My Sick Gest (MSG)

During my first week, friends and acquaintances dropped the taboo question of “any problems, ehm, you know, with your stomach?” or “have your frequently been visiting the restroom?” To their disappointed relief, I confessed that my problem was not going too often, but quite the opposite. I thought it was a positive sign: I knew I could afford to eat in the street without worrying about uncomfortable consequences.

The soup

At lunchtime Friday, I faced a different kind of food-related adaptation; less visible but with more severe reactions than poorly washed fruits or insufficiently cooked meat. I was pressed for time and decided to purchase an instant noodle soup at the corner mart. I heated the water, made the soup, scarfed it down and headed out. On my way to work, I was writing a text message when I realized that something was very wrong: I couldn’t read what I was writing and the reflection of the cellphone screen was hurting my eyes. I started to glance around, to see if my eyes were simply sensitive to the electronic device or if there was something else going on. I looked ahead. I felt like I was walking through a 1980s disco heavily embellished with strobe lights. I was living my first ever psychedelic moment without consciously ingesting anything out of the ordinary except for an instant noodle soup and a cup of hot tea…

My vision degraded. I barely made it to the office. I was officially worried. Most people were not yet present in the office after lunch, and I didn’t know whom to call. I started feeling nauseous and was afraid that it was something graver than a simple malaise. I called my boss’ wife who always knows how to behave in extraordinary situations. She expressed her concern and hinted at the soup being the culprit, she called it MSG… monosodium glutamate.  Monosodium glutamate! I knew what that was and was aware that Asian countries are its biggest fan, but I didn’t think that I could have such a violent reaction to something so insignificant! As soon as my boss to returned from lunch, he made me get in a cab and directed me to the nearest clinic.

The drive to the clinic was critical. I couldn’t see from my right eye anymore, my head started to ache and I thought of asking the driver to stop a number of times as the nausea would come and go. At the clinic everything was clarified. I most likely ate a soup with an exceptionally high concentration of MSG. The MSG triggered the onset of a migraine causing the blood vessels to contract; the lower blood flow to the eyes instigating the strobe light effect.

The doctor gave me a heavy migraine drug and instructed me to lie down. Fifteen minutes later, I rose and my vision was reestablished with only a residual headache clinging on.

MSG in both the noodles and the soup, no reference to amount

So what really is MSG? After this episode I did some research to better understand the product that made me so sick. It’s an commonly used food additive that is naturally found in a number of foods including Parmesan cheese, tomatoes, breast milk, etc. It is used in Asian countries as a flavor enhancer and can be found in virtually anything, and not only in Asia. Despite a small number of people reporting adverse effects after ingesting MSG, the European Union, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and WHO all define it as a "safe" additive.

For more information on MSG, please look at the following links:

• If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in Asia have a headache? 
• Food standards Australia and New Zealand (2003) 
• MSG Truth 
• The European Union's Food Information Council