Migralex Blog

MSG and headaches

A new study in the journal Cephalalgia (which means, Headache) confirms what many headache sufferers already know – that MSG causes headaches. Researchers gave 14 healthy men a drink with either MSG or salt and a week later the drinks were switched so that everyone had both MSG and a salty drink.

This was a double-blind study, which means that neither the researchers nor the 14 men knew what they were drinking at each of two sessions. Four of the 14 developed a headache after drinking MSG and none after drinking salty water. The number of headaches probably would have been higher if this experiment was conducted in people prone to headaches. In addition to headaches many of these healthy young men developed stomach aches, tenderness in the jaw area, and fatigue.

Despite FDA’s pronouncements that MSG is a safe food additive, it is probably bad for you. Most people suspect that much and the food industry is always trying to hide that MSG is present in their foods. MSG is often disguised on food labels under names such as hydrolyzed protein, natural flavoring, plant protein extract, and other. It is almost always present in canned soups, fast-food restaurant meals and many other processed foods.

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