You are probably aware that Monosodium Glutamate, MSG, is a toxic food additive. The food industry started using it in the 1950s and there has been controversy ever since, as the industry persists in using it despite research confirming its harmfulness and personal reports of grievous harm done. Food companies know that we, the public, are aware of its harmfulness so they have devised camouflage for it. Here are some of its disguises:
Proteins – how could it sound more innocent!
Natural meat tenderizer – it does tenderize meat but watch out for that word “natural”. It means nothing in a food context.
Calcium caseinate – well, we know we need calcium
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein – and we know we need veggies and protein
Soy protein concentrate – Protein again and soy has been praised to the skies for decades in marketing campaigns
Maltodextrin – who knows what that is, but “malt” sounds good
Yeast extract – We know most bread has yeast so this sounds harmless
These names are all FDA-approved and there are many more.
Originally, MSG was developed in 1909 by a Japanese scientist who extracted it from kombu seaweed. But starting in the 1950s it has been mass produced from fermented sugar, e.g. beets, molasses and sugar cane. The troublesome ingredient in MSG is the glutamate, also called Manufactured Glutamic Acid. Our brain’s nerve cells release glutamate in the normal course of things; it’s a neurotransmitter and we need a certain amount of it for learning and memory functions. But when the body has too much of it, it becomes an excitotoxin. In other words, it over-stimulates our nerve cells often to the point of damaging and even killing the cells. This is especially harmful in children, yet so many children are given processed or fast food on a routine basis.
Read the Ingredients Lists
But don’t necessarily believe them. Even if the can or package says “No MSG”, study the fine print and you may well see “except yeast extract” or “except soy protein concentrate”. These food manufacturers are determined that their products won’t taste bland, that they’ll taste better than the other company’s products. So it’s our job as consumers to read labels thoroughly to protect ourselves and our children. We may be in a rush to pick up something for dinner and pick up our kids and get home in time for them to do their homework or to make our important phone call. But food shopping these days is a time to slow down. Think of that great Zen saying: “Spend an hour each day meditating. Unless you’re too busy. In that case, spend two hours.”
i like the Zen saying,heard it before but brings a smile anyway
In Suzanne Somers book “Knockout”, she explained that during WWll American soldiers discovered that captured Japanese K-rations tasted much better than their own due to MSG. After the war the stampede to add MSG to many foods was on. It wasn’t long before the U.S. was consuming tens of thousands of tons per year!