What is MSG, and is it actually bad for you? - Sarah E. Tracy episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 8, 2026 · 8 MIN

What is MSG, and is it actually bad for you? - Sarah E. Tracy

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into the seasoning known as MSG, and find out how this flavoring was developed and if it’s actually bad for your health.--In 1968, Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok felt ill after dinner at a Chinese restaurant and wrote a letter to a medical journal connecting his symptoms to MSG. His letter would change the world’s relationship with MSG, inspiring international panic, biased science, and sensationalist journalism for the next 40 years. So what is this seasoning, and is it actually bad for you? Sarah E. Tracy investigates.Lesson by Sarah E. Tracy, directed by Alopra Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-msg-and-is-it-actually-bad-for-you-sarah-e-tracyDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-msg-and-is-it-actually-bad-for-you-sarah-e-tracy#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://alopra.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matt Switzler, Leonardo Monrroy, Sumedh Ghaisas, Maryam, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rare Media, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, NinjaBoffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, Xavier dupont, paul g mohney, Aravind Battaje, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, John Hong, Annastasshia Ames, Sean, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Anthony Arcis, Karmi Nguyen, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Robert Patrick, Les Howard, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, JY Kang, Abhishek Goel, Heidi Stolt, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch and Michael Goldberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dig into the seasoning known as MSG, and find out how this flavoring was developed and if it’s actually bad for your health.--In 1968, Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok felt ill after dinner at a Chinese restaurant and wrote a letter to a medical journal connecting his symptoms to MSG. His letter would change the world’s relationship with MSG, inspiring international panic, biased science, and sensationalist journalism for the next 40 years. So what is this seasoning, and is it actually bad for you? Sarah E. Tracy investigates.Lesson by Sarah E. Tracy, directed by Alopra Studio.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-msg-and-is-it-actually-bad-for-you-sarah-e-tracyDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-msg-and-is-it-actually-bad-for-you-sarah-e-tracy#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://alopra.com----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Matt Switzler, Leonardo Monrroy, Sumedh Ghaisas, Maryam, Bethany Connor, Jeremy Shimanek, Mark Byers, Avinash Amarnath, Xuebicoco, Rare Media, Rayo, Po Foon Kwong, NinjaBoffin, Jesse Jurman, Scott Markley, Elija Peterson, Ovidiu Mrd, Xavier dupont, paul g mohney, Aravind Battaje, Nathan Giusti, Helen Lee, Anthony Benedict, Karthik Balsubramanian, John Hong, Annastasshia Ames, Sean, Amy Lopez, Vinh-Thuy Nguyen, Liz Candee, Ugur Doga Sezgin, Anthony Arcis, Karmi Nguyen, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Robert Patrick, Les Howard, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, JY Kang, Abhishek Goel, Heidi Stolt, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch and Michael Goldberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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What is MSG, and is it actually bad for you? - Sarah E. Tracy

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Dig into the seasoning known as MSG, and find out how this flavoring was developed and if it’s actually bad for your health.--In 1968, Dr. Robert Ho Man Kwok felt ill after dinner at a Chinese restaurant and wrote a letter to a medical journal...

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