Allergic to MSG

We are taking an Asian cruise in January. I am allergic to MSG & am concerned that I will have difficulty eating off the ship. Has anyone had experience with dining ashore & is MSG as common in Asia as it is in Oriental Food here in the US?

Over the past few years I have started getting migraines from MSG. I'm fairly certain it is MSG, more specifically artificial MSG. As a rule I avoid foods containing MSG and Asian eateries where I have a reaction to their food in the past.

Known triggers are instant miso soup, prawns that have been dusted with MSG to enhance their flavour, some Asian sauces (oyster sauce is particularly bad), rice crackers and corn chips that contain MSG, some chicken stocks made from stock powder.

However I have never had a problem when travelling in Asia - Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, and we try out as many local foods as we can when travelling.

I also eat Asian food regularly here in Sydney at food courts and restaurants and, so far, have only found two places that I need to avoid.

How severe is your allergy, Tucson54? If it is a fairly mild allergy you may be OK in Asia. Also it depends on your port stops. In some places you will be able to get western food quite easily.

Note: there is some evidence to suggest that some reactions to MSG are due to impurities in the artificially produced MSG, which may explain why some people react to that yet can eat foods that are naturally high in MSG such as tomatoes, cheeses and grapes.

To avoid MSG in Asia, you would practically need to have everything steamed ... as oyster sauce, fish sauce, hoisan sauce, teriyaki sauce and many spices & even curry powder would have varied amount of MSG blended in, sometimes as part of the secret recipe. BBQ or roasted meat would be marinated with the custom blends.

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We are taking an Asian cruise in January. I am allergic to MSG & am concerned that I will have difficulty eating off the ship. Has anyone had experience with dining ashore & is MSG as common in Asia as it is in Oriental Food here in the US?

The safest, best thing you could do would be to consult with your doctor regarding food allergies. Being far away from home and risking a potentially dangerous or life threatening reaction to anything in your food is just not worth the risk. Makes sense to check things out with a health professional, perhaps travel with an epi pen (if that's advised) for safety sake.

No one on a cruise message board can truly know what is best for you to do when it comes to your health. Next would be to check with the cruise line as to dietary precautions on the ship that you can avail yourself of if needed, perhaps limit yourself to dining on board when necessary, or advised.

Please take the safest steps for yourself, which include professional consultation rather than message board advice. Your wellness is paramount to even a great cruise vacation. Wishing you a great voyage always :)

Thanks for the good ideas - will contact the cruise line. Barbara