I love Chinese food; the dimsum subset in particular, but the other varieties are great as well. You will never find any other food that's cheap but tastes good and is served in big portions. Well mexican maybe, but still. It's been proven recently that MSG has no negative effect on the body and that it gets digested just like regular old sodium. I know some people that attribute headaches to having eating chinese food recently, but I eat a lot of it and it doesn't seem to affect me, except tummy-size-wise. What are your opinions on Chinese food and MSG?
I don't know what studies you've been reading, but there are even more studies that show it IS linked to issues in some people. I'm glad to hear it doesn't seem to effect you...that's awesome. My mom is someone who can't handle it at all, though. Sure, it may be digested the same way, but she has serious side effects after consuming it.
Many studies state otherwise, as said above. Not to mention, not everything will affect everyone the same or even right away. Many toxins, for example, will not bring you to your knees until years of consumption. Either way, I used to eat a lot of chinese food; loved it. But it's not healthy in the least, so I don't touch it anymore.
What some people are experiencing is called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CSR), and MSG has gone through a double-blinded test to show that it has no links CSR whatsoever, and with the leading alternative cause being the placebo effect.Log In Anyway, did you know that MSG is naturally occurring? Tomatoes, olives, cheeses, oysters, eggs, soy sauce, soy beans, and a whole lot more 'natural' foods contain MSGs. One bad thing about MSG is that it's high in sodium, so take it in moderation.
Same here. I used to worry about msg but now not so much anymore. I'm also glad that it didn't turn out to be that harmful since I am very much addicted to Chinese food as well. I eat it a lot and if it turned out that msg was really that bad then I would have had to cut it out of my diet which would be terrible.
You're talking reactions. I wasn't. it's not the only problem with any one thing and studies are extremely flawed, so I won't throw my opinion in until I've read the more recent ones; thanks for pointing that out. Also, the body creates many things on it's own, that if you go adding more to it via diet, you're asking for trouble.. so that doesn't hold much water for me yet, anyway.
Chinese food is definitely a favorite cuisine of mine, because of how tasty and savory it is. I don’t really know much about MSG, but I don’t mind it that much because it is the ingredient that makes the food tastier. I am a bit worried though that every time I eat too much at the local Chinese restaurant, I get bloated and dizzy. My father said it might be Chinese-food syndrome which is linked to the use of MSG. Regardless of this, is still eat this cuisine and I don’t feel guilty at all because of how good it is.
Regardless of the health concerns, I just don't like what MSG does to food that I am eating and I especially don't like when there is tons of it in my Chinese food. There are some Chinese restaurants in my neck of the woods that don't use MSG at all, and their food is fantastic. MSG just gives everything, even freshly prepared food, a "processed junk food" taste to it, imo. It can make a fresh piece of chicken taste like a Banquet 99 cent TV dinner. The other problem I have with it is that it leaves a strong aftertaste in my mouth long after I've eaten something containing it - which causes me to drink a lot of water or whatever afterwards to try and get it to go away. Even after brushing my teeth several times I can still taste it.
Well, I'm glad MSG doesn't bother you, but it makes me extremely sick. And because for some reason, MSG seems to be prominent in Chinese food, I cannot eat any Chinese food without getting very sick and feeling like crap for hours. And yeah, I can't eat soups, canned veggies or processed meats that have MSG in them. Also, naturally occurring MSG is a whole different ball park then additive MSG. "Natural" MSG of course won't make you sick, it's part of the vegetable and it's an amino acid. Additive MSG is chemical, so of course it will mess up certain peoples digestive systems.Log In I think I'll be staying away from MSG thanks.
I love Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Filipino and Vietnamese food lol. I'm from Hawaii so we eat foods from a bunch of different Asian cuisines on a regular basis. My favorite Chinese dish is garlic bok choy in a butter sauce. I also like dim sum
I have no qualms about Chinese food since I love to gobble up dishes like steamed rice, shumai, shark's fin, wanton soup and other variations of Chinese food. Besides, MSG is present in almost every food we consume so it's not exclusive to Chinese cuisine. Some studies say it's a cancer-causing element but if you don't abuse your consumption of MSG-rich food, exercise regularly and adopt a proper diet, I doubt you'd fall prey to the big C.
Chinese food is good depending on where you live. I live in California, which is close to the sea so that the fish and seafood is always fresher. Also, California has higher Asian population than other states so I can assume that the Chinese food here is more authentic. However, in the Midwest, I never encounter any Chinese restaurant that taste even decent. I would prefer McDonald's over Chinese food there. I can understand that it is probably because the staple ingredients that they use are not that fresh.
Some Chinese food can be healthy if you opt for soup-based dishes and noodles/white rice instead of the greasier stir-fry options. It's also really affordable too since with such large portions you typically have enough leftovers for another meal. I'm not too concerned with MSG. For those who decry it, if you have no qualms with eating instant ramen (which is packed with MSG) I don't see why you could have an issue with Chinese food and its MSG content.
How can you say that when you also say it's in almost every food we consume? lol. It's the same as calling "moderation" on junk food when it shares the same ingredients as pretty much every other food in a grocery store. There is no such thing as moderation when every meal contains these ingredients. But I'm just a crazy person for being the real food cheerleader, ignore me
I love Chinese food for many reasons, there are a huge variation of dishes available, i myself have recipes for around 150 dishes, also Chinese cooking has many regional variants. There is a rich history associated with the origins of Chinese cooking and the people are passionate about their food. As for MSG it is thought that up to 15% of people could be affected by side effects from it. Symptoms can range from headaches and nausea to heart palpitations and chest pain. This is quite alarming but like everything else moderation is the key i guess.
Aww, tough crowd. This seems to be a situation where it depends on the person. You can attribute feeling like garbage to MSG or something else but you can't deny you feel like garbage. That's hard to ignore.
I also like Chinese food. I love to have it at a restraunt that has a buffet because then I can have a little of this and a little of that. I also make it at home. I make egg rolls and crab rangoon. I bake rather than fry them to help cut down on the fat. I also make fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, beef and brocolli, and lo mein. Lo mein is my 8yr old grandson's favorite. He love any kind of pasta. But he also really likes the crab rangoon with their cream chees/crab fillilng.
