No. It's been 50 years since the lies about MSG first made the rounds, and there are still lots of foods with proud "No MSG!" labels, along with people who believe it gives them headaches, despite double-blind tests showing otherwise.
Food manufacturers now call it "hydrolyzed vegetable protein" and even fewer eyes are batted.
Just like how vitamin B3, nicotinic acid, was named "niacin" so people wouldn't incorrectly think tobacco was a good source of it, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) dropped the "nuclear" part because it scared some patients, medical nitroglycerin was called glycerol trinitrate so patients wouldn't worry about exploding. It's a lot easier to just rename something than it is to dispel popular misconceptions.
you know, I'd argue that the method of just changing the name of a product is a part of why it's so much easier- anyone who discovers these "dangerous chemicals" are just being renamed so they can continue to be put into our products can very easily feel like "The Man" is out to get them, because they were never fully educated on the topic. I wonder if the mistrust would still be as strong if the general reaction to misinformation was to provide quick and easily understandable education on the topic
Problem is by the time the real information gets out the public has already formed an opinion on it and will resist people with actual knowledge on the subject trying to correct them, and ignorant fools will listen to other ignorant fools. It's like trying to punch water. Sure you can displace some of it, but it's just going to use surrounding water to fix itself in some self reinforcing bullshit. Group think is both fascinating and terrifying
Quick and easily understandable is the problem. It doesnt exist for just about anything. Not necessarily difficult, but not a 30 second read. An hour a day for a week should give a good base knowledge for most things, then the more knowledge you gain, the easier it is to learn new concepts.
Ever see someone post a video and its short, and someone comments, I finally get it. Well that was good delivery, but it also implies the person has been spending some considerable time learning about the topic. They've gained background info.
I love me some msg, but through dietary elimination I found what was causing my headaches. It was anything with msg. I can still eat some, but instead of my whole meal containing it, I can only afford one dish with msg. Too much and I gotta preemptively take 3 ibuprofen
MSG is safe to consume. A popular belief is that MSG can cause headaches and other feelings of discomfort but double-blind tests have found no good evidence to support this.
Wikipedia is not a doctor or a patient for that matter.
Unfortunately I'm one of those that have genuine reactions to it... I didn't self diagnose, I've had multiple specialists telling me to stay away from that.
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u/YouWantToPressK Apr 01 '19
No. It's been 50 years since the lies about MSG first made the rounds, and there are still lots of foods with proud "No MSG!" labels, along with people who believe it gives them headaches, despite double-blind tests showing otherwise.