Safety As A Flavor Enhancer
In April 1968, Robert Ho Man Kwok wrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, coining the term "Chinese restaurant syndrome". In this letter he claimed:
I have experienced a strange syndrome whenever I have eaten out in a Chinese restaurant, especially one that served northern Chinese food. The syndrome, which usually begins 15 to 20 minutes after I have eaten the first dish, lasts for about two hours, without hangover effect. The most prominent symptoms are numbness at the back of the neck, gradually radiating to both arms and the back, general weakness and palpitations...
The syndrome is often abbreviated as CRS and also became known under the names "Chinese food syndrome" and "monosodium glutamate symptom complex."
Symptoms attributed to the Chinese restaurant syndrome are rather common and unspecific.
While many people believe that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the cause of these symptoms, an association has never been demonstrated under rigorously controlled conditions, even in studies with people who were convinced that they were sensitive to the compound. Adequately controlling for experimental bias includes a placebo-controlled double-blinded experimental design and the application in capsules because of the strong and unique after-taste of glutamates.
Read more about this topic: Glutamic Acid (flavor)
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