[soup]

I'm addicted to these and will often eat only these with one big meal in a day.

They seem like they'd be the ultimate snack, but someone told me they are loaded with sodium and MSG.

Does anyone know anything about them?

Is MSG really that bad for you anyway?

[BIGINJAPAN]

Yes MSG is that bad for you. It is a excitotoxin. Basically destroys your brain or nervous system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excitotoxicity

[Veloce]

Agree that MSG should definitely be limited. Unfortunately nearly all asian cultures use it now in their cooking, not just Chinese. The better asian restaurants will stay away from it. (Koreans tend to use a shit ton)

It's prevalent in nearly all processed food. There are currently no FDA regulations as to how much MSG can be in food, or requiring that manufacturers label products that have MSG. There are over a hundred ingredients that MSG can go by as well, including "autolyzed yeast extract", "natural flavors", "artificial flavors", "hydrolyzed protein", etc.

Always a good idea to stay away from as much processed food as possible, whether you get it at grocery stores or at restaurants.

[kosko]

Take a Sunday and make a big batch on your own. There are recipes floating around online. They would keep well I imagine.

[MikeinMKE]

Mate I remembered this thread and waited until I got home to check.... Trader Joe's sells Wasabi peas in a bag that don't have MSG. I bet you could find similar at Whole Foods. They aren't quite as tasty as the ones you get from the bar but hey - no MSG.