Hardly a day goes by that I don’t read in the newspaper where an athlete somewhere was unable to compete in his or her event due to an illness with flu-like symptoms. Those flu-like symptoms could actually be the result of digesting monosodium glutamate that may have been in the athlete’s food preparation the night before competing.  An awareness of  MSG at the federal level is not a problem since the law requires that it be listed on the label of any product under “Ingredients.” But unfortunately those federal regulations have no control over state laws, very few of which ban the use of MSG in foods served in restaurants. Most state legislatures are hesitant to ban MSG at the state level in restaurants since the Restaurant Associations are generally major contributors to their campaign funding, and the last thing a restaurant owner wants is for his or her customers to know they use MSG in some of their food preparation since this is generally a sign of an attempt to enhance the flavor of a low grade quality of meat; or when used on lettuce in a salad bar, is designed to give the lettuce longer life before turning brown since MSG is also a preservative. There are many older people and lower-income people in this country who are having a reaction to MSG and believe they are suffering from migraine headaches, which is not the case at all. MSG symptoms are very similar to those for migraine headaches.  To find out more, I invite you to Google Monosodium Glutamate