Avoiding MSG

by Meg Chaney

Right now I'm going through an obsession with the evils of trans fats and MSG (Starbucks is working towards removing all trans fats from their products! Yay!). Why this obsession though? Because both trans fats and MSG are detrimental to our health, and the FDA and other government agencies are allowing all the food manufacturers to hide them in everything. And yes, I do mean hide!

When most of you are looking to avoid MSG, what do you look for on the list of ingredients in a given item? MSG? Maybe the "glutamate"s?

Here's a list that you might find helpful (and disturbing and frustrating) next time you're at the grocery store and looking to avoid these dangerous excitotoxins:

Glutamate
Glutamic acid
Gelatin
Monosodium glutamate
Calcium caseinate
Textured protein
Monopotassium glutamate
Sodium caseinate
Yeast nutrient
Yeast extract
Yeast food
Autolyzed yeast
Hydrolyzed protein(any protein that is hydrolyzed)
Hydrolyzed corn gluten
Natrium glutamate

There is always MSG in a product if the above names are on the back of the package. Here is a list of the ingredients that usually contain MSG, but don't necessarily:

Carrageenan
Maltodextrin
Malt extract
Natural pork flavoring
Citric acid
Malt flavoring
Bouillon and Broth
Natural chicken flavoring
Soy protein isolate
Natural beef flavoring
Ultra-pasteurized
Soy sauce
Stock
Barley malt
Soy sauce extract
Whey protein concentrate
Pectin
Soy protein
Whey protein
Protease
Soy protein concentrate
Whey protein isolate
Protease enzymes
Anything protein fortified
Flavors(s) & Flavoring(s)
Anything enzyme modified
Anything fermented
Natural flavor(s)
& flavoring(s)
Enzymes anything
Seasonings

That's a heck of a long list, isn't it? So why do almost all food producing companies (and especially those who claim to make "healthy" foods) use MSG in their products? One simple fact: it is addictive. Research has proven that people necessarily want to eat more of an item that contains MSG than one that doesn't.

Why should we avoid foods that contain MSG? There are several reasons. Researchers in need of obese rats or mice will inject them with MSG at birth -- this causes the animals pancrease to increase it's insulin production by around 3 times the normal rate, producing a nice, fat rat. What makes us think MSG doesn't have the same effect on us? Also, MSG kills brain cells.

Eaten in safe amounts (that is, the glutamate you would get if you ate a "natural" diet of fruits, vegetables, animal meat/fats, nuts) glutamate is an important chemical which allows your neurons to communicate properly.

When exposed to excessive amounts of glutamate (MSG) though, the neurons are unable to close the channels that opened up for calcium intake (the natural and necessary result of normal levels of glutamate). Excessive glutamate causes these channels to get stuck open, and the neurons cells die.

Some companies tout the "safe" use of "Natural" MSG. Natural MSG is made from "junk" vegetables chosen for high levels of excitotoxins (e.g., glutamate). Sounds harmless, right? It's just like if you were to eat one of these vegetables, right? Wrong. These vegetables are boiled in sulfuric acid for several hours and then the acid is neutralized with caustic soda. The brown sludge is separated off the top and dried. The powder is high in glutamate, asparate, and cysteic acid (all excitotoxins). The powder also contains known carcinogens.

Protect yourself and your family; start reading the labels and refuse to buy products containing these deadly toxins.

Meg Chaney