MSG

[thenewguy]

Does anyone get a flare up after eating food(s) with MSG?

[Sequoia]

Does anyone get a flare up after eating food(s) with MSG?

I've avoided all foods containing MSG for a very long time.

Although not proven to the FDA's satisfaction, there's considerable anecdotal evidence that MSG may be a neurotoxin. If so, it would make sense that MS symptoms would flare after consumption of MSG.

[opiegirl]

Funny you ask...I just had an MSG flare this weekend. I have been GF and DF for a few months now and feeling great.

This weekend we rewarded my son for reaching his goal in reading and told him he could pick anywhere he wanted to go out to dinner. Of course he picked the local Chinese restaurant...because we never go there and we always say no when the kids suggest it.

About six hours after eating there I had a rash all over my arm and the next day my neck was killing me.

Twice now since changing my diet, I have fallen off the wagon so to speak and each time I notice weird symptoms popping up and a generally not feeling well.

I really think what I eat effects the way I feel.

[Redwings]

... there's considerable anecdotal evidence that MSG may be a neurotoxin. If so, it would make sense that MS symptoms would flare after consumption of MSG.

I think Sequoia makes an important point, even if it wasn't quite intentionally.

It's important to differentiate an actual, inflammatory exacerbation from a noninflammatory, temporary worsening of MS symptoms that is a pseudoexacerbation and not a true flare.

MSG is known to be a trigger for some people for migraines. In that respect, there's evidence that MSG acts as a neurotoxin or at least as a neuroexcitation agent. It's reasonable, then, that it could also temporarily worsen MS symptoms in the form of an MS pseudoexacerbation that lasts for hours or a day or so. As in migraines, that action could be very individual. But, on the surface at least, it's possible.

But that's very different than causing a true, inflammatory exacerbation that lasts for days to weeks. While MSG has been called a pro-inflammatory agent, there isn't as much evidence that it's so pro-inflammatory that it can trigger a true relapse. Because in the broadest sense, it isn't known specifically what causes relapses.

For ease of living and symptom management, it's important for a person with MS to understand the difference between a true relapse and a pseudorelapse. There are things that are known to trigger a pseudorelapse (e.g., overheating, fever). It isn't as clear what causes a true relapse. As many people can attest, relapses often come out of nowhere. There usually isn't an identifiable cause.

Even though some people with MS often say things like, "Oh, I had a miniflare today," there isn't such a thing as a true, inflammatory "mini" flare. In MS, there's little to no evidence that inflammation works that way. But there's a lot of evidence behind the mechanism of pseudoflares that makes small or "mini" pseudoflares possible. In that respect, MSG can certainly affect the way a person temporarily feels or functions.

[Sequoia]

Actually, it was intentional on my part, Redwings.

The terminology I used, however, might have been misleading. When I said "cause MS symptoms to flare" I was not talking about a true exacerbation, which is a much more significant event. I was talking about a pseudoexacerbation, a brief resurgence of pre-existing symptoms.

So essentially, our message is the same...yours is just more thorough and understandable.

[Redwings]

Actually, it was intentional on my part, Redwings.

Actually, Sequoia, I thought it was. But I had to allow for the possibility that I might be wrong.

Your words were obviously well chosen. I was allowing for the fact that when someone's looking for some definite answer but their question is imprecise -- as is the original question -- it becomes easier for them to miss a well-placed subtlety. And it doesn't help that the "official" definition of a flare also isn't precise, based only on symptoms. So for anyone following this thread who doesn't yet have enough background about flares to properly interpret your reply, I took the opportunity to clarify the differences. As a short-form answer, your reply was right on.

[nutritiontara]

Does anyone get a flare up after eating food(s) with MSG?

Its a "neurotoxin", seem to reason.