Is MSG Bad for You? Foods With MSG, Calories, Types & How to Spot It
Chapters
- The Short Answer
- What Glutamate Is
- Glutamate Is Everywhere
- M S G Calories and Types
- Where the Scare Came From
- What the Research Says
- The Labeling Rules
- Where M S G Shows Up
- How to Spot It
- Real Labels
- Your Turn
Audio from the Clean Food Score video of the same name; the video shows the labels and scores on screen.
MSG is glutamate plus sodium, the same glutamate found in tomatoes and parmesan. We cover what the FDA and the research say, where the 'Chinese restaurant syndrome' myth came from and why the name is a problem, US labeling rules, MSG calories and types, and real products that list it or don't (as of October 2026).
Full guide and the products we checked
Check any ingredient list free
Chapters
0:00 The Short Answer
0:42 What Glutamate Is
1:26 Glutamate Is Everywhere
2:19 M S G Calories and Types
3:07 Where the Scare Came From
4:15 What the Research Says
5:06 The Labeling Rules
5:49 Where M S G Shows Up
6:18 How to Spot It
6:59 Real Labels
7:54 Your Turn
Product scores are Clean Food Score's 0–100 label scores as shown on cleanfoodscore.com on 2026-10-16. Recipes change, so read the package you buy. We read labels; this is not medical advice.
Music
"Almost Bliss" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Reminiscing" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Friday Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
"Fresh Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sound effects: Kenney (kenney.nl), CC0.
#msg #umami #foodlabels