VENTING: ARRRGGGHHH!!! MSG again

[Sindawe]

I get migraines.  BAD ones with my head being pounded on with hammers, a brain full of sticky glue and visual auras that rival descriptions of an LSD or psylocybin trip.  They are usually preceded by this odd feeling in the muscles on the back of my arms, up my back and to the base of the skull.  After 35 some years of being cognizant about what goes on with my body I've been able to identify the principal things under my control that contribute to my migraines.  They are fatigue, dehydration and a high titer of monosodium glutamate in the blood.  If all three are present it is pretty much assured that there is a migraine in my future unless I address one of the factors right quick.

For about a week now I've riding the edge of that odd feeling all day.  I've been getting plenty of good sleep at night and am staying well hydrated drinking 4-5 liters of water a day, so while cleaning up the cat puke this morning I was running across the diet of late in my head.  The only change has been the addition of Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli in individual servings as a swap out for the organic brown rice/veggies/tofu mix that I eat for lunch.

Go to the cupboard and check the lablel.  Yep, &$#%! MSG.  I musta missed it when reading the label at the grocery store.

ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!  That will teach me to try and save a few bucks and not shop organic for my food stocks.

/vent

[Brad Johnson]

If you have an MSG sensitivity you might want to also avoid corn, peas, tomatoes, fermented soy products, and parmesan cheese.  They naturally contain relatively high levels of monosodium glutamate along with very high levels of bound glutamates (aka glutamic acid).  Parmesan cheese, in fact, has more naturally occurring MSG by weight than many "evil MSG-laden" soy sauces.

Natual MSG levels (in mg/100g)
-------------------------------
Chinese soy sauce - 1090 
Japanese soy sauce - 782 
parmesan cheese - 1200
tomatoes - 140
peas - 200
corn - 130
cow milk - 2
human milk - 22
eggs - 23
chicken - 44
duck - 69
beef - 33
pork - 23
salmon - 20


Brad

[Manedwolf]

Healthy choice soups do not have any MSG, AFAIK. It gives me a headache, too.

Also, GOOD soy sauce, the more expensive sort, like most Japanese Tamari, does not have MSG added to it, but you're going to pay $5 for the 12oz bottle, not $1.99 for the liter bottle for it.

[Mabs2]

;_;
I have similar problems.  Not as bad, but somethings make me sick and I dunno what yet.
Been trying to figure it out.
Switching to diet sodas and eating less (especially fast food) has really helped me feel a lot better.
When I get moar money and transportation I'm going to try out some of these fancy organic foods...some of them actually sound tasty.

[Thor]

Time to change that coolant in your head. Apparently it's worn out !!! 

[Manedwolf]

Go to Trader Joe's. Lots of good stuff, organic stuff, and cheap.

[Brad Johnson]

Also, GOOD soy sauce, the more expensive sort, like most Japanese Tamari, does not have MSG added to it

Doesn't have to be added to fermented soy sauces.  They contain MSG naturally (see list above).

Brad

[Manedwolf]

Oh, I know, it's just that the Happy Lucky China Brand sort that's $1.99 often dumps in a whole lot more to cover for the fact that it's mostly bland wheat brewings with a little soy.

[roo_ster]

My mom gets the splitting headache and also fountains* out of both intake & output sides of her GI tract.

I witnessed it once.  Damn near called for an ambulance fro her sake as well as that of my car's upholstery.

* Sometimes simultaneously.

[Brad Johnson]

Oh, I know, it's just that the Happy Lucky China Brand sort that's $1.99 often dumps in a whole lot more to cover for the fact that it's mostly bland wheat brewings with a little soy.

Unfortunately a large flavoring component in soy sauce - all soy sauce - is MSG.  True fermented sauces contain MSG as a result of the natural processes that occur during fermentation.  Most commercial low-price products are created using a process called acid hydrolysis (sp?).  There is no naturally occurring MSG in these products so it must be added.

Brad

[Antibubba]

[Kramer voice]I'd like the General Tso, with extra MSG!![/Kramer voice]

[Hugh Damright]

MSG gives me a headache too ... the other day I bought a jar of dry roasted almonds and ate a handful of them and the headache started just that quick ... read the label and found that MSG was one of the main ingredients.

[Thor]

Once in a while, I'll get a headache from the stuff. I don't know why it just hits when it feels like it. All in all, it's pretty rare. Maybe it's the amount of MSG??

[Sindawe]

Maybe it's the amount of MSG??

For me it is.  As I stated in my rant above, the key is the titer of MSG in the blood.  MSG that occurs naturally in the foods is not an issue for me, its that ADDED MSG that pushes the concentrate over a threshold and contributes to the problem.

No Trader Joe's here, but Whole Foods and Wild Oats are in easy driving range.

[Manedwolf]

While I like Whole Foods Paycheck as a company, their prices can actually physically injure you when you get to the checkout. Trader Joes', because they rebrand stuff, is cheap, even if it's good, mostly organic stuff. I wish they'd build more of them all over.

[grislyatoms]

I was diagnosed with classic migraine when I was in my late teens. I get the auras. Mine look like little cross-hatched lines in rainbow colors. Mine get so bad I can't even see.

I haven't had a migraine in over 4 years.

I believe, strongly, that this is because I limit processed food to a very small percentage of my overall diet.

P.S. Sawbones indicates my main triggers are nitrites and nitrates. MSG seems to have no effect on me, though blood relatives claim to be MSG sensitive.

[roo_ster]

While I like Whole Foods Paycheck as a company, their prices can actually physically injure you when you get to the checkout.

Oh, that's what happened last tie I went there.