My sister sent me this article and I want to pass this info on to all who may be interested.
MSG in Conventional Foods: Are the Food Giants Deliberately Poisoning Us?
Web Note: MSG is banned in all organic foods.
http://www.rense.com/general67/msg.htmMSG – The Slow Poisoning Of America MSG Hides Behind 25+ Names, Such As ‘Natural Flavouring’ MSG Is Also In Your Favorite Coffee Shops And Drive-Ups
9-12-5
I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, 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”.
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 the scientists have to create them. They make these morbidly obese creatures by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates; causing rats (and humans?) to become obese. They even have a title for the fat rodents they create: “MSG-Treated Rats”.
I was shocked too. I went to my kitchen, checking the cupboards and the fridge. MSG was in everything: The Campbell’s soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavoured potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, Kraft salad dressings, especially the ‘healthy low fat’ ones.
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.
It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. They hide MSG under many different names in order to fool those who carefully read the ingredient list, so they don’t catch on. (Other names for MSG: ‘Accent’ – ‘Aginomoto’ – ‘Natural Meet Tenderizer’, etc) But it didn’t stop there. When our family went out to eat, we started asking at the restaurants what menu items had MSG.
Many employees, even the managers, swore they didn’t use MSG. But when we ask for the ingredient list, which they grudgingly provided, sure enough MSG and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein were everywhere:
Burger King McDonalds Wendy’s Taco Bell
And every restaurant like: TGIF, Chilis’, Applebees 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.
So, why is MSG in so may of the foods we eat?
Is it a preservative or a vitamin?? Not according to my friend John. In the book he wrote, an expose of the food additive industry called “The Slow Poisoning of America” he said that MSG is added to food for the addictive effect it has on the human body. http://www.spofamerica.com Even the propaganda website sponsored by the food manufacturers lobby group supporting MSG at: http://www.msgfactscom/facts/msgfact12.html explains that the reason they add it to food is to make people EAT MORE OF THEIR PRODUCTS.
A study of the elderly showed that people eat more of the foods it is added to.The Glutamate Association lobby group says eating more benefits 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?
The 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. How can they claim it 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’. GobattoCA, Mello MA, Souza CT, Ribeiro IA.Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2002.
(Complete article can be found here)
Cross posted at Village Blue
8 Comments
I knew MSG was linked to headaches, but I hadn’t read about the obesity connection! I’ll add these things to the list of ingredients to watch for in addition to “high fructose corn syrup” which isn’t allowed in our house anymore.
I had no idea MSG was even remotely linked to obesity. Crap like this drives me crazy – the whole crisis was planned! Grrr.
This does provide yet another incentive to not eat any of the myriad of pre-packaged food products out there. It really isn’t good for you, in the end.
And the part that gets me is the part about it being listed under different names. Although I’m confused about one name being sodium based and the other protein based.
I’ve joked about the need for advanced degrees in nutrition (if you could find a place that offered it) but it’s less of a joke every day. Grrr.
This is fascinating!
KB I’ve tried to avoid MSG for years because of the migraines.
However, my youngest daughter as a child had asthma very bad. Even back then when I grocery shopped, I tried to avoid anything that had MSG.
I really wished back then, I had known the deceptive ways they hide this addictive.
The MSG program is terrifying, in my view, but not surprising.
I suppose the best any of us can do is make every effort to eat only foods we have prepared, from “scratch,” which is not an easy thing to do, and few are likely to achieve it. We can strive to consume as little as we can.
It is very upsetting. MSG has changed my entire life! My husband developed a rare brain disorder almost 3 years ago. He had a sensitivity to MSG and it appears that MSG was slowly killing his brain cells until it killed too many. We tried to avoid it for years, but didn’t realize it went under so many names: anything hydrolyzed or autolyzed contains it. It’s always in gelatin as well…so it was even in his vitamins!! Shocking! Anyway, his brain disorder has no cure. He shakes and jerks somewhat like Parkinson’s disease, but a little less refined. He also twists at times. It’s called Dystonia. So, while we can’t prove it was MSG, it seems very likely. Our Dr. told us that it would be a familial sensitivity, so we are now MSG free to protect our three young children… and it isn’t easy or CHEAP. I wanted to make sure you all knew that MSG is a large component of the plant growth enhancer called “Auxigro”. It’s used by many commercial farmers and is sprayed on our fruits, vegetables and nuts. You can visit their website to find out more, but they are very proud of their product…that is hurting millions. We’ve gone organic and feel very good about doing so…but we still read organic labels as well. I found MSG in some canned organic food the other day. Be careful about what you eat!!! My husband was perfectly normal once and now he can’t work, drive, speak on the phone, etc.
{{Rachel}} oh, I am so sorry — I’ve never heard of Dystonia before. I’ve wondered about the impact of these additives and how risky it is that “we” mostly eat highly processed foods. But, your family’s story is the most dramatic I’ve heard that can be traced directly to MSG.
Also, I should mention that this story was originally written for the blog, Village Blue which is Diane’s blog. And you might find a more active discussion on this story on the post there. (or maybe these comments will start it up again)
Thank you for sharing your (and your family’s) experience.
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[...] Well. Just today I’m going to NOT feel overwhelmed by that article about MSG (MSG in Conventional Foods) and the link to obesity. And I’m not going to feel pressured to absorb all the information in this DailyKos diary, Vegetables of Mass Destruction – Obesity Redux — which is tremendously interesting, packed with facts and links and anecdotes and recipes and well, you should read it for yourself (but I’ll warn you, it’s very, very long). [...]