A Fattening and Addictive Substance You May Want to Avoid...

MSG - Monosodium Glutamate 

Have you ever eaten at Burger King, Mcdonalds, Wendy's, Taco Bell, or even the sit down ones like TGIF, Chilis', Applebees and Denny's?

Have you ever eaten Campbell's soups, Hostess, Doritos, Lays flavored potato chips, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals or Kraft salad dressings?

Well, all of these items have an abundance of MSG! It may not even say MSG because it can be hidden under many names such as natural flavoring, spices or most often as ''Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein.''

Here are some terms that are also frequently MSG sources: Malt extract, boullion, broth, stock, flavoring, natural flavoring, natural chicken or beef flavoring, seasoning, spices

Have you ever had a so called "healthy" protein drink - Soy Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Concentrate, even some Whey Protein Powders - well, many of these are also sources of MSG. For instance, in the manufacturing of Soy Protein Isolate MSG is formed not to mention it probably has the heavy metal aluminum too!

What is MSG or Monosodium Glutamate?

MSG is a chemical used as a flavor enhancer in foods. It makes mediocre foods taste like they are really good. This is good for food manufacturers because they can use low-quality ingredients and use MSG to mask the poor taste, which allows for much higher profit margins.

MSG is an excitotoxin and works like a drug in the body. It has the capacity to cross the blood brain barrier and overstimulate neurons in the brain to the point of cell damage or cell death. Even if there is no immediate reactions such as headaches or stomach upset, MSG can be slowly poisoning your body. Russel Blaylock writes more on the dangers and the consequences of overconsumption of MSG or glutamate and nutrasweet or aspartame in his book "Excitotoxins."

MSG has been in our food supply for about 50 years and today it continues to be added to pre-packaged meals, soups, snacks and fast foods many of us eat everyday! The FDA has set no limits on how much of it can be added to food. They claim it's safe to eat in any amount. MSG, however, has been scientifically proven to cause obesity and it is an addictive substance. See some studies for yourself if you go to www.pubmed.com and type in "MSG obese" and some 122 articles come up about this subject.

With this enormous consumption of foods laced with MSG additives, it is no wonder that we have an obesity problem in this country, especially when you combine the hypothalamic lesion caused by MSG to the high-fat and -carbohydrate diets of young people. Of particular concern is the suggestion that MSG ingested by pregnant women may actually cause this lesion in children while they are still in the womb.
Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 180

More Information

Dr. Blaylock's Not Just Another Scare: Toxin Additives in Your Food and Drink

The National Organization Mobilized to Stop Glutamate
http://www.nomsg.com/

Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/MSG.html

Truth In Labeling - The whole truth about MSG
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Dang.html

Holistic Healing Web Page
http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/msg-mark.txt