The Real Reason to Avoid MSG: Industry Secret Ingredient for Food Addiction
You likely already know that the food ingredient monosodium glutamate (MSG) isn’t good for you. You may even know some of the popular reasons why. But did you know that MSG is primarily used by the food industry to keep us addicted to ‘big taste, little nutrition’ food? It’s an industry secret. Read on to find out why MSG makes you eat more fast food while fattening up the food industry’s bottom line.
Aside from high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, and ingredients made with chemicals called ‘flavor packets,’ MSG is at the top of the list of food additives to avoid.
Monosodium Glutamate, or MSG, is a trigger substance that food makers are very aware of. It was put in food to cause pavlovian response, creating a trigger for you to eat more and never feel satiated. The FDA calls MSG ‘generally recognized as safe,’ though the ingredient has been found to cause skin rashes, itching, hives, vomiting, asthma, heart irregularities, seizures, chest pain, nausea, weakness, and especially headaches and migraines, among other health issues.
A study published in the Journal of Headache Pain reveals how just a single dose of monosodium glutamate caused headaches in healthy subjects that were tested.
This study conducted its research using double blind, placebo-controls and found that MSG intake caused spontaneous pain, jaw aches, high blood pressure, and other unwanted side effects including nausea, fatigue, stomach ache, tight-jaw (TMJ), dizziness, and chest pressure. So exactly how is this considered GRAS by the FDA?
When this very inexpensive, concentrated form of salt is added to your food, it makes you crave sugar, and also interferes with an important set of hormones that control satiation. That means when you eat MSG, your body doesn’t remember how to tell you it’s full, so you just keep eating. Since the ‘salty’ taste makes you crave the taste of ‘sweet,’ you are likely to go back for cookies once you’ve had some nachos covered in processed cheese, or a burger full of MSG.
Ever wonder how you can eat a calorie-laden meal and still feel like you are starving just hours later? It’s the processed, nutrition-less ingredients in that food which is making you want to eat more. It’s the food industry’s way of causing a food addiction, to ensure they make money.
MSG is just one of the thousands of artificial ingredients used by the food industry to ruin your health and keep you addicted to their products. So many more nutritious, and delicious options exist.
If you suffer from the ill effects of MSG, listen up. Research indicates that this root may be able to protect you from MSG and even reverse the damage that’s already been done.
If you heard that MSG is bad for you, you’ve been lied to. It’s based on bad science, and the ‘fact’ of MSG being bad is at the level of an urban legend.
The only real risk of MSG is that it’s too tasty, which is the amusing point of this article, even if the author didn’t intend it.
MSG &
Aspartate Damage Brain Hypothalamus
Following A Single Low Level Dose
Journal: Nature, Vol. 227, August 8, 1970
Microscopic photograph above-left shows
normal appearance of brain area hypothalmus (arcuate nucleus). Photograph at right
shows same area after exposure to MSG at 1 g/kg. White areas are dead brain cells resulting from the MSG exposure.
This study was conducted to determine the
threshold levels for causing observable damage to the brain after MSG
and Aspartate exposure.
The food additives were given to a group of 75 infant mice starting
at what is considered “very low” human exposure levels” of .25-.50 g/kg (grams of MSG per
kilogram of animal body weight). Exposure levels continued upwards to 2 g/kg. In each case only a single
dose of the compound was given. Five hours after MSG and Aspartate treatment
each animal was anaesthetized and examinations were performed on the brain cells
within the hypothalamus using a light microscope.
The results demonstrated that only
the very lowest MSG exposure level of
.25 g/kg – had no observable effect upon the brain
cells. However, animals receiving doses beginning at .5 g/kg of body weight (considered a normal human dose), did in fact show observable cell damage in this area of the brain. Results of all exposures are listed below:
.5 g/kg dose
Of the twenty-three animals given MSG doses of .5 g/kg
12 (52%) suffered hypothalamic damage in the area known as the arcuate nucleus.
