I was very curious about my unhealthy addiction to SOMTAM and wanted to know about MSG.Just having read this article I'm going to say MAI OW PROCHUROT KRAP...Seriously take your time and read it.What it does to the body: http://www.msgtruth.org/body.htm  

• Allergic response
  – MSG is not
  a
  true allergen but may directly affect immune response by stimulating
  or damaging
  the nervous system.
  In studies done recently on animals, food allergies may be caused by a lack of Interleukin 12.  This substance is made by cells in the body - oligodendrocytes, that are killed by excess glutamate. 
  Also - Over 85% of individuals with Type 1 Diabetes have antibodies to the enzyme the body uses to turn Glutamate into GABA - glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD).  Their immune system attacks the means by which glutamate is metabolized, even though it does not attack glutamate itself.  Because of their immune response to GAD, Type 1 diabetics are at risk of having an excess of glutamate in their systems already.

• Blood Pressure
  - may create taurine deficiency – calcium channels stay open – causing high blood pressure and counteracting calcium channel blocking medication.

• Blood vessels
  – Glutamate is vasoactive - it changes the diameter of the blood vessels - one reason why it may cause
  headaches
  .

• Brain
  – during periods of hypoglycemia where low blood glucose levels leave the brain with low defenses, or allergy response where the blood vessels become "leaky", MSG may cross the blood brain barrier and damage brain cells by excitatory neurotoxicity. By affecting the pancreas and creating a situation of hypoglycemia, MSG may bring down the brain’s barriers, carrying it’s own key, in a sense, to get to the brain.

• Digestive system
  – may create taurine deficiency due to its effect on cysteine. Cysteine competes with glutamate for uptake.  Unfortunately, cysteine is used to make taurine, and taurine is used to make bile.  Bile, which is made by the liver and stored in the gall bladder is used to break up fats into managable pieces for digestion.  If bile formation is compromised - diarrhea and "gall bladder attacks" may occur.

• Endocrine System
  - GABA (gamma amino butyric acid) is created by feedback mechanism from MSG. GABA may be addictive. Related to the date-rape drug GBH. GABA stimulates the pituitary to produce growth hormone.  Research has shown that MSG can also overstimulate prolactin production by the pituitary and cause sterility in female animals.  Nearly half of all pituitary tumors are prolactin secreting.

• Hearing
  -
  The hair cells of the ear use glutamate as a neurotransmitter.  Over-stimulation of these cells by glutamate can result in ringing in the ears.  Glutamate
  opens
  calcium channels.

• Heart Rate
  - May create taurine deficiency – (taurine regulates heartbeat) causing irregular or racing heartbeat.

• Hypoglycemia
  – MSG’s stimulation of pancreas decreases blood glucose, making hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) worse.

• Hypothalamus
  – part of the brain most susceptible to attack because it is the "sensor" of the brain, out in the open so to speak, not protected by the blood brain barrier because it needs to monitor levels of hormones in the blood. This part of the brain directs the action of the pituitary gland which directs the action of the entire endocrine system. Many MSG sensitive persons become diagnosed with thyroid disfunction and are put on synthetic hormone due to hypothyroidism. This would suggest that the hypothalamus may be compromised and unable to effectively direct the pituitary gland and consequently the thyroid. The hypothalamus also regulates hunger, and body temperature.  The hypothalamus is also responsible for
  rage and panic
  as well...

• Lungs
  -
  Asthma
  - due to MSG’s stimulatory effect on the nervous system (See Johns Hopkins research) would explain why asthma is induced in some by MSG.

• Nervous system
  - MSG stimulates nerves in tongue and elsewhere directly (that’s why they use it). Glutamate in excess can overstimulate nerve cells until they die.
    Certain cells called oligodendrocytes which are found in the nervous system and make MYELIN are killed by excess glutamate.  It is the inability to make myelin which defines the disease Multiple Sclerosis.  In those patients, Interleukin 12 is low.  IL 12 is also made by the oligodendrocytes - a clue that these cells are probably being killed by something.  We firmly believe that something may be MSG and aspartame in the diet. 

• Pancreas
  – glutamate stimulates the pancreas and may cause Type II
  diabetes
  , obesity, and insulin resistance.  In individuals with Type 1 diabetes, it may cause an excess of glutamate since 85% of those with Type 1 diabetes have antibodies which attack GAD - the enzyme responsible for converting glutamate into GABA.

• Thyroid function
  – See Hypothalamus above

• Vision
  - There are glutamate receptors in the retina.  Laboratory studies on animals have shown the retina to be damaged by MSG. 

What it is: http://www.msgtruth.org/whatisit.htm

• MSG tricks your tongue into making you think a certain food is high in protein and thus nutritious.  It is not a "meat tenderizer".  It is not a "preservative".  The food industry is trying to confuse the issue by focusing on the "fifth" taste sense they call umami.  Free glutamic acid is detected by the taste buds as a simple way to signal the presence of protein in a food, just as there are fat receptors to detect fats and receptors that sense carbohydrate or sweet flavors.  The purpose is to help us discern real food from inedible matter.  It changes your perception of not simply taste but the nutritious qualities of what you put into your mouth.  However, and here is the main problem with free glutamic acid - It is the very same neurotransmitter that your brain and many organs including your ears, eyes, nervous system and pancreas in your body use to initiate certain processes in your body. 

• MSG stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin.  So many diets these days are concerned about the Glycemic Index of foods and yet none of them address the fact that MSG and free glutamic acid stimulate the pancreas to release insulin when there doesn't even have to be carbohydrates in the food for that insulin to act on.  The food industry has found their own "anti-appetite suppressant".  It's a convenient way to keep consumers coming back for more.   The blood sugar drops because of the insulin flood.  And you are hungry an hour later.  Sound familiar? 

• The body changes excess glutamate to GABA.   GABA may be addictive.  It is calming and affects the same receptors in the brain as valium. 

• Cost.  The illusion created by adding MSG to a food product enables the food processor to add LESS real food.  The illusion of more protein in a food allows the food producer to put LESS protein in it.  The consumer perceives the product - say chicken soup - to have more chicken in it than is actually there.  Example:  A well-known brand of dehydrated chicken noodle soup.  Is that chicken in there, or a piece of confetti?

I like Som Tum too but if too much MSG isn't good it makes me feel so thirsty all the time =_="

me, not the fan of Phongchurot.

most Thai food shops and restaurants here put MSG in those food .... Yes better say mai ow, event you say that you may get in still in their soup (noodles shops must put a big bag of MSG in their soup and we dont see that)

I think this is everywhere here, and already pre-mixed into the food or ingredients and they can't remove it at the point of order, for example at MK i heard its in their sauce so no point in going to MK without the enjoying that sauce lol.

So the only way NOT to consume this is to stay away from food and just eat fruits I guess, sad but true

to counter the effect of reduced taurine, just slam one Kratin Daeng a day

These health scare articles you find on the internet are best taken with a large pinch of salt.

MSG is bad stuff, and you'd be supprised the different foods, and snacks contain it in the USA. It's in most flavored potato chips, beef jerky, almost all packaged foods. There was a push to get it banned in foods, but the legislation was not approved because the consequences of eating MSG weren't considered severe enough to ban it.......lol. Basically not enough people die from it.

I didn't even know that there was MSG in Som Tum!