Has anyone had any simular reactions to MSG

[Stdorn]

When I was younger my mother used to put accent seasoning (pure MSG) on steak or hamburger when cooking it. I continue this when I moved out on my own until my mid-twenties when I realized it was causing severe gastric distress. Prior to that time it never caused me any digestive issues this was also around the time my RLS started becoming an issue. I now keep running into foods that make me incredibly sick and have realized every time I check the ingredients label they contain MSG under one of its various names. I only recently heard about the possible link between glutamate and RLS. I'm just curious if anyone else has had a similar case where MSG didn't used to bother you but now causes you issues and if it might have coincided with the start of your restless leg issues.

[Madlegs1]

MSG is certainly a big hitter in the catalogue of RLS triggers.Just googling it will tell you how big it is for the food industry.

And don't be fooled by the label " No added msg" - that just means that the manufacturer has not actually put it into the food herself. But it is in an ingredient.

It is extremely exhausting to be trying to find out if it is in foods in the shop, because it is hidden undercover in over 200 guises.

Flavour enhancer is a common one,. Only 199 more to discover!🤔

And, YES I am severely affected by msg.

I can't buy commercial Thai green curry any more. No listed msg, but massive jittery legs for hours after.

Keeping a food diary will help pinpoint where it may be lurking.

Good luck.

[Stdorn in reply to Madlegs1]

No gastrointestinal issues in your case?

[Madlegs1 in reply to Stdorn]

Absolutely none. 😁

[Stdorn in reply to Madlegs1]

When looking it up the other day I was surprised by how many alternate names that has the most devious probably being natural flavoring.

[Carlettejaque in reply to Madlegs1]

I suppose the only way to avoid it is to only eat food you have prepared and cooked yourself with fresh ingredients. I have an allergy to dextrose, maltadextrin, dextrin etc and that's in lots of foods. I only eat what I make myself. But, I have IBS and mild RSL with hot feet syndrome, neuropathic skin pain and polymyalgia. I find if my stomach is upset or bad then the RSL is worse.

[Joolsg]

MSG instantly triggers RLS for me. I avoid it completely.

[Deemarie1]

I find anything that has a lot of salt in it a trigger for me and that includes msg. Its hard to avoid completely but it helps if I can keep it to a minimum.

[Carlettejaque]

I don't know whether there is any link with RLS and MSG but I remember when I was a teenager, if I went into a Chinese restaurant where they used MSG in their cooking even before eating I would feel really unwell and feel like i would faint. I didn't know why but then discovered Chinese restaurant syndrome. It's an allergy to MSG in the air. Many food manufacturers, processors no longer use it. I can't think of a link to that and any non food related conditions but you never know.

[RLSofManyYears]

Chinese carry-outs use MSG and having had a bad night on Sunday after a very nice Chinese carry-out then I can testify to MSG making RLS worse. I've had to come to the decision that there will be no more carry-outs for me 😱

[SueJohnson]

I definitely got restless legs after taking something with MSG in it, whereas otherwise I had no restless legs since it was under control with gabapentin. And it wasn't labeled as such. No gastric problems.

[Jules1953]

I have suffered with RLS for 50 years. During this time I have made a point of looking for triggers that have made my RLS worse. MSG was one of the first ones that I identified as making RLS worse.Kind regards Julie McGowan from Western Australia

[Merny5]

Yes, msg increases my RLS symptoms!