Feels like a hangover, but I had no alcohol? Help needed!

nitepagan

I don't think salt will make you feel hung over, but I think MSG will. I eat at chinese restaurants quite often, but am selective on which restaurants I choose. Chinese restaurants have been known to take a lot of shortcuts. The restaurants are frequently family owned and run, so if the are doing something that is not kosher, it is kept in the family and no one will talk about it. If you add soy sauce to your food, you are upping the salt threshold.

JeninBelgium

I'd guess the chef is a fan of MSG... Evil stuff

The problem is "local Chinese Restaurant"... they are not even real chinese recipes... its all americanized CRAP.... the REAL stuff would not contain all the MSG, high amounts of sodium... Ive studied under quite a few chinese and japanese chefs, friends with a korean chef, and even they say "its an insult to what our culture truly prepares"...

Sad, sad, sad

Agree! I worked in a restaurant with Vietnamese owners. They cooked completely different and ate completely different than what was served. Theirs looked GREAT compared to what is typically served. I often wondered why (I was a lot younger) this was the case. Now I know. I often told them "I want to eat what YOU eat!" LOL

THANK YOU - clearly someone that understands what I posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But you also assumed that the poster is in the US- I don't know the poster so I don't know where they are located, I, for example, am American, but currently live in Belgium - where the "Chinese" food is completely different (and worse even) than the American "Chinese" food - (actually here they use a lot of Indonesian names in the food because the Dutch colonized Indonesia and thus practically all Asian food has some Indonesia words in it here) -My husband and/ or I have also lived/had lengthy stays in the UK, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa and Madagascar- and in all of those locations MSG was prevalent in the local or so-called Chinese food and while my hubby longs for a good pho and I would love some street food from Taiwan- no of us found any of it to be overly healthy because of the salt content (fish sauce overload)

cramernh

I'd guess the chef is a fan of MSG... Evil stuff

The problem is "local Chinese Restaurant"... they are not even real chinese recipes... its all americanized CRAP.... the REAL stuff would not contain all the MSG, high amounts of sodium... Ive studied under quite a few chinese and japanese chefs, friends with a korean chef, and even they say "its an insult to what our culture truly prepares"...

Sad, sad, sad

Agree! I worked in a restaurant with Vietnamese owners. They cooked completely different and ate completely different than what was served. Theirs looked GREAT compared to what is typically served. I often wondered why (I was a lot younger) this was the case. Now I know. I often told them "I want to eat what YOU eat!" LOL

THANK YOU - clearly someone that understands what I posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But you also assumed that the poster is in the US- I don't know the poster so I don't know where they are located, I, for example, am American, but currently live in Belgium - where the "Chinese" food is completely different (and worse even) than the American "Chinese" food - (actually here they use a lot of Indonesian names in the food because the Dutch colonized Indonesia and thus practically all Asian food has some Indonesia words in it here) -My husband and/ or I have also lived/had lengthy stays in the UK, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa and Madagascar- and in all of those locations MSG was prevalent in the local or so-called Chinese food and while my hubby longs for a good pho and I would love some street food from Taiwan- no of us found any of it to be overly healthy because of the salt content (fish sauce overload)

The number one indicator to determine if a person actually consumed real, fresh foods versus traditional 'take-out' is the signs and symptoms one indicates. The OP clearly indicated the symptoms of consuming the americanized version of chinese take-out. Its not an assumption, its a culinary fact. If you read my last post where I indicated that I have previously studied under chefs from China, Japan and Korea, I shared information that stated even they wouldnt dare consider preparing the foods that way because its not a true representation of their cuisine.

Working in healthcare though - I would like to see how well you try to take care of a patient who had a critical reaction to MSG and other salt derivatives associated with Americanized versions of chinese takeout... Its not fun for the patient when you have a food-related reaction on top of extreme electrolyte imbalance...

