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Yet many studies show MSG to be harmful — one of many citations:

Endocrinology. 1984 Jul;115(1):267-72.

Increased responsiveness of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis after neurotoxin-induced hypothalamic denervation.

Spinedi E, Johnston C, Negro-Vilar A.

Abstract

Neonatal treatment with monosodium glutamate (MSG) induces severe neuronal damage in selected brain areas, which in turn results in a number of neuroendocrine abnormalities during adult life. The present study was designed to determine what effects this partial and selective denervation of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis may have on the sensitivity of two key components of that axis, the median eminence (ME) and the anterior pituitary (AP). In order to test any changes in response that may occur after MSG treatment, the release of several peptide hormones from either the ME or the AP was evaluated in vitro, employing specific or general secretagogues....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6145582

A wide array of agents dysfunctionally modulate the Hypothalamic-Pitutary-Adrenal Axis
Many on this site would get their panties in a twist if a few of them were banned were banned

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016561471000074X

Addictive drugs (opiates, ethanol, cannabinoids (CBs), nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines) induce activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, with the subsequent release of adrenocorticotropic hormone and glucocorticoids. The sequence of events leading to HPA activation appears to start within the brain, suggesting that activation is not secondary to peripheral homeostatic alterations. The precise neurochemical mechanisms and brain pathways involved are markedly dependent on the particular drug, although it is assumed that information eventually converges into the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Whereas some drugs may act on the hypothalamus or directly within PVN neurons (i.e. ethanol), others exert their primary action outside the PVN (i.e. CBs, nicotine, cocaine). Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) has a critical role in most cases, but the changes in c-fos and CRH gene expression in the PVN also reveal differences among drugs. More studies are needed to understand how addictive drugs act on this important neuroendocrine system and their functional consequences.