A couple of years ago, I walked into Zaxby’s restaurant on Mingo Road at 71st Street. I looked at the menu and asked the teenaged worker behind the counter if their chicken contained MSG.

“What’s MSG?” she asked with a puzzled look.

“It’s monosodium glutamate,” I said.

“What’s that?” she replied.

She was not dumb just ignorant. She called her manager over and her manager had to look up a chart, and sure enough, the chicken is loaded with MSG.

I try my best to avoid MSG. If I accidentally eat something with it, I get a splitting headache.

MSG  is a well-hidden secret.

MSG gives off an aroma from processed food that is very appealing. (It’s called umani in Japanese). It’s called “China salt” in some countries. It is widely used in Asian restaurants.

It makes food taste better and it helps sell food because it makes you want more.

Studies have shown that it has links to obesity, metabolic disorders, neurotoxic effects, liver damage, elevated heart disease, nerve damage and even detrimental effects on reproductive organs.

It also promotes appetite.

So, even if MSG didn’t give me a roaring headache, I would avoid it because it just isn’t good for you. Some people have side effects like hives, swelling of the throat and fatigue.

More research is probably called for.

Admittedly, it has no direct impact on some people and the Food and Drug Administration isn’t going to ban it.

Now, the only thing I order from Zaxby’s is their cobb salad with grilled (not fried) chicken. And it is very good and has no MSG.

I love Chick-fil-A, the company and the food. But their fried chicken is laced with MSG (one of the reasons why it tastes so good). The only thing I can eat at Chick-fil-A is a salad, fries or a shake.

I could eat a whole bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken (original recipe) but now I avoid KFC because MSG is one of the “11 secret herbs and spices.” My guess is that salt and pepper are two of those ingredients, so there are only eight more left to discover.

There is a restaurant at 61st Street and Sheridan Road named Mandarin Taste. It has some of the best authentic Chinese food in Tulsa. It is near our house and we love to get takeout there. When I call in our order, I specify that they not add MSG and so far, they have not. We like Pei Wei, too, and they do not add MSG to their made-to-order dishes.

Interestingly, I have never encountered MSG in Tulsa’s Mexican restaurants.

I have to be careful when I go to a potluck dinner. Invariably, a casserole or two will be loaded with MSG. Most of Campbell’s soups have MSG and they are popular parts of homemade casseroles.

I grew up eating Campbell’s Chicken Soup out of a can but it didn’t seem to bother me as much.

Campbell’s does have some canned soup without MSG and there are other brands that don’t have it.

I love Raising Cane’s chicken but it has MSG so I don’t eat there. They don’t offer salads, so the only thing I could eat there are French fries and lemonade. Cheddar’s Restaurant has great chicken tenders and they must not have MSG because they don’t cause me any problems.

Most ranch dressing has MSG. I like ranch dressing but I don’t order it in a restaurant unless they make it themselves and can reassure me that it MSG-free. Bottled ranch dressing almost always has it but you can find it without MSG, too. Bouillion cubes and instant noodle dishes have MSG. It’s common in rice pilaf in restaurants.

Potato chips are a problem. Pretty much any flavored chip – like barbecue, garlic, etc. – are loaded with MSG. There are exceptions, like Fritos. You can check the food labels but be aware that sometimes MSG is identified as a “flavor enhancer.”

Many processed meats and most sausage have MSG. You only can find limited brands of sausage without MSG and that’s what we buy.

McDonald’s doesn’t use MSG, except maybe in their new chicken sandwich.

Pizza Hut claims it doesn’t us MSG. There may be some MSG in pizza toppings at Dominos (that’s why I never order sausage pizza anywhere).

Theater popcorn may be drenched in MSG.

I want to know if a restaurant adds MSG. Sometimes they will tell you they don’t when they do and sometimes they don’t know. It’s like when you order decaf coffee at night at a restaurant and they bring you regular coffee.

I don’t want to tell anyone what to eat or where to eat. But I think it’s a good idea to eat healthy. We get a lot of good information about the content of our food in the grocery store and in restaurants and I think most people take advantage of that knowledge.

If more customers would stay away from MSG-laden foods, maybe some of our favorite restaurants would stop using it.