Some time, invest in some Google-time to look for authentic dishes like fermented cabbage w/pork over mung-beans. Jjamppong served with the freshest seafood, herbs, spices, and chilies w/vegetables and freshly squeezed juice of ginger. Okonomyaki made in two different styles - both incorporating fresh vegetables, seafood or chicken and fresh made tonkatsu. If you see anything with a bottle-of-this or that, its not authentic...

BerryH

Google "MSG hangover". It's a thing!

diadojikohei

Erm, hello. Original poster here.

I live in the UK, and we ate in the restaurant which is family run by Hong Kong Chinese. We go about once every 2 months because the food is always fresh, veggies are crisp and there is very little oil used. I had won tun soup, 2 pork dumpling, pak choi with oyster sauce a small bowl of chicken fried noodles, and some crispy seaweed.

It took 3 days for my eyes to become less puffy but I drank lots of water and herbal teas and felt much better. I lived in HK for several years, and have never had this reaction before, and my 20 year old son felt the same.

Thank you for your input, I found it really helpful.
I'll go back to cooking my own Chinese food- some birthday treat! lol!

cramernh

veggies are crisp and there is very little oil used. I had won tun soup, 2 pork dumpling, pak choi with oyster sauce a small bowl of chicken fried noodles, and some crispy seaweed.

It took 3 days for my eyes to become less puffy but I drank lots of water and herbal teas and felt much better. I lived in HK for several years, and have never had this reaction before, and my 20 year old son felt the same.

Thank you for your input, I found it really helpful.
I'll go back to cooking my own Chinese food- some birthday treat! lol!

The type of oil used for pan frying can make a difference.

Won Ton soup is a salt-ridden broth - you dont even have to recognize salt by taste, simply the fact that the broth features different salt components

Pork dumplings: did you have them steamed or fried? Steamed - they will still use oil. The pork filling often contains soy sauce and other sauces with salt.

While pak choi itself is fine, the oyster sauce... without knowing what brand they use, is basically a MAJOR salt-lick, MSG, etc

Chicken-fried noodles... without knowing what oil they use its hard to decipher, but fried noodles is also a heavy 'topping', the sauces they traditionally use in a restaurant also contain alot of salt.

Crispy seaweed - was it deep fried? Was it served with a dipping sauce?

Your meal is definitely a high salted menu unfortunately - and that is definitely why you felt horrible. Im so sorry you reacted the way you did!!!!

I had the opportunity to experience real korean food when my mother remarried a man who had adopted korean children. The fresh Kimchi served with boiled egg and sauteed vegetable in the morning for breakfast was AMAZING... and never once did we have a reaction because it was all made fresh....

If you are interested, I would love to share some ideas with you - in any asian culture!?

jlohcook

I just recalled that it might also be some alllergy to the soya sauce or oyster sauce, they have preservatives that may cause allergy symptoms on some people.

jazzygurl81

OMG, I had the exact same problem last night! I was SO sick, very dizzy and nauseous with a major headache!

I've been working very hard at cleaning up my diet, and have been eating clean for over the last week. Then last night I was looking through my freezer for something for dinner, I had no idea what to make. I saw some frozen leftover stir fry I made maybe 2-3 months ago or so; it was made with some seasoning/sauce packet I got from the store and I remember how good it tasted when I originally made it. I thought it would be okay to eat so I heated it up, added some more veggies to it, and started to eat it. It was saltier than I remember, but still tasted good. And then 20 minutes later, I stood up and the room started to spin. I felt absolutely TERRIBLE all night long. It really took until this afternoon for the feeling to pass. I didn't think about the sodium content beforehand...I just thought of it as "healthy" because it is stir fry. But still, I was working to eliminate the garbage from my system, then the dinner highlighted the effect of these types of non-foods.

Momjogger

A good Chinese rest. will make entrees without MSG. The appetizers are usually pre-partially cooked/prepared, as is the soup, so no help there. MSG throws me for a loop EVERY time. Yucky!