If I don’t get run over by a car first while attempting to cross streets with no traffic lights, I’m going to die of monosodium glutamate (MSG) poisoning. It may be my imagination, but I think restaurants in Vietnam use a disproportionate amount of MSG.

Stephen and I went to our favorite Chinese restaurant, Lucky Star, today for dim sum. He downed three medium-sized char siu baos (BBQ pork buns) within minutes and I scarfed down chicken feet, soup dumplings, glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf, and black sesame mochi. We couldn’t have been more satisfied.

That is, until we got home and MSG struck me down. I was suddenly very fatigued and had a headache so severe that I was feeling nauseous. According to the FDA, these are some of the most common symptoms people experience starting about one hour after eating food with MSG.

MSG Symptom Complex

  • burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest
  • numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back
  • tingling, warmth and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms
  • facial pressure or tightness
  • chest pain
  • headache
  • nausea
  • rapid heartbeat
  • bronchospasm (difficulty breathing) in MSG-intolerant people with asthma
  • drowsiness
  • weakness

Sounds like I have a pretty classic reaction. No evidence exists that MSG contributes to long-term problems like Alzheimer’s disease nor has there been any evidence to suggest that MSG causes brain lesions or damages nerve cells. That’s a good thing because Americans consume about 28,000 tons of MSG per year.

There have been several other restaurants that I’ve had to stop patronizing because every time I go, I enjoy the food, but am miserable for the rest of the day. Fortunately, Stephen seems unaffected.

No antidote exists for MSG poisoning* but Dr. Weil says that people deficient in vitamin B6 appear to be more sensitive to MSG. Potatoes, bananas, and garbanzo beans top the list of food sources for vitamin B6. Maybe the solution is to order some dishes with these ingredients next time I go. Although Chinese food usually doesn’t use garbanzo beans…. I’ll just have to find some way to sneak some in.

*Ok, so I exaggerate. It’s not quite as bad as poison.