MSG - How To Avoid The Hidden Sources

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MSG - How To Avoid

The Hidden Sources

_http://cnn.com/HEALTH/diet.fitness_ (http://cnn.com/HEALTH/diet.fitness)

_http://www.rense.com/health3/msgsources.htm_

(http://www.rense.com/health3/msgsources.htm)

(WebMD) -- Sufferers of monosodium glutamate (MSG) toxicity syndromes have

long been dismissed by the makers of glutamate and food additives and by

the FDA, whose labeling standards for foods containing the controversial

flavor enhancer are fairly lax. For many of these MSG sufferers, the

experience of coping with the ambiguities of food labeling leaves them feeling

like

Han Solo navigating his way through an asteroid field. Not only is it

confusing -- it can be very dangerous.

What is MSG toxicity syndrome?

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) toxicity syndrome occurs in response to

free-glutamic acid, which is a breakdown product of protein after it has been

processed by a food manufacturer. While all protein has glutamic acid bound in

it, it is only the glutamic acid that has been freed from the protein

before it is consumed that causes the reactions. Growing numbers of patients

and

physicians and some scientists are convinced that the ingestion of this

processed free-glutamic acid can cause adverse reactions in one or more

organs of the body. In 1969, H. H. Schaumburg, an MSG researcher who helped

educate the public and the medical industry about the dangers of MSG,

concluded that up to 30 percent of the population had sensitivity reactions

from

the MSG in an ordinary diet.

Symptoms that MSG can bring on

Reported MSG reactions, which can occur as a result of consuming even

small amounts (much less than the 1/2 gram the FDA considers to be low),

include migraines; hives; mouth eruptions; numbness; tingling; swelling of

mucous

membranes in the oral, gastrointestinal or reproductive tract; asthma;

runny nose; insomnia; seizures; mood swings; panic attacks; diarrhea; and

cardiac irregularities.

Sufferers of MSG's effects are not experiencing an " allergy. " Instead,

they are experiencing the results of direct nerve stimulation and possible

nerve damage, although the latter has not been verified in humans. Emergency

room physician George R. Schwartz, author of " In Bad Taste: The MSG Symptom

Complex, " says MSG is a " neurotoxin, " a substance that actually induces

nerve changes and possible nerve damage.

Despite the fact that MSG causes known toxic reactions, and despite the

fact that some labeling does exist, MSG-sensitive individuals are still at

risk for becoming severely ill from food they buy at the store or order off a

menu.

1. Most processed foods contain MSG. Kathleen Schwartz, president of

NoMSG, a New Mexico-based nonprofit group, explains that MSG is deceptively

represented as a " natural " additive on many containers and in some natural-food

departments as well. " Anything that tastes good ... all of the fast

foods, flavored chips, most of the condiments, most salad dressings, most

processed lunch meats, most sausages, soups off the grocery shelf, " she says,

are

likely to contain MSG.

2. Seasonings and basic food staples contain MSG. Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D.,

co-director and founder of the Truth in Labeling Campaign (TLC), a

nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote **full and clear labeling**

of

all food, says that the unwary consumer is quite vulnerable to the

unintended ingestion of MSG. In doing research for a TLC report, Samuels found

that

the glutamate and food-additive industry is adept at disguising the

presence of MSG in foods. **Bouillon, stock, broth, malt flavoring, barley

malt,

seasonings, carrageenan, soy sauce, soy protein, whey protein and anything

enzyme-modified,** she writes, " always contain MSG. "

3. MSG by any other name is just the same. Samuels notes that the FDA has

demonstrated a curious relaxation of its usual standards for product

labeling. **With some exceptions,** she writes, **the FDA requires that

ingredients -- MSG-containing ingredients included -- must be called by their

common

or usual names.** The FDA uses the term **monosodium glutamate** for

ingredients that are a 99 percent pure combination of glutamic acid and sodium.

However, most of the MSG-containing foods that cause MSG syndrome are not

99 percent pure and are allowed to be labeled obscurely: **monopotassium

glutamate,** **autolyzed yeast,** **hydrolyzed soy protein** and **sodium

caseinate** are examples of ingredients that always contain MSG.

4. The FDA won*t tighten its standards. In 1994 TLC attempted through a

petition to pressure the FDA **to require that processed free-glutamic acid

be clearly labeled when used in food.** That petition -- and a subsequent

lawsuit -- were not successful. The court ruled that the FDA, being a

food-industry expert, did not have to disclose the basis of its conclusion that

current labeling standards adequately protected the public.

What the future may hold for the players in the MSG debate

MSG proponents are currently facing a new battle -- one with potentially

far-reaching legal repercussions. In a recent, well-publicized legal case, a

California man, Mr. Livingston, initially lost a suit that was recently

reversed on appeal and set for retrial. Livingston*s complaint is against a

restaurant that had served him a vegetable soup that had been made with a

beef base containing MSG. After consuming it, he suffered an asthma attack

and cardiac arrest. **The restaurant had a *duty to warn* this man of the

dangers of the MSG content of the food,** says attorney Howard Goldstein, who

represented Livingston and who likens the case to the current tobacco

industry lawsuits.

Goldstein says he is more aware of the dangers of MSG as a result of his

involvement with this case. A member of his own family suffered from MSG

sensitivity. **At a time when we were eating a lot of foods containing MSG,**

he says, **during the meal she would start having vision changes, cramping

and asthma. At least once or twice a year for a dozen or so years we would

be making emergency room visits, usually on the Friday or Saturday night

after eating out, to get to respiratory therapy.** Goldstein says that after

getting involved in the Livingston case and learning to eliminate MSG from

the family diet, the trips to the emergency room have not occurred for five

years.

But until relief arrives, consumers must navigate on their own.

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

I am very sensitive to MSG...Its so hard to avoid!! I accidentally ate

quiet a bit recently. WARNING: ALOT OF RESTAURANTS USE ALOT OF MSG AND

SOMETIMES THE WAITRESS/WAITER/STAFF ARENT PROPERLY EDUCATED!! BE CAREFUL

WHEN DINNING OUT!! The restaurant I was at used MSG and the waitress was

truely unaware. I got such a bad migraine! It lasted for 8 days! I had

to be hospitalized at one point! It was NO good!

 

 

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