I was going to wait to write this post but I believe that it is extremely important given the nature of MSG. If you are not already familiar with MSG (monosodium glutamate) it is an ingredient that is used to enhance the flavor of food products. It is unnecessarily added to tons of food products such as soups, crackers, bread, canned tuna, salad dressings, processed meats, ice cream, frozen yogurt and most TV dinners. A good rule of thumb is: if the product is processed it more than likely contains MSG. There are tons of health affects associated with MSG, the biggest one being obesity. Here is a list of other symptoms you or your child may experience after consuming MSG: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain. Wow!
Here's the thing, manufacturing companies know that consumers are getting smarter about what they will eat so they have developed ways to hide MSG in the ingredient list. It isn't a conspiracy, it's as simple as this: foods containing MSG sell. It is a flavor ENHANCER, that means it tastes better so you and your children are more likely to buy it. Here are food additives that may behave like MSG: autolyzed yeast, calcium caseinate, gelatin, glutamate, glutamic acid, hydrolized protein, monopotassium glutamate, monosodium glutamate, sodium caseinate, textured protein, yeast extract, yeast food, and yeast nutrient.
These ingredients contain MSG most of the time, but not always: flavors and flavorings, seasonings, natural flavors and flavorings, natural pork flavoring, natural beef flavoring, natural chicken flavoring, soy sauce, soy protein isolate, soy protein, bouillon, broth, malt extract, malt flavoring, barley malt, enzymes, pectin, powdered milk, anything protein fortified, citric acid, corn starch, anything ultra-pasteurized, powdered milk, and protease.
It may be impossible for your family to avoid MSG all together, but every little bit helps. The more you avoid, the more beneficial it will be to your health. It would be a shame to avoid some health benefits simply because you cannot receive all of them.
First off, I agree whole heartedly with your premise that we should be aware of what we're eating so we can avoid MSG. That stuff is no good.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have a real big problem with your list of "the other names of MSG." Those are NOT other names for the same chemical compound. While many of the chemicals you list have also been found to be detrimental to our health, they do not behave the same way in the body as MSG. It would be correct to say that these are "other chemicals that induce similar effects" in the body, or to say that they "may contain MSG."
For example, monopotassium glutamate (one of the chemicals you list) has an entirely different chemical structure, replacing the sodium with potassium. While this is seems a tiny change, it changes the dynamics of this species drastically. Basically it can be used as an MSG alternative because scientific studies have NOT shown it to have the same side effects as MSG (it is still a flavor enhancer). This is also true of calcium caseinate, glutamic acid, sodium caseinate, they all have different chemical properties.
Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm committed to providing accurate health information on this blog, it looks like I have more researching to do!
ReplyDelete