MSG (monosodium glutamate)is thought of by most people as an additive in Chinese food only, but that is not the case. It is in virtually every processed kind of food on the grocery shelves, from soups and crackers to meats and chips. It’s also in most restaurants, especially fast food ones, and in school cafeterias because it makes food taste good and is incredibly cheap, just like sugar.

According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board certified neuro surgeon and author of the highly recommended book Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, MSG is an excitotoxin, which means that it overexcites your cells to the point of death and thus acts as a poison. It is also most likely a factor in the rising obesity epidemic we have in this country.

When you ingest foods that contain this toxin, your body produces visceral fat, the most dangerous kind. This kind of fat increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, type 2 diabetes and insomnia, just to name a few.

Avoiding this product is difficult to do because it goes under so many different names. Therefore it is wisest to eat only natural, unprocessed food with ingredients that you can pronounce. Additionally, be on the look-out for these.

Other Names for Monosodium Glutamate

Please read food labels carefully and look for these other names for this poison.

"Natural flavorings" (very common and very deceptive)

(Parmesan cheese is naturally high in it)

2-aminoglutaric acid

Accent (remember "Wake up that flavor!")

Ajinomoto

Autolyzed yeast extract

Cenovis (Swiss)

EU food additive code: E621

Flavor enhancer 621

Gelatin

HS code: 29224220 (IUPAC name 2-aminopentanedioic acid)

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)

Hydrolyzed yeast

Malted Barley

Marmite (Britain/New Zealand)*

Monosodium glutamate

Rice Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup

Sodium glutamate

Soy extract

Soy sauce

Vegemite (Australia/New Zealand)*

Vetsin

Yeast Extract

These all either are, or are code names for, or are very high in, MSG or other 'free' glutamates.

What is an Excitotoxin?

An excitotoxin is a chemical transmitter that causes your brain cells to over work themselves, resulting in their death. A quote from Dr. Mercola’s web site has this to say about it: “Based on peer reviewed studies, there is no question that MSG is neurotoxic. It can cause blindness and many other problems such as headaches, fatigue, disorientation and depression.”

You won’t hear about these dangers in the mainstream media because the food industry is too entrenched in using this poison. Monosodiium glutamate retains the flavors of goods that have been sitting on a shelf for a long time and therefore acts as a preservative.

Since it is a flavor enhancer, it is found in all commercially prepared gravies, salad dressings and soups, especially diet ones. To make them diet, they take out the fat which leaves them bland tasting and to make up for that, they put in MSG or one of its derivatives. ALL of Campbell’s soups have it in them.

It suppresses the immune system too, and what is the most common recommendation when you have a fever or a cold? Of course! Eat chicken noodle soup, most likely from a can.

All diet foods and drinks contain it too, for the same reason, as well as liquid amino acid preparations such as soy sauce. Anything hydrolized is going to be a derivative of monosodium glutamate, such as hydrolized vegetable protein or hydrolized yeast.

What Does Glutamate Do In The Body?

Glutamate is a neuro transmitter in the brain and is the most common one found there. These carry all of the messages throughout the brain. Excess amounts of it cause inflamation and free radicals, which damage the DNA.

It also causes an 80% reduction in acetylcholine, a deficit of which is a major factor in Alzheimer’s disease. Excess glutamate is also implicated in MS (Multiple Sclerosis), Parkinson’s disease, ALS (Amyl Lateral Sclerosis) and migraine headaches.

MSG damages the blood-brain barrier and causes hypoglycemia in the brain, an organ which utilizes 25% of the glucose in our bodies, despite its small size. Age makes us more sensitive to the damaging effects of the neuro toxins.

In animal studies, over and over again, results of ingesting MSG include infertility, obesity and higher incidences of rage and violence as well as higher triglycerides and cholesterol. You would have to have been living in a cave for the past 50 years to not know that the rates of these five things have skyrocketed to epidemic proportions.

The obesity also appears to be a type that cannot be exercised off nor dieted off either. Other observances with animal studies have shown an early onset of puberty, an impairment of intellect and a suppressed immune system.

Many times, these are delayed reactions that don’t show up until many years later and therefore are never associated with MSG consumption, especially when it was the mother who consumed it while pregnant.

Please Be An Informed Consumer

These are serious issues that need to be addressed and I strongly urge you to become informed on this subject. Those who have tried to get this information out have been brutally suppressed in many cases and I commend Dr. Blaylock for his well-researched and documented references in his book and videos.