# WTF is my husband reacting to in Chinese food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834 "2010-10-11T23:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/1 "2010-10-11T23:03:59Z")
Four or five times, my husband’s had a weird reaction to Chinese food. It happens during or just after the meal. He gets light-headed, hot and flushed - he has to go splash cold water on his face - and he says ‘everything goes odd and wobbly’. It lasts a few minutes and then he’s fine. He’s healthy, not on any medication and not allergic to anything that we know of. The thing is, this never happens when we go to some deeply crappy Chinese takeaway joint. It only happens with good restaurants - and not always then. Tonight we ordered from a great place that we’ve used twice before. The first two times he was fine, this time he got the reaction. (Sweet and sour pork, a bite of my chicken with cashew nuts, and a handful of roasted cashews on the side, if that matters. But last time he got this he’d eaten beef in black bean sauce. I can’t remember the other times.) It’s never happened with anything but Chinese food. What ingredient is in good Chinese food, but not in cheapo Chinese food and not in other cuisines, that could give him this reaction? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/2 "2010-10-11T23:11:31Z")
[MSG](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMonosodium_glutamate&ei=jZmzTK-AEIr0swO7yZysCA&usg=AFQjCNFGyb6EJdpHPqP-NkltS1EUZclBKA)? ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/3 "2010-10-11T23:12:57Z")
I wondered about that, but I was under the impression (could be wrong) that there’d be more of that in the cheapo takeaway stuff than in the good restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/4 "2010-10-11T23:18:25Z")
It sounds like a classic MSG reaction, a.k.a. Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. > [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > I was under the impression (could be wrong) that there’d be more of that in the cheapo takeaway stuff than in the good restaurants. Unless the restaurant explicitly states that they _never_ use MSG, assume it is present. Relative amounts probably have more to do with particular chefs and happenstance than the quality of the restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/5 "2010-10-11T23:21:11Z")
Test Panda Express. They don’t use MSG at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/6 "2010-10-11T23:27:21Z")
Per [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid_%28flavor%29#Concentration_in_foods), it’s in high concentrations in soy sauce, among other things. So even if the chef isn’t adding it separately, it might be there, depending on what you’re eating. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/7 "2010-10-11T23:58:07Z")
MSG has no stigma in China, and is used as freely as salt. A “better” Chinese restaurant would be as likely to use it as a cheap one. That said, MSG reaction has never been clinically demonstrated (and they have tried.) People who claim to have sensitivities to MSG do not demonstrate consistant reactions in a lab setting. They have been able to induce mild reactions when large amounts of MSG and water are consumed without other foods (as in watery soups) but it’s not something that has been demonstrated to happen with regular food. I think it’s unlikely to be MSG. It is probably some other ingredient or additive. I think you’d notice [Sichuan peppercorns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper), because they have an odd effect on everyone. But there are a number of other spices that could be at fault. It could also be some additive in a Chinese cooking product, like specific brands of rice vinegar or something. I think this would be a hard one to track down. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/8 "2010-10-12T00:12:10Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > I wondered about that, but I was under the impression (could be wrong) that there’d be more of that in the cheapo takeaway stuff than in the good restaurants. Good Chinese restaurants use MSG too. They don’t consider it something cheap. It’s as normal as salt in Chinese cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/9 "2010-10-12T00:19:30Z")
Plus there’s MSG in a lot of other packaged foods, not just Chinese cuisine items. It’s repackaged under names like “hydrolyzed protein” and “natural flavoring,” and as the Wiki article shows, there’s actually more in parmesan cheese than there is in soy sauce. ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/10 "2010-10-12T00:31:50Z")
Is he allergic to cats? On a more serious note, my mother had heart attacks after eaing chinese food on two seperate occasions ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/11 "2010-10-12T00:31:56Z")
Not to mention that MSG is the sodium salt of an amino acid your own body produces. That isn’t to say super high concentrations may not give some sort of reaction, but given the clinical evidence, MSG seems to get a worse rap than it deserves. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/12 "2010-10-12T02:13:48Z")
