If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn't everyone in China have a headache?

This stellar article on the truth about MSG brings together everything you wanted to know about MSG but were afraid to ask.

I was shown the light when I was working at Bao Noodles and one of my duties was to make the pho stock. Well, at the time, I was under the same delusion (which I learned was created by Dr. Ho and his Chinese Restaurant Syndrome (CRS)) that MSG made your head hurt and your hair fall out and give you impotence. So I thought I'd be clever and wean Michael Bao (the Chef) off of the stuff. He hid it in the stove that didn't work and since I was in charge of ordering all of the produce and dry goods, I conveniently "forgot" to order the Ajinomoto. Hehe.

So one morning, I come in and start making the pho stock and think I'll show him that I can make a good stock without MSG. Usually, I would make a mix of salt and ajinomoto (which he used to season everything btw). But only I knew that this new batch had no aji in it. So the stock is bubbling away, replete with all the bones, grilled onions and garlic, and roasted spices as per normal, and Michael rolls in, and as is his habit, the first thing he does is taste the pho stock. He takes a quick sip and looks at me and says "This is shit. What did you put in here?" And I told him I followed the recipe just like always, pork bones, oxtail bones, onions, ginger, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, etc. Then he looks at the salt mixture and adds some, tastes it again, and says, "Did you add the ajinomoto?" Here's the big moment. "You don't need that stuff," I insist. He runs over to the stove and starts to panic. "Where is it? Did you order it?" I tell him I didn't order it. I continue to insist that we don't need it. "Go to the supermarket and get some right now!" he yells. Sheepishly, I take off my apron and go across the street to the Associated, the scene of many panic-stricken buying sprees. I find some Accent, the american version of Ajinomoto, and return.

"Taste it."
It tastes pretty bland.
"Now put in a little bit."
I sprinkle barely a teaspoon of the white crystals into the vat and stir.
"Now taste it again."
BOOM! Something happens in my mouth, it's like listening to just the treble and mid-range on a speaker system and somebody turns on the sub-woofer. The taste is rounder, fuller, richer somehow. That stuff is magical.

And that is how I learned to respect monosodiumglutamate.