Could You Please “Pass” Me the Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)?
- Jan 14, 2014
- 5 min read
Sound foreign or extraterrestrial? When was the last time YOU looked at an ingredient list before making a food or beverage purchase or sprinkling your favorite seasoning mix liberally over your “health conscious” pasta salad loaded with veggies? As a general rule of thumb, if an ingredients name listed on a food or beverage label is longer than your index finger (insert sarcasm) and its pronunciation intimidates you (now I’m being serious), you may want to “PASS” on the foreign substance. And, if it’s proprietary? Forget about it! After all, if a random stranger were to hand you a foreign cuisine of epic proportion and say “here, give this culinary delicacy a try; and by the way, its list of ingredients is proprietary…..but TRUST ME, it won’t harm you” would you be so quick to sample it? I’d hope not.
Why should you put more stock in findings by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a sub-unit of government, where science is not only distorted but often trumped by partisanship influenced by special interest groups and alleged financial ties to industry? Whistleblowers including food safety advocates have long made scandalous allegations of biases including the FDA’s willingness to overlook food and drug safety concerns, not to mention censorship in labeling, while being criticized for chronic regulatory failures. Appears the FDA is everyone’s favorite whipping boy these days in a time of so much uncertainty when more questions are raised than answered.
Found in most canned soups, crackers, meats, salad dressings, and packaged foods, Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is purportedly an extremely dangerous flavor enhancer and preservative known to cause dire consequences to your health. Ever wonder why your favorite Campbell Soup has such a long shelf life? While Glutamate (not to be construed as MSG) is naturally found in our bodies as the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in our nervous system, “MSG” is a salt of the amino acid called Glutamic Acid (Glutamate). It is produced by “freeing” Glutamate from the protein it is connected to in a cooking process. Since it is “unbound”, MSG is immediately absorbed into our bloodstream, spiking our Glutamate levels while blamed for a host of neurological and physiological disorders.
Because there are numerous Glutamate receptors throughout the human body, including the brain, heart, lungs and GI tract, there are many possible adverse side effects. For instance, MSG is believed to affect the neural pathways from the brain to joints and muscle tissue while implicated in a variety of chronic conditions from metabolic syndrome and obesity to Alzheimer’s, Fibromyalgia, and Arthritis. The Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine suggests that MSG promotes growth of cancer cells and is highly neurotoxic in the body. Researchers conclude that many cancers have Glutamate receptors, suggesting they are aggravated by Glutamate. Cancers of this type are suspected to originate in the brain, colon, and breast.
In 1959, the FDA labeled MSG as “generally” safe and has remained that way over the course of time although numerous adverse side effects and common syndrome [dubbed as “short term” by the FDA] was entered into medical literature. The syndrome, known as “MSG Symptom Complex”, includes a host of symptoms and adverse side effects such as numbness, tingling, difficulty breathing, headache, nausea, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness, and weakness. In light of its controversy and growing consumer awareness, food manufacturers have found ways to hide its existence through deceptive names and pseudo-ingredients. Do you know all the list of names it is disguised as?
1. Ingredients that purportedly always contain MSG are as follows:
2. Other hidden ingredients that may contain MSG or create MSG during processing include:
What motivates the food industry to use this dangerous additive? There are several theories documented from cost savings to stimulus control but more specifically:
MSG purportedly tricks your tongue into making you think a certain food is high in protein and thus nutritious. Free Glutamic Acid is detected by the taste buds as a simple way to signal the presence of protein in a food, just as there are fat receptors to detect fats and receptors that sense carbohydrate or sweet flavors. It changes your perception of not simply taste but the nutritious qualities of what you think you’re putting in your mouth. However, and here is the main problem with free Glutamic Acid – it is the very same neurotransmitter that your brain and many organs including your ears, eyes, nervous system and pancreas in your body use to initiate certain processes in your body thus overstimulating and taxing our nervous system.
The illusion created by adding MSG to a food product also allows the food processor to add less real food resulting in COST SAVINGS.
MSG also stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin when there doesn’t even have to be carbohydrates in the food for insulin to act on. The food industry has found their own “anti-appetite suppressant”. It’s a convenient way to keep consumers coming back for more. Your blood sugar drops because of the insulin rush and you are hungry an hour later (bottomless pit phenomenon).
The body changes excess Glutamate to Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA). GABA is purportedly highly addictive. It has a calming effect similar to the prescription drug Valium, as it affects the same receptors in the brain.
So what are your options since moving to the Wild West and living on the prairie is not practical in today’s modern society? Limiting from your diet as many processed (boxed) foods and canned goods as possible is a good start. Going MSG-free may seem like a daunting task considering its hidden identity and presence in most packaged and canned goods; however why not give it a try for 30 days to see if unexplained symptoms you may be experiencing subside? Thirty-days may seem like a life sentence; however bear in mind, detoxification takes time when done naturally through whole foods, hydration, and exercise. MSG and a host of other artificial ingredients [which we’ll discuss later] are presumably “slow poisons” that tax our bodies over time if consumed in large quantity. The time to act is now. Don’t wait until it’s too late and you fall victim to disease.
At the very least, I hope you put into practice the old adage of “everything in MODERATION” when it comes to processed foods. And the next time you consider purchasing food or beverage, consider the ingredient list; and if hidden or foreign sounding, DON’T buy it or at least do your own non-industry research. Send a message to both food manufacturers and the FDA of growing consumer awareness and advocacy for whole, fresh foods, without hidden or artificial ingredients.
As consumers, we have a fundamental right to know the listing of ALL ingredients and processes that make up our world food and beverage supply through full disclosure and transparency in evoking judgment and wisdom by the general public to discern for themselves what is valid and worthy in making informed decisions about their own health. The final decision should not lie with the FDA or industry [out for-profit] when there is conflict of interest. For those who share the same sentiments and belief system, I invite you to join me on the campaign trail. Let’s take a united stand together.
Comments