Monosodium glutamate (MSG) was discovered in 1908 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda. Professor Ikeda was trying to isolate a chemical in seaweed: kombu, a flavor enhancer. What he came up with was glutamic acid combined with a sodium molecule, which resulted in MSG.

The component glutamate, or glutamic acid, is an excitatory amino acid neurotransmitter in the brain. These neurotransmitters in the brain are normal, but when there is an excess of them, cells will be over-stimulated and die.

According to neurosurgeon Dr. Russell Blaylock’s book Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, these excitotoxins will stimulate neurons in the brain until the neurons die as a result. This causes various degrees of brain damage, according to Dr. Blaylock. Children and infants are especially vulnerable to this chemical.

Professor Ikeda’s new product was a huge hit because it enhanced the flavor of food. The Japanese used it in many foods, including the food rations they gave to US prisoners of war. The US military was curious about why the American soldiers loved the food rations they received as prisoners of the Japanese. After the US military found out about MSG in 1948, the US Armed Forces met with the largest food companies in the United States and discussed how MSG could be added to various food products.

MSG has since been added to almost all processed foods, including the sweeteners NutraSweet and aspartame. It is found in foods at almost all fast-food restaurants and other restaurants you might not suspect. MSG has become such a huge part of the food industry because it works on the brain as a pleasure trigger, making you think food tastes better. So, food that normally tastes bland may taste great with MSG added to it. The diet food industry has especially benefited from using MSG.

However, MSG can send pleasure impulses to the brain until it kills that part of the brain. Dr. Blaylock has tried for many years to educate people about the toxicity of this additive in our food supply.

The FDA has no limit on how much MSG can be added to food. Theoretically, in children, the long-term effects can be attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, and other learning disabilities. In adults, conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Lou Gehrig’s disease, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disease, sleep disorders, migraines, and the inability to lose weight may be linked to excitotoxin damage. Over the years, more and more MSG has been added to foods.

Hydrolyzed proteins, also used as flavor enhancers, are proteins that have been chemically broken down into amino acids. When they are digested, the result can be the creation of free glutamate, which joins with free sodium in the body to form MSG. This means that while the ingredient label will list only “hydrolyzed protein,” the effect on the body is the same as if the product contained MSG.

Free glutamate can cause the body to react as if a drug had stimulated the nervous system. It can affect insulin metabolism, leading to excessive insulin secretion by the pancreas. Some common symptoms of a reaction to free glutamate are anxiety attacks, asthma-like symptoms, attention deficit disorder, burning sensations, carpal tunnel syndrome, chest pains, depression, diarrhea, disorientation and confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue, flushing, gastric distress, headaches and migraines, hyperactivity in children, infertility and other endocrine problems, insomnia, irregular or rapid heartbeat, joint pain, mood swings, mouth lesions, nausea and vomiting, numbness of parts of the body such as the fingertips, seizures, shortness of breath, skin rash, slurred speech, stomachaches, tremors, and weakness.

In my travels around the world, I found MSG in many foods you would not normally expect. My daughter was living in a remote village in Mali, Africa when she was in the Peace Corps. Someone from a corporation had been there and convinced the villagers that if they didn’t use this “spice” called MSG in their food, then it wouldn’t taste good. The villagers would sell their healthy fresh produce from their meager gardens of garlic, onions, and tomatoes to get money to buy this “spice.” I was simply horrified at this situation.

Then, when my daughter was working with the United Nations on trials of the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I went to spend the holidays with her. I took cooking classes there and in Thailand. The teachers informed us of the incredible amount of MSG used extensively throughout Cambodia, and I found the same in Thailand. People use it in restaurants and in their home-cooked food. Be aware of the extensive use of this chemical, no matter where you are in the world. You may think MSG is not used in non-Asian restaurants today, but it is prevalent in almost all restaurants. You will want to ask.

Here is a partial list of hidden sources of MSG that Dr. Blaylock includes in his book Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills. Some of the ingredients aren’t MSG when they are put in food, but they create MSG when they touch saliva.

Many of these look just like “normal” food ingredients. Many of them are added to alternative meat products sold as vegetarian foods. That is why it is becoming more and more important for your health to buy whole, fresh foods and make meals yourself.

