Actually we do have a lower bound for the MSG dose that will negatively affect 50% of the population. But that dose is about six times higher than the normally-served dose. The fine article mentions that.
Some people have a lower tolerance than "most people", for any given chemical, MSG included.
6 times many things will probably have people react to things they have zero reaction at normal amounts. 6 times the alcohol, 6 times the salt, 6 times the capsicum yet they all consume it just fine at 1x, same as MSG.
Interesting. Six times is in the same order of magnitude, so it’s entirely plausible that a significant number of people would be affect by MSG with its normal dose. And it’s entirely plausible that some restaurants would put six times the normal dose in some meals, especially fast food restaurants that don’t use standardized measurements like Chinese restaurants.
I don't think this sentence has any meaning. What is "the same order of magnitude"? By the normal definition (still not great, but at least it's well-defined), 6 times x is only in the same order of magnitude as x when x is in the range [0,1.7), and it's in the next order of magnitude up when x is in [1.7,10). Even if we adjust that to a log scale, 6x is in the same order of magnitude when x is in the interval [0,0.23] and in the next higher order of magnitude when x is in (0.23, 1).
This is not a solid foundation for the idea that "six times is in the same order of magnitude", even if we think the sentence is interpretable.
An order of magnitude is 10x, this is 6x so within an order of magnitude. Specific numbers are meaningless. Calling it same order of magnitude seems an unfortunate (and technically incorrect) phrasing.
Still, the point stands - a 6x difference between normally-served dose and a harmful one is way too small to call it non-harmful. How do you even define a normally-served dose? This needs further clarification with better definitions.
Give me a break, this is not a math lecture. Less than 10x means the same magnitude is good enough for forum posting.
The underlying message that some restaurants might plausibly put 6x the MSG of the standard dose comes across just fine and it doesn’t need to be nitpicked to hell.
Fair point, but both ions in MSG are vital to human health in significant quantities. Plus, we've got a heck of a lot of epidemiological data in the countries where it is eaten liberally vs. where it is not, and there is nothing suggesting any significant negative effect aside from known overconsumption of either of the ions, regardless of their compound form.
Yes, thank you for pointing out natural != healthy, and likewise artificial != unhealthy. People are too quick in general to assume one way or the other on that poor heuristic and ignore the evidence.
Heuristics are a mental shortcut, not evidence themselves.