I guess MSG may be perceived differently in different parts of China. I would say there is a strong stigma against using MSG in authentic Cantonese cuisine, which is also typically quite bland and nothing like the Westernized stuff. This is not to say that it is not widely used; just that something that you will only find in something like a fast food place, not in an upscale restaurant. Or at least they’ll never admit it. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/13 "2010-10-12T02:40:28Z")
Does he eat shrimp? I ask this because I am allergic to shellfish, and I have to be careful to ask exactly what goes into the mix in a Chinese restaurant. I can count on one hand the number of times I have eaten shellfish in my life, the last few were accidental. And I realize that the dishes you describe probably don’t have shellfish in them, but for someone who is allergic, there might be some cross contamination with other foods in the kitchen. (fortunately all it does to me is make me quite sick four hours later…no hospital visits) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/14 "2010-10-12T02:49:53Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I think you’d notice [Sichuan peppercorns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper), because they have an odd effect on everyone. Sichuan peppercorns are the first thing I thought of, too, but given the dishes listed (which seem like standard Cantonese or Chinese-American fare to me), I didn’t think it was likely. Although that is one spice that is more likely to show up in a decent Sichuan restaurant but is likely to be omitted in your more standard Chinese take-aways. (In fact, I’ve never seen Sichuan peppercorns at your average middle-of-the-road Chinese takeout–you know, the ones that are mainly Cantonese-type dishes and Chop Suey, Chow Mein, Mongolian Beef, etc., with a couple nominal Sichuan dishes on the menu.) ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/15 "2010-10-12T08:19:00Z")
I saw a show on UK TV recently that explored the glutamate response. They gave some people sensitive to glutamate a number of meals - one was a low glutamate chinese meal, another was a high glutamate italian dish. The classic response was to the italian, and not the chinese. It wasn’t _science_, but it was interesting. So I suspect that the OPs husband may have a glutamate response, but that it is generally weak, and only in some circumstances is it triggered (probably a depletion of enzymes that normally process the glutamate). Si ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/16 "2010-10-12T11:36:26Z")
I saw that show and remember it differently. They had 2 groups that self-identified as suffering from Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. They sent one to a Chinese place that uses no MSG and another to the Italian place. Some members of both groups showed adverse reactions to varying degree. Both menus had no MSG but high amounts of naturally occurring glutamates. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/17 "2010-10-12T12:55:33Z")
I get a reaction similar to the OP, plus, I can feel and hear my heart beating, plus heartburn. I think it has something to do with MSG and also rice, or the combination of the two. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/18 "2010-10-12T22:24:32Z")
> [@kferr](#): > > I saw that show and remember it differently. They had 2 groups that self-identified as suffering from Chinese Restaurant Syndrome. They sent one to a Chinese place that uses no MSG and another to the Italian place. Some members of both groups showed adverse reactions to varying degree. Both menus had no MSG but high amounts of naturally occurring glutamates. You are probably right - I was observing the show in passing. It was interesting though - added MSG could not be blamed for some peoples reaction, just the natural glutamates in some high foods. Si ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/19 "2010-10-13T03:12:00Z")
ANd don’t have anything to back it up with. But I thought people were thrashing on MSG as the problem, but it was one of those things that could not be scientifically proven. Then it turned out that sometimes MSG isn’t really pure and it could be the impurities that are causing the problem. MSG is supposed to be a white powder, but impure samples give it an off color or even yellow. It makes some sense to me; understanding that strict scientific studies would tend to use fairly pure MSG and not get a reaction…when in a real life setting impure MSG might be used. But like I said…something I remember hearing about with no citation to provide. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834/20 "2010-10-13T04:11:54Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Plus there’s MSG in a lot of other packaged foods, not just Chinese cuisine items. It’s repackaged under names like “hydrolyzed protein” and “natural flavoring,” and as the Wiki article shows, there’s actually more in parmesan cheese than there is in soy sauce. It’s also present in significant amounts in [grape juice, peas, tomatoes and corn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid_%28flavor%29#Concentration_in_foods). To the OP: has he ever had such a reaction to those foods? If not then it’s unlikely to be MSG; my guess from the foods you mentioned is that he has a problem with some nuts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-my-husband-reacting-to-in-chinese-food/556834.md?page=2)