Additives that always contain MSG:

• Monosodium glutamate

• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein

• Hydrolyzed protein

• Hydrolyzed plant protein

• Plant protein extract

• Yeast extract

• Textured protein

• Autolyzed yeast

• Hydrolyzed oat flour

Additives that frequently contain MSG:

• Malt flavoring and/or extract

• Bouillon

• Broth

• Stock

• Flavoring

• Natural flavoring

• Seasoning

• Spices

Additives that may contain MSG or excitotoxins:

• Enzymes

• Soy protein concentrate or isolate

• Whey protein concentrate

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Excerpt from How to Be a Healthy Vegetarian, pages 75 -76 by Nancy Addison

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Medical Disclaimer:

Information provided in this podcast, blog, article, video is for informational purposes only. The information is a result of years of practice and experience by Nancy Addison CHC. However, this information is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging.
Do not use the information provided in this blog, audio podcast, article, video  for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this email.

Information provided in this video or audio and the use of any products or services related to this video by you DOES NOT create a health counselor-client relationship between you and Nancy Addison, certified health counselor. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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Aspartame is the chemical in the artificial sweeteners NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure, and it is found in more than 6000 products. It is composed of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. It gets converted to formaldehyde in the body.

According to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), formaldehyde is a carcinogen that can seriously harm your “liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, brain, and central nervous systems.

The occupational health hazards of formaldehyde are primarily due to its toxic effects after inhalation, after direct contact with the skin or eyes in liquid or vapor form, and after ingestion.”[1] Formaldehyde can also cause allergic sensitization.

Aspartame can cause many problems, including neurological ones. According to one study:

When the temperature of aspartame exceeds 86°F, the wood alcohol in aspartame converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis.

The methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis; thus, people may be misdiagnosed with having multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis does not lead to death, whereas methanol toxicity does.[2]

According to a report from the National Institutes of Health: Methanol is extremely poisonous. As little as two tablespoons can be deadly to a child. About 2–8 ounces can be deadly for an adult. Blindness is common and often permanent, despite medical care. How well the person recovers depends on how much poison is swallowed and how soon treatment is received.[3]

Mark Gold of the Aspartame Toxicity Information Center writes:

Both the US Air Force’s magazine Flying Safety and the US Navy’s magazine Navy Physiology published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame. They included the cumulative, deleterious effects of

methanol, and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the ingestion of aspartame may make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo (US Air Force 1992).

Countless other toxicity effects have been reported to the FDA (DHHS 1995), other independent organizations (Mission Possible 1996, Stoddard 1995), and independent scientists (e.g., 80 cases of seizures were reported to Dr. Richard Wurtman, Food in 1986).

Frequently, aspartame toxicity is misdiagnosed as a specific disease. This hasn’t been reported in scientific literature, yet it has been reported countless times to independent organizations and scientists.

In other cases, it has been reported that chronic aspartame ingestion has triggered or worsened certain chronic illnesses. Nearly 100 percent of the time, the patient and physician assume these worsening conditions are a normal progression of the illness. Sometimes that may be true, but many times it is chronic aspartame poisoning.[4]

The following is a list of chronic illnesses that may be caused or worsened by the long-term ingestion of aspartame, according to researchers studying its adverse effects. In some cases, such as MS, the symptoms mimic or worsen the disease, but do not cause it.

This list shouldn’t be considered definitive, because regular intake of a poison is bad for any chronic illness.

Brain tumors

Multiple sclerosis

Epilepsy

Chronic fatigue syndrome

Parkinson’s disease

Alzheimer’s

Mental retardation

Lymphoma

Birth defects

Fibromyalgia

Diabetes

Arthritis (including rheumatoid)

Chemical sensitivities

Attention Deficit Disorder [5]

In conclusion, think closely about ingesting this type of sweetener. I personally think a wholesome, real food, sweetener is much healthier.  I use date sugar or honey for my sweetener in small amounts as necessary.

I wish you the best in your sweetener journey

Sources:

1 – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Regulations (Standards – 29 CFR). Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=standards&p_id=10078

 2 – Tandel, Kirtidia R. (2011, October-December). Sugar substitutes: Health controversy over perceived benefits. Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics, 2(4), 236-243.

 3 – MedlinePlus. “Methanol Poisoning.” Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002680.htm 4 & 5- Gold, Mark. (January,2003). Recall aspartame as a neurotoxic drug: file #4: reported aspartame toxicity reactions. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt

copyright@nancyaddison2015

This is an excerpt from How To Be A Healthy Vegetarian Second Edition – By Nancy Addison

I hope this helps you and your family. Please share this information with the ones you love.

Please leave a comment and join the conversation!

Everyone would love to hear what you think!

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