that msg is bad for our health. i used msg when i cook but only a few.

I have read also that it has side effects but what's really confused me is that there an episode I saw on TV that MSG and according to them that MSG has no side effects based on the scientific studies they made, its pretty contrasting to what the previous studies says. Don't know what to believe.

MSG is a slow poison killer, very health concerned never use monosodium in my cookingo or even for my out door catering business i avoid. Instead i prefer using natural herbs and spices.

there isn't any research that says that it's bad for health but i don't really use msg. it is my mom that uses it...i actually don't see any improvement in taste caused by msg in my dishes. my dishes still taste okay or good even without msg! haha!

No, I have never used it although I used to work in a Chinese restaurant where it was put in everything

There are times that I use MSG especially to enhance taste but generally at moderation. For now, the effect of MSG is still under debate. There are several studies disproving that it is harmful to human health. The best option is always to use it in moderation.

I don't use MSG in any of my cooking, not that it may not be in something that I open to use. I know that sometimes I can eat a food and about a 1/2 hour later I have some 'allergy' attacks (I think I can't eat soy ice cream) I know that I can not eat the ice cream from McDonald's (I absolutely can NOT breath after eating it!!!) I read that food containing the MSG can cause some people to have diareha after eating it. I just don't know how true it is.

In America we have known for some time that MSG is exremely harmful. As you mention, it causes dangerous side effects. This includes horrific headaches and heart palpitations. Nonetheless, there are unscrupulous people who will try to profit by adding it to their food products and a corrupt government that will not regulate what it should to protect our citizens, but wants to regulate areas which are not of their business and remove our freedoms.

I really aware with food i eat, we don't use it at home because we feel it make the food taste difference. I believe every food has its natural flavor like fresh fish will taste sweet if you fried or grill it, no need adding MSG. The secret of delicious food is not MSG but freshness of vegetable, meat, fish, chicken or seafood.

All things that is too much is bad. I have eaten lots of food that contains MSG but I'm still healthy. Even our grand parents have used MSG in their foods. Even though you avoid using or eating MSG, still you might not be aware that what you are eating has MSG. I bet you dine out in some restaurants. Do you asked those people who prepare your fried chicken in McDonalds if they put additives in their food. Or have you checked your french fries if they've used MSG on it? If it is bad to our health, why Food Authority allowed those company who processed food with MSG. Yes, it will be harmful to us if we consumed 2 packs of "magic sarap" every hour of the day. You might be food poisoned if you do that.