Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a universally used flavor enhancer, permeates our processed, packaged and frozen foods. For those sensitive to this substance, it is indeed a poison.

The dose of MSG throughout our foods is increasing. It can even be found in cans of tuna, and injected into turkeys. It is served to us in the finest restaurants and to our children in school.

Older people are particularly susceptible. Many elderly people suffer from depressions and balance difficulties caused by MSG. There are links, as well, to Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

In the original "In Bad Taste" Dr. George R. Schwartz industr...

Customer Reviews:

7 of 10 found this review helpful:
Hernandez should not rely on the FDA to tell the truth, 2005-01-29
We bought this book to do our research since our family suffers from headachs, stomch proplems and what desicovered was the MSG that is embedded in our foods is what is making us sick. Once we eliminated it our proplems have gone. MSG IS A TOXIN!! There thousand of out here who have suffered for no reason. The food giants and the MSG distributors are together on this hidden poison. They PAY for reaserch to say its safe and give grants to those who follow in thier quest to scam the consumer. We have bought other books on MSG ( from those who actually suffer from MSG POISONING) and they all the same thing. It's killing us and we don't know it. [...] and REALLY find out what they are up too. It's really scarey. The FDA, research doctors and others are paid informest by the food industry
I hope Hernandaz got and F for her paper, or hope she did alot more research other than on so called medical pages. This book is not propaganda, it's what really happening, from someone who has the guts to stand up and say something!

12 of 27 found this review helpful:
I would expect more from an MD, 2004-05-02
I am writing a paper on MSG's central nervous system effects and thought that "In Bad Taste: The MSG Complex" would enlighten me on the subject matter. What I got, however, was a one-sided, poorly-written mess. Nearly half the book consists of personal letters from regular people to Dr. Schwartz detailing their own diagnosis: that MSG caused them their conditions. Dr. Schwartz seems to take this at face value because he is so desperate to valiantly pinpoint the cause of several epidemiological problems our nation presently incurs, such as asthma, Lou Gehrig's, Parkinson's, epilepsy, etc. He says the rise in MSG use is a major cause of the rise of incidence of these diseases. this is coming from the man who in the SAME book says that a drug is a substance that "has no apparent therapeutic use." I guess Dr. Schwartz would not agree that morphine is a very useful cough suppressant? he probably wouldn't agree that cocaine is a great anesthetic during surgery? the guy is a moron. He would probably agree that the only "drugs" on the planet are weapons of chemical warfare, and that the growing number of Parkinson's or asthma cases can't be b/c of bad air, unhealthy lifestyles, or a growing elderly population, right?

This book is an overload of anti-MSG propaganda embedded in every other sentence. if you want to know the truth about MSG's allegedly "toxic" effects on the central nervous system, I suggest you do a search on Medline and read the research for yourself. Dr. Schwartz is not a scientist. Do not buy into his sensationalist scam.

35 of 37 found this review helpful:
This book saved my husband's life!, 2002-01-24
For years, my husband suffered from anxiety attacks that hit without warning and were quite debilitating. He sought drug therapy, but as time passed, the attacks became more frequent and severe until one day he went into Bells palsy and anaphylactic shock and found himself in the emergency room surrounded by physicians with no answers.

When he received the older version of this book in 1990, it was a revelation. My husband had been becoming increasingly sensitive to MSG while at the same time unknowingly adding it to his diet. In clear, easy-to read language, the book helped identify sources of MSG. It became clear that it was in virtually everything he was consuming--from breakfast cereals to canned tuna to Coca Cola. We altered his diet drastically, choosing mostly unprocessed whole foods, and the results were incredible. His personality changed as he was no longer on edge. His concentration and memory improved dramatically. He no longer needed drug therapy, and stopped doubting himself as an anxiety-prone person. As an added bonus, he lost weight, increased muscle mass and became generally healthier.

As his allergy continued to be quite severe, we turned to the book frequently to avoid more ER visits, and have been largely successful for the past twelve years. It is hard to imagine how life would have been had we not had this book at our disposal. My husband would have continued to suffer his 'mysterious ailment' until, quite possibly, it took his life.

I cannot recommend this book heartily enough. It should be *required* reading for anyone who even suspects they have "Chinese restaurant syndrome" and recommended reading for just about everyone else. It is incredible that such a small book can make such a big difference.

55 of 58 found this review helpful:
Definitive book on MSG for the non-specialist general reader, 2000-05-09
George Schwartz, M.D. wrote the first edition of In Bad Taste more than ten years ago. Since then "the use of MSG and MSG-containing substances has more than doubled." While some people can use MSG with no adverse effects, many others have severe reactions to it, some of them life-threatening.

Kombu, a seaweed, was first used in Japan as a flavor enhancer. A Japanese doctor isolated the main ingredient--MSG, or monosodium glutamate--and started what has become a million-dollar industry. "MSG is used in processed food, in fast-foods and in Chinese food." It's also found in nearly all canned and frozen foods. It's the "most widely used flavor enhancer in the world."

MSG has been linked to asthma, headaches, and heart irregularities. "Behavioral and physical problems of children, such as incontinence and seizures, as well as attention deficit disorder (ADD), have been diagnosed and successfully treated as MSG disorders."

Those wishing to eliminate MSG from their diets are faced with an almost impossible task. Food preparers are often unaware that they're even using MSG. Labels can be misleading. A label that says "No MSG added" doesn't mean that the food is free of MSG, it simply means that the manufacturer didn't put in additional MSG. MSG goes under many aliases, one of the most common being "hydrolyzed vegetable protein," an additive used to increase the protein content of a wide variety of foods.

Manufacturers also hide MSG as part of "natural flavorings," because it is a natural product. As Dr. Schwartz points out, arsenic is also a natural product--being natural is not the same as being harmless.

Dr. Schwartz describes how MSG works in the body, and lists the symptoms it causes.

He provides several other lists, including the names used to hide MSG, general food sources of MSG, and specific brand names of items known to contain MSG. He also includes a selection of basic recipes to help people reduce their MSG consumption.

Dr. Schwartz says his book will help people learn to identify MSG reactions, and then how to avoid eating it. He adds, "knowing how to avoid this flavor enhancer can dramatically change lives." Readers wishing to understand MSG reactions and avoid using it will find In Bad Taste an invaluable resource.