
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 24, 1994                   TAG: 9403240018
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

MSG ISN'T THE CULPRIT, STUDY SAYS

Some doctors say they've debunked the theory that the flavor enhancer MSG makes people sick, but they can't find another culprit because their patients don't believe them.

"They're never going to get the proper treatment if they hang their hat on MSG," said Dr. Daryl Altman of Allergy Information Services in Lynbrook, N.Y.

MSG, or monosodium glutamate, has been used in Oriental cooking for nearly 2,000 years but also is commonly found in such things as tomato sauce and snack chips. It is a version of glutamic acid, one of 20 amino acids naturally present in nearly all protein.

In 1968, a doctor who experienced temporary numbness and weakness after eating Chinese food labeled the symptoms Chinese restaurant syndrome and speculated that MSG, cooking wine or excess salt could be to blame.

Early studies said MSG was the culprit, but in 1980 scientists began reversing that opinion. Now the largest study of the issue says MSG is innocent.

An Australian chemist, Dr. Len Tarasoff of the University of Western Sydney, randomly fed 71 people various doses of MSG and a placebo for five days.

Fifteen percent reported some symptoms after ingesting the MSG - but so did 14 percent after taking the placebo, said his report in the British journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.

"It's a very good study and does suggest MSG given in the course of an ordinary meal doesn't cause a reaction," said Dr. Dean Metcalfe of the National Institutes of Health.

But some Americans still blame MSG for symptoms such as headaches, flushing, numbness and dizziness.

"Doctors didn't know why I got dizzy headaches," said Anna Davis of Washington after insisting that a Chinese restaurant put none of the flavor enhancer in her order. "I stopped eating MSG and now I don't. End of story."

by CNB