.75 g/kg dose
Of the sixteen animals given doses of .75 g/kg
13 (81%) showed cellular damage
1 g/kg dose
Of the nineteen animals given doses of 1 g/kg
All 19 (100%) showed cellular damage
2 g/kg dose
Of the seven animals given doses of 2 g/kg,
All 7 (100%) demonstrated cellular damage to the arcuate nucleus.
It was found that MSG and Aspartate can
combine their damage potential when test animals were fed 0.5 g/kg of each
compound simultaneously. In this scenario, they developed the same amount of hypothalamic damage
characteristically seen in animals treated with either agent at 1 g/kg.
Dr. John W. Olney
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
Chem-Tox Comment:
This important observation
demonstrates a serious flaw in current neurotoxicology testing as
current methods require only one chemical at a time to be tested for
neurotoxic potential. For example, a level of .25 g/kg of MSG does
appears to be safe. This is also true for .25 g/kg of Aspertate.
However, if these two identical amounts are exosed to test animals
simultaneously, it is likely that effects could in fact be seen. Add to
this the other hundreds of petroleum based food additives, colors, and
flavors we are exposed to simultaneiously and the potential for highly
significant neurotoxic effects becomes readily apparent.
Infant Seizures Improve After MSG Removal
Journal: Federation Proceedings 1(11);2205-2212 (1976)
A child experiencing “innumerable
seizures” at 6 months of age showed dramatic improvements after removal of
MSG from the child’s diet. The case history, reported by Dr. L. Reif-Lehrer of
Harvard Medical School in the journal Federal Proceedings, showed the child did
not respond to dilantin treatment but had symptoms “completely alleviated by a diet that excluded exogenously
added glutamate.”
The child’s first seizures began at 6 months
of age on October 14, 1971. For the next four months the child’s seizures
continued even with treatment using dilantin, mysoline and pyridoxine. At 9
months of age the child was experiencing 100 or more seizures per day.
The following medical bibliography lists
chronologically
the events observed from removal of MSG from the child’s diet:
February 15,
1972
Physicians removed all MSG foods
from the child’s diet
February 20,
1972
(Age 10.5 mo.)
No seizures for past 3 days, first free period since onset.
Reduction of anticonvulsants begun
March 20, 1972
(Age 11.5 mo.)
Off all anticonvulsants.
No seizures.
May 10, 1972
(Age 13 mo.)
Attacks 2-3 hr after surreptitious ingestion of pizza
(“Snitched” from the refrigerator with the help of an older brother).
August, 1972
(Age 17 mo.)
Several attacks after ingestion of family hog, locally prepared sausage
later found to contain MSG.
February, 1973
(Age 2.0 years)
No attacks for 7 months.
August, 1973
(Age 2.5 years)
Deliberate trial of a spaghetti dinner with
commercially prepared sauce containing MSG.
Seizures within 3 hours, the first seizure in 12 months.
February, 1974
(Age 3.0 years)
Diet-watch continues.
No attacks since spaghetti trial in August 1973.
The child’s physician, Dr. M. G. Stemmermann,
M.D., noted there were still no attacks as of September, 1975, except after
annual test trials with an “MSG meal.”
Commenting on this case, Dr. Reif-Lehrer
states,
“The case of the child with shudders
(seizures), as well as some of the symptoms reported in a questionnaire study in our
laboratory indicates a very wide spectrum of sensitivity toward MSG and
suggests that perhaps some individuals should avoid exogenously added MSG. In
some individuals, glutamate (or some other chemical that results from
glutamate ingestion) may be getting through the blood-brain barrier, or, e.g.,
to certain areas of the hypothalamus, and may result in undesirable
effects….. One wonders, particularly in countries where the per capita
consumption of MSG is high, if there is any possibility that any subtle
nervous disorders or unexplained retinal pathology could be due to cumulative
effects of MSG in individuals with pre-existing abnormalities that may make
them more susceptible.”
