My lovely OS homecooked food is full of MSG! -what does it do to you?

Maisie

thriftlady wrote:

Mazza I sympathise,I find it a full time job avoiding nut warnings on food,my dd is allergic to nuts.People who don't have to be careful about what they eat don't realise how limiting these things can be.

My house is nut free and msg free although nuts are thing I'm really worried about.

Be careful of the Marigold bouillon Thriftlady. When I looked at the label it said contains peanuts/nuts.

I posted on the other thread that I've checked Waitrose/Tesco/M&S/Boots for the sunflower seeds for you but all say 'may contain nuts or other seeds'.



HTH

gravitytolls

ooh, how have I never heard of this before?

Is itlabelled MSG, or do I need to check for variations?
I bet it's in all our fave stuff too.

thriftlady_2

MSG or monosodium-glutamate is a flavour enhancer,it is also labelled as E621

calleyw

I have just bought marigold low salt stock powder and have some of the other Kallo low salt stock cubes already.

But after reading the packets what is taken away with one hand is put back with another.

They both contain palm oil. In two studies one in seems that eat any foods with palm oil in it and the cholesterol levels rise.

If you like to be green then is bad news on that front as it seems that it promotes the the destruction of forest land.

Also looking a this foods that contain palm oil have to be tested for sudan I dye. Not that article is dated April 2005 not sure if that is still the case.

Yours


Calley

trace-j

Ditto the Marigold too! Have been using it for a few years when a friend recommended it- it's also good for anyone one on a sugar, wheat or yeast free diet.

willow_girl

Well I never knew that oxo had MSG as one of their ingredients! I usually read most of the labels on food but obviously not this one. Shall be changing tommorrow when I go shopping.

vivaladiva

I started using Kallo sometime ago to avoid MSG, but haven't been able to get the chicken ones in the Leicester area for ages

Mrs_Bear

I use kombu seaweed, instead of stock cubes or commercial flavouring stuff, which gives a lovely flavour and depth to food - just boil it in with the other stuff if I'm making soup, for example, and fish it out later (it is very leathery!) Doesn't taste of seaweed, honest! I use it in place of stock and just rely on the other vegetables to add to it. You can get it in Sainsbury's.

Now, the thing is, it says it is the BASIS for MSG, but is totally natural. I have problems with the commercial stuff but this is fine for me - no migraines (and I get horribly bad ones!) Maybe because it is a natural sea vegetable, it doesn't have that effect?

"Kombu
Botanical Name: Laminaria japonica
Other Names: konbu, kelp

Description: A dark green long thick sea vegetable from the kelp family. Used frequently in Japanese cooking, it is an essential ingredient of dashi, a flavorful stock. Kombu contains significant amounts of glutamic acid, the basis of monosodium glutamate (MSG).

Purchasing Information: Kombu is usually sold in 5 to 6-inch dried pieces and can be found in health food stores and Japanese groceries. It is also sold as nalto kombu (shredded kombu that cooks quickly), tororo kombu (vinegared, shaved kombu that needs little or no cooking), shio-kombu (boiled, soy sauce flavored kombu), kombu-zuke (lightly pickled kombu), and kombu-ko (powdered kombu that can be sprinkled on food or used in drinks).

Basic Cooking Instructions: Dried kombu needs to be simmered for at least 20 minutes to soften it and flavor the liquid. If used only for flavoring stock, the kombu itself is removed from the simmer liquid at the end of cooking and discarded. "

So, I don't know whether this will be of any use at all, but I thought I'd mention it. Glutamic acid is found in many things and gives the "meaty" sort of flavour (as opposed to sweet, sour, bitter etc) I have a feeling that it is the commercial mimicking of a natural flavour that causes so many problems! Just look at aspartame instead of sugar!

karmasister

Hi everyone.

I've been using Marigold Buillion powder for years and this morning came across this article that really shocks me:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0876/is_2001_Wntr/ai_75705628

It say's that hydrolised vegetable protein (an ingredient of Marigold buillion powder) may contain up to 20% MSG. Now, this is an American site saying that, so does anyone know if this makes a difference? Do they have different labelling laws? I'm very interested to hear others opinions on this.

:think:

lil_me

I like Kallo aswell, the lower salt veg ones. Sometimes Marigold. Do prefer to make my own from veg/meat where possible

But I also found this
http://www.organicfoodee.com/emails/msg3.html

Which does explain how the likes of Marigold and Kaloo may not have added MSG in them but it can be present in another ingredient.

I did find this bit interesting on the other threads, especially about the salt.

http://www.foodandhealth.com/cpecourses/msg.php

Oh there is this one too

http://www.naturodoc.com/library/nutrition/MSG.htm There is a list on there of ingredients which ALWAYS contain MSG. Inc Hydrolised Veg Fat. Which of course is in Marigold aswell. I aksed a friend about this via email this morning who has done a massive research project into MSG and she said yes, they all contain MSG.

Kombu is where MSG came from, so of course contains it.