&gt;do you get headaches when you eat blue cheese, parmesan, mushrooms, or tomatoes? Those are naturally intense sources of glutamic acid<p>How much, though? Some quick and dirty math (please correct me if I&#x27;m wrong in any of this):<p>100 grams of parmesan cheese (about a cup) is 1.2 grams of free glutamates: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.msgfacts.com&#x2F;nutrition&#x2F;what_foods_are_glutamate-rich.aspx" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.msgfacts.com&#x2F;nutrition&#x2F;what_foods_are_glutamate-r...</a><p>Powdered MSG contains 78% free glutamate and 12.2% sodium, or about a 6.4:1 glutamate:sodium ratio: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.edenfoods.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;view.php?articles_id=207" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.edenfoods.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;view.php?articles_id=207</a><p>A teaspoon of powdered MSG contains 500 mg of sodium (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;ecx.images-amazon.com&#x2F;images&#x2F;I&#x2F;91dpQqbFZrL._SL1500_.jpg" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;ecx.images-amazon.com&#x2F;images&#x2F;I&#x2F;91dpQqbFZrL._SL1500_.j...</a>). This is about 3.2 grams of glutamate.<p>So, if my math is correct, a teaspoon of powdered MSG contains as much sodium as 2.7 cups (0.5 * 6.4 &#x2F; 1.2) of parmesan cheese. As someone who regularly cooks with MSG powder and has seen other people cook with it too (my chinese friend uses a 1:1 ratio of salt and MSG powder), it&#x27;s easy to load food with way more than 1 teaspoon of MSG per serving.<p>My point is, I think people who cook with MSG use way more glutamate than people who cook with natural foods like parmesan or mushrooms.