Monosodium glutamate

...or more commonly known as MSG.

I've always known that MSG is no good for us, it makes you thirsty, it just enhances flavour that probably wasn't even there to begin with and it's the magic ingredient that makes instant/fast food oh-so-tasty.

But seriously, excessive MSG is just... ridiculous. We had a lunch meeting today to discuss some work stuff with boss who is going to be overseas for the rest of the week so we ordered lunch from this eatery that I have never tried before. Nothing looked appetizing at 11.30am when we just had breakfast at 10am, so I ordered what I thought would be safe - pork chop in tomato sauce.

We were eating and the pork chop just didn't feel right. It just felt way too salty, but on the other hand it wasn't even 'tasty', it was just heavy in taste and texture. Not one to waste food, I tried various parts of the pork chop to see if that might be better and ate with rice but seriously it was leaving one heck of a nasty aftertaste (if you can even refer to it as a 'taste')that I left it largely uneaten. But the power of MSG! I felt heart palpitations I tell you and I had difficulty trying to focus and also felt a bit short of breath. I was like 'no friggin way!!' and I downed 3 huge glasses of water and still felt parched with a nasty feeling in my tongue. Tried to drink ice lemon tea to see if it will 'dissolve' it somehow but seriously my body was resisting anything with a 'taste' - it was begging for H20 and loads of it! I also tried chewing gum! I'm not exaggerating, it really felt nasty. H suggested some oranges and I got my colleague to buy a fruit box consisting of a slice of watermelon, some slices of oranges, a few pieces of mango and felt better after eating some 'real' food to replace the taste of all that 'fake' food earlier. I felt a bit sick frankly. Gross.

It really pays to watch what you eat. Down with MSG! This is why I try to cook at least once a week and have a veggie/fruit rich diet. Old already what to do - the body is protesting. Sigh....