Monosodium Glutamate

I have been reading a little about monosodium glutamate. I got on that subject through my usual roundabout reading habits on the internets.

Anyway, I have come to the conclusion that MSG is not harmful to humans at all. In fact, it seems to have some benefits such as reducing the desire for salt. Yes, there is salt in msg (that's what the sodium in monosodium is), however, since it is used to stabilize the glutamate there is far less of it than you would add if you were adding salt instead of msg.

Contrary to popular opinion msg is not an artificially created chemical. It is sodium mixed with glutamate. Glutamate is a natural substance found in many foods such as broccoli, tomatoes, cheese, human mother's milk, etc. It is also produced by the human body and is required for all mammals to live.

So I will continue to eat ramen noodles to my heart's content.

Here are a couple of links if you would like to read about some actual scientific studies instead of the myths, rumors, and gossip about msg:
If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache?, Glutamic acid (flavor).