Dr. Liane Reif-Lehrer,
Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School
Department of Connective
Tissue Research
Boston Biomedical Research Institute
Brain Damage in Primates Evident
5 Hours After MSG Ingestion
Brain lesions were found in 6 rhesus infant monkeys exposed
to varying levels of a single MSG dose. Researchers at the Departments of
Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine
conducted the study with rhesus monkeys because of hypotheses from other
researchers stating that susceptibility to MSG induced brain damage may be
limited to sub-primates (mice, rats, rabbits, etc.)
A subcommittee of nutritional experts
appointed by the Food Protection Committee of the National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) declared MSG to be a safe food additive requiring no regulation. The
nutritional experts did admit susceptibility of infant rodents to brain damage
from orally administered MSG at even the low doses of 1 gram per kilogram body
weight (g/kg) but reasoned that the primate infant was most likely not at risk
to MSG brain damage because it had a more mature central nervous system and more
highly developed blood brain barrier at birth.
However, this theory did not hold true when
tested by Dr. John Olney and colleagues at the Department of Psychiatry and
Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. Here, the researchers
exposed 6 infant rhesus monkeys to a single MSG dose ranging from 1 to 4 g/kg
and were compared to 3 control monkeys exposed in the same manner to sodium salt
(table salt). The researchers found that all MSG exposed monkeys developed
damage to the brain area known as the infundibular region of the hypothalamus
(this corresponds to the arcuate nucleus hypothalamus area in mice).
Results of Dr. Olney’s study:
Infant Monkey A
Treated with 2.6 g/kg MSG via
injection on the first day of birth. A lesion developed in the hypothalamus
that was quite conspicuous as early as 3 hours following treatment.
Infant Monkey B
received the same dose as the first infant but
was seven days old. Its lesion was slightly smaller in terms of the percentage
of the hypothalamus.
Infant Monkey C
received the smallest 1 g/kg dose orally and
showed degeneration of about 50 neurons in the hypothalamus.
Infant Monkey D
received a 2 g/kg oral dose and showed
degeneration of about 80 neurons in the hypothalamus.
Infant Monkey E
received the highest 4 g/kg dose orally and
showed degeneration of about 90 neurons. Infant E also experienced vomiting
which decreased the amount of MSG absorbed into the system.
Infant Monkey I
The sixth infant
monkey to receive an MSG dose (labeled infant I) received 4 g/kg via injection
and developed severe reactions including cyanosis, vomiting and convulsions.
In concluding remarks, Dr. Olney
states,
“Our data do not support the view that
only subprimates(i.e mice & rats) are
susceptible to MSG-induced neurotoxicity. The lesions in our primate infants
A, B and I following relatively high subcutaneous doses of MSG were so similar
to those consistently observed in mice treated with high doses of MSG that it
seems unrealistic to deny primate susceptibility to the MSG effect. Since
lesions we detected in infants treated orally with lower doses were also
similar in localization and identical in cytopathological detail to those we
routinely find in infant mice treated orally with low doses of MSG, a causal
link between low oral doses of MSG and necrosis (damage) of neurons in the infant primate hypothalamus also seems likely.
However, since the lesions in these infants were quite small, careful
consideration should be given to possible explanations other than MSG
Looks like I can’t reply with links to the many studies that refute the FORTY YEAR OLD study you just copied in its entirety because of naturesocietie’s moderation rules, so I’ll just say that was one of the many discredited studies, and more recent studies have shown that MSG doesn’t even cause nausea in normal doses, let alone brain lesions.
For more information you can look at FASEB’s report from the 90s, or more recent studies, and ignore the junk science from decades ago.
No thanks! You can eat.
I did just today, so did millions of others.
You can put in the links by saying “name dot com.” But MSG’s bad effects are well known to scientists and to MSG’s unfortunate victims.
Excellent post.
LOL, if MSG is good for me, then why am I having 5 bowel movements after I eat Chinese food?
