Beef Jerky: It’s a thin line between love and hate

Disclaimer: I’m sure everyone reacts differently to beef jerky, but hear me out.

Sigh. Snack time. Snack time while trying to diet time. We’ve eaten our share of the dieting tip faves: a handful of almonds, an apple, a Babybel cheese round, a string cheese, a scoop of hummos with some veggies for dipping. It’s really not for lack of trying. But sometimes you want to mix it up. In an effort to reduce carbs, I resisted the 2nd Degree Burn Doritos at Duane Reade, which are my favorite, and got Frank’s Red Hot Beef Jerky instead.

First few bites were delicious, but 4 hours later, I’m still trying to ward off that sicky feeling I’m left with. It’s like I inadvertently inhaled a salt lick when I wasn’t paying attention. I can’t get the smell off my fingers either. I know, TMI.

So I decided to check out the ingredients. I saw the the 7th ingredient in the beef jerky was Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, which is known to contain MSG. As a matter of fact, even Doritos also contain MSG in addition to loads of other foods like soy sauce, cold cuts, chain restaurant dishes and heartbreakingly, any salty snack with a cheesy powder! However, there is inconclusive evidence for how bad MSG really is for those that don’t have a sensitivity to it. But it certainly isn’t great for you.

So that might not be what’s causing this gross feeling, but 2,250 milligrams of sodium overall per package might have something to do with it. Looks like it’s back to carrot sticks for me. But maybe someday I could get a dehydrator, like the one Ron Popeil used to sell (video below). Take it away, Ron!