Ever wonder about MSG? If you don’t know what it is the definition is (from Wikipedia):

“Monosodium glutamate, sodium glutamate, flavour enhancer 621, EU food additive code: E621, HS code: 29224220 (IUPAC name 2-aminopentanedioic acid. Also known as 2-aminoglutaric acid), commonly known as MSG, Ajinomoto, Vetsin, or Accent, is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is a food additive and it is commonly marketed as a “flavour enhancer”.”

Is MSG Dangerous? The FDA Has Nothing Good to Say About MSG!

This is just how scary it is… here is a paragraph from the FDA’s official page on MSG… and this is pretty conclusive:

“Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well. Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain. Consumption of glutamate in food, however, does not cause this effect. While people normally consume dietary glutamate in large amounts and the body can make and metabolize glutamate efficiently, the results of animal studies conducted in the 1980s raised a significant question: Can MSG and possibly some other glutamates harm the nervous system?“

The following is a chain letter I received by email that has interesting info on MSG but as with all chain letters it seems to be a little less than 100% reliable (but better than most) – at least in some aspects.

MSG.
The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides
behind 25 or more names, such as “Natural Flavoring.” (Note from Ross: okay “natural flavoring” MAY include MSG but it doesn’t always… this is a bit inflammatory)

MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton’s and Starbucks coffee shops! (Note from Ross: I have not been able to confirm this AT ALL – although perhaps some of the fancy syrups could include it)

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario , Canada , and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America. ( Note from Ross: “The Slow Poisoning of America” is not a book that I can find anywhere. Just references to it from this same email – must be poorly marketed if it actually exists. And written by a research assistant? Hmm)

In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies. No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so scientists have to create them. They make these creatures morbidly obese by injecting them with MSG when they are first born.

The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing rats (and perhaps humans) to become obese. They even have a name for the fat rodents they create: “MSG-Treated Rats.”

When I heard this, I was shocked. I went into my kitchen and checked the cupboards and the refrigerator. MSG was in everything — the Campbell ‘s soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, and Kraft salad dressings, especially the “healthy low-fat” ones. (Note from Ross: I have always been weary of MSG so I know that much of this is very true)

The items that didn’t have MSG marked on the product label had something called “Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein,” which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate. (Note from Ross: This is true and interestingly there is a note in Wikipediat that there maybe a link between MSG and migraines!)

It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. MSG is hidden under many different names in order to fool those who read the ingredient list, so that they don’t catch on. (Other names for MSG are “Accent, “Aginomoto,” “Natural Meat Tenderizer,” etc.) (Note from Ross: LOL they didn’t even spell Ajinomoto correctly. Although with the correct spelling this is indeed a trade name for MSG it points to poor analysis)

But it didn’t stop there.

When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items contained MSG. Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn’t use MSG. (Ross: this is very rare here in Canada. If I ask the restaurant will tell me if the food has it or doesn’t – that said, with these alternate names I wonder if they actually know themselves 100% of the time)

But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough, MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere.

Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, every restaurant — even the sit-down eateries like TGIF, Chili’s, Applebee’s, and Denny’s — use MSG in abundance. Kentucky Fried Chicken seemed to be the WORST offender: MSG was in every chicken dish, salad dressing. and gravy. No wonder I loved to eat that coating on the skin — their secret spice was MSG! (Ross: yes this is 100% true)

So why is MSG in so many of the foods we eat? Is it a preservative, or a vitamin?

Not according to my friend John Erb. In his book The Slow Poisoning of America (LOL remember this book seems to be vapor), he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body.

Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG explains that the reason they add it to food is to make people eat more.

A study of the elderly showed that older people eat more of the foods that it is added to. The Glutamate Association lobbying group says eating more is a benefit to the elderly, but what does it do to the rest of us?

“Betcha can’t eat [just] one,” takes on a whole new meaning where MSG is concerned! And we wonder why the nation is overweight!

MSG manufacturers themselves admit that it addicts people to their products. It makes people choose their product over others, and makes people eat more of it than they would if MSG wasn’t added.

Not only is MSG scientifically proven to cause obesity, it is an addictive substance. Since its introduction into the American food supply fifty years ago, MSG has been added in larger and larger doses to the pre-packaged meals, soups, snacks, and fast foods we are tempted to 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. But how can they claim it’s safe when there are hundreds of scientific studies with titles like these:

“The monosodium glutamate (MSG) obese rat as a model for the study of exercise in obesity.” Gobatto CA, Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA. Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.