Correlation is not causation. Those types of reports are common, but studies have not been able to link that to MSG.
Well unless Chinese restaurants are putting powdered laxatives in their food, my conclusion is fact in my mind that it’s the MSG’s in Chinese food that gives me the craps.
Then you also have to accept the fact that the scientific evidence doesn’t support your conclusion. Furthermore, ‘the runs’ are not even on the list of supposed MSG sensitivity symptoms… If you really want to believe in unicorns and urban myths no one can stop you, I guess.
MSG is just 60 percent salt and naturally occurring amino acids. It’s naturally in tomatoes and many cheeses, so unless those things also give you stomach problems, then you’re experiencing a placebo effect because you’ve convinced yourself it’s bad, or it’s something completely unrelated in the Chinese food you’ve been eating.
If it was really true then the millions of people who eat MSG around the world on a daily basis would be having a pretty horrible time of it.
Scientific Evidence? Science is more corrupt than politics. Science is too busy promoting itself as truth when science can’t even cure cancer or desalinate ocean water.
By the way Mueller, excellent regurgitation on the Wikipedia entry on MSG’s. It’s hilariously amusing that your information is stuff you found online and that you’re defending a position using Wikipedia as your source.
With your logic, all of Asia should be able to drink milk without stomach discomfort because Europe and North America drinks milk.
Bottom line, I eat something with a lot of MSG’s, and I pay for it. No myth or unicorn. And I share this information with people who might be in similar situations so it might help them find a cause for their grief.
“Science is more corrupt than politics.”
Stopped reading there. I don’t even know where to begin to unravel that level of willful ignorance, so I won’t bother trying.
If you can’t accept basic facts and science then there can be no honest discussion.
Oh I’m honest. Unlike you, I don’t follow the gospel according to Wikipedia……..
Wikipedia? You don’t even realize you’re arguing with fallacies and nothing more. No, the fact that recent studies have disproven your subjective observations is why those same studies appear on Wikipedia, those studies aren’t disproven because someone put them on a reference website.
But you don’t believe in science, so there can be no honest discussion. You’ll always just trust your feelings and ignore all evidence to the contrary.
This will be my last reply, and I don’t think I’ll bother reading any more from a science denier.
Thank God, oh yeah, I’m one of those unintelligent yokels who have faith in a higher power.
gay marriage supporters are also science deniers.
LOL. Correlation is not causation, but where there is causation, there is ALWAYS correlation.
How much do the MSG folks pay you per post?
no doubt, if he’s getting paid to reread the Wikipedia entry on MSG’s then I’m in the wrong business =)
Chuckle. Problem is, you’re too ethical to do that!
Thanks, btw, for noting the Asian lactose intolerance. Likewise, Americans are generally intolerant to our favorite breakfast beverage – orange juice.
Should be thankful.
I guess some people would be, for me it’s a very abnormal side effect.
The official, no-kidding, really-for-sure, government-mandated LABELS list MSG as an excipient in some vaccines. Does your doctor tell you about this before you get vaccinated? No? Then you haven’t given informed consent.
To Natural Society’s general editor: You have a very willing and well-informed audience. Please do not treat us as children who must be teased, cajoled, coaxed, and duped into doing what’s ‘good’ for us. I.e., instead of saying “this ingredient” in the email subject line and in the article teaser, say “MSG.” Our time is valuable and, for some of us, very limited. We need to determine quickly whether the article’s content is relevant to our current needs. Thank you.
I love MSG. It is in all instant soups.
I couldn’t care less what “scientific” or political “evidence” deems MSG “safe” to eat. It got me terribly sick until I removed it completely from what I eat. No more Chinese food, no more “natural flavor” in my diet, only salt and pepper.
The worst thing about MSG is that many people react to it with a substantial delay, 24 to 48 hours AFTER eating, which makes it very difficult to connect as cause of the symptoms.
Now the Food Industry person will respond to me with disproving “evidence.”