Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is often used as a flavor enhancer in many savory dishes. What most people know is that it often added to foods. What most people do not know is that is present in many foods naturally, either in free form or as glutamic acid in proteins, since glutamic acid is a very common naturally occurring amino acid.
There is considerable controversy surrounding MSG, mostly due to the so-called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CRS). Symptoms commonly reported include numbness and tingling of the extremities, facial flushing, and several others. Tonight we shall take a fairly in-depth view of MSG.