“Adrenalectomy abolishes the food-induced hypothalamic serotonin release in both normal and monosodium glutamate-obese rats.” Guimaraes RB, Telles MM, Coelho VB, Mori C, Nascimento CM, Ribeiro.
Brain Res Bull. 2002 Aug.

‘Obesity induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment in spontaneously hypertensive rats: An animal model of multiple risk factors.”
Iwase M, Yamamoto M, Iino K, Ichikawa K, Shinohara N, Yoshinari Fujishima.
Hypertens Res. 1998 Mar.

“Hypothalamic lesion induced by injection of monosodium glutamate in suckling period and subsequent development of obesity.” Tanaka K, Shimada M, Nakao K Kusunoki. Exp Neurol. 1978 Oct.

No, the date of that last study was not a typo; it was published in 1978.
Both the “medical research community” and “food manufacturers” have known about the side effects of MSG for decades.

Many more of the studies mentioned in John Erb’s book link MSG to diabetes, migraines and headaches, autism, ADHD, and even Alzheimer’s.

So what can we do to stop the food manufactures from dumping this fattening and addictive MSG into our food supply and causing the obesity epidemic we now see?

Several months ago, John Erb took his book and his concerns to one of the highest government health officials in Canada. While he was sitting in the government office, the official told him, “Sure, I know how bad MSG is. I wouldn’t touch the stuff.” But this top-level government official refuses to tell the public what he knows. (Ross: Yup this article has lots of facts but I wouldn’t put much stock in this one – not that it couldn’t be true but I would need more proof this bleemin book actually exists first)

The big media doesn’t want to tell the public either, fearing issues with their advertisers. It seems that the fallout on the fast food industry may hurt their profit margin. The food producers and restaurants have been addicting us to their products for years, and now we are paying the price for it. Our children should not be cursed with obesity caused by an addictive food additive.

But what can I do about it? I’m just one voice! What can I do to stop the poisoning of our children, while our governments are insuring financial protection for the industry that is poisoning us?

This message is going out to everyone I know in an attempt to tell you the truth that the corporate-owned politicians and media won’t tell you.

The best way you can help to save yourself and your children from this drug-induced epidemic is to forward this article to everyone. With any luck, it will circle the globe before politicians can pass the legislation protecting those who are poisoning us.

The food industry learned a lot from the tobacco industry. Imagine if big tobacco had a bill like this in place before someone blew the whistle on nicotine?

If you are one of the few who can still believe that MSG is good for us and you don’t believe what John Erb has to say, see for yourself. Go to the National Library of Medicine at www.pubmed.com. (Ross: Be prepared for *some* interesting info but I am no scientist so I couldn’t get a lot out of this)

Type in the words “MSG Obese” and read a few of the 115 medical studies that appear.

We the public do not want to be rats in one giant experiment, and we do not approve of food that makes us into a nation of obese, lethargic, addicted sheep, feeding the food industry’s bottom line while waiting for the heart transplant, the diabetic-induced amputation, blindness, or other obesity-induced, life-threatening disorders. (Ross: I am against MSG simply because it is obviously not natural, it does cause odd health conditions in my family and it makes food makers lazy – I can’t say whether the affects on Rats would be the same for humans and neither can this writer)

With your help we can put an end to this poison.

Do your part in sending this message out by word of mouth, e-mail, or by distribution of this printout to your friends all over the world and stop this “Slow Poisoning of Mankind” by the packaged food industry.

Blowing the whistle on MSG is our responsibility, so get the word out.

Sites about MSG that I haven’t necessarily reviewed for quality content:

• News from the FDA on MSG – A MUST READ!!!
• The MSG Myth
• Truth in Labelling

CFLs (the “squigly” lightbulbs) are the latest rage because they save a ton of energy but did you know they have a toxic level of mercury inside them? Nothing that would kill or anything like that – of course – however, there are some important things you should know about cleaning one up should it break. For example… never use a vaccum to clean up leftovers from a breakage on a hard surface! No explanation for “why” is given but I gather the mercury particulate can get dispersed by the vacuum cleaner because the filter can’t catch it – just a guess though. Anyway, don’t do it!!!

For more info that I would rather not copy (to give the site appropriate credit) check out this excellent and incredibly helpful Going Green blog post called “Take Care with CFLs“.

Big thanks to Bill Slawski at SEO by the Sea for giving me the heads up on this.