Why Do People Freak Out About MSG in Chinese Food? | AJ+

People used to think the MSG in Chinese food made them sick. Here's why it had more to do with rumors – and racism – than science.

#MSG #ChineseFood #Racism

PRESENTER/PRODUCER: Yara Elmjouie
SENIOR PRODUCER: Tabish Talib
EDITOR: Nan Pierce
ANIMATOR: Marisa Cruz

CAMERA: Tabish Talib, Yara Elmjouie
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Adrienne Blaine, Thamine Nayeem
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Ethar El-Katatney
ADDITIONAL EDITING: Yara Elmjouie

BRANDING/LOGO: Mohammad Aklik, Mohammad Kakhi
SPECIAL THANKS: Jess Ramirez, Museum of Food and Drink, the Lin Family, Thomas Murtiashaw, Nick Teruya

FEATURING: Chris Cheung (East Wind Snack Shop), Ken Lee (Ohio State University), Sarah Lohman (Author), Lien Lin (Bricolage)

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[Al-fmkh]

I once told my stupid friend I seasoned my food with sodium chloride and he didn't touch it saying he doesn't want chemicals in his food.

[JeremyWinfreeDev]

I experience Chinese Restaurant Syndrome all the time. I get headaches and heart palpitations if I go more than a week without eating Chinese takeout.

[zhenarcales]

"Good food is better than ur body"

*-That one asian uncle*

[ericlim]

Uncle roger say: If you happy in your life just put MSG, if you got a baby just put the MSG, ur baby will be smarter 😂😂😂

[marinoint]

MSG was invented by a Japanese food company Ajinomoto, and has been widely used in Japan longer than anywhere else in the world. Yet, Japanese have one of the longest life expectancy! If you go to a supermarket in Japan, you'll find insane amount of processed foods, all contain MSG. Having said that, they don't eat nearly as much foods as the Americans do.

Bottom line is, its all about moderation. If you eat too much of something, it'll harm you. Heck, even drinking too much water can kill you.

[darianstassen]

are we not sure that the symptoms of chinese restaurant syndrome aren't just symptoms of overeating?

[alexjav]

I think people are also distrusting of its chemical sounding name. I bet if it was called savoury salt or something people would be less scared of it

[deandeathstrike]

Do you know what is more unhealthy than Chinese food?

*American fast food*

[famousamos]

Very interesting. In the US, I grew up being told that MSG is bad. But i never knew why. This changed my perspective.

[yungchan]

Ask Americans what is monosodium glutamate, 95% do not know. Now ask what is MSG, they freak out and 95% will tell you its used in Chinese food and is bad for you. That why it label monsodium glutamate on Doritos not MSG. So next time if someone told you no MSG make sure to double it up!

[fulangkeluu]

I guess youtube recommend this video because I watched uncle Roger 😂

[nikki]

My sister who is a bit of a health food freak jumped on the MSG is bad bandwagon, she insists eating Chinese food makes her ill, she can taste something not right and very firmly lays the blame right at the door of MSG. What amuses me is she has eaten tons of food cooked by me over the years and usually only has good things to say, one day I will tell her that I use MSG in most things I cook just like salt and pepper.

[VUnhac]

MSG is dangerous here in the west we prefer fat and sugar. The real good shit

[cazek]

I was eating MSG since I was like 6 and I haven’t died yet.
WARNING: don’t go to these replies

[noobsandwich]

I would agree once upon a time it was fueled by racism, but in this day and age i would say 99.9% of peoples fear of MSG is just pure lack of knowledge of the seasoning.

[amritaparida]

"Everybody hears the accusations and nobody tunes in when they hear the verdict of not guilty".

[allenang]

Been eating MSG since I was a kid and I am still smarter than an a average bear.

[NotMilitaryAI]

Rebrand it as "Molecular Gastronomy" and triple the price: problem solved

[technojack]

If they say msg can cause brain damage how are asian so good in math.

[abelsumanas]

5:00 - inject water DIRECTLY in your blood vessels and it is deadly too.

So yeah. That's actually a dumb way to test MSG.