Is MSG the New Trans Fat?
Big Soup Brands Target MSG-Fearing Consumers

I don’t know if “fearing” is the right word describe our avoidance of MSG, but we do avoid it at all costs in our household.  Hubby gets migraines from MSG. 

Marion Lestle said in the article, Is MSG the New Trans Fat?

“Lots of people tell me they are sensitive to it and that MSG gives them headaches or makes them dizzy. The research on MSG is so inconsistent that I can’t make head or tail of it.”

What is MSG?

From HeathDangers.com: “Monosodium Glutamate or MSG is a man-made flavor enhancer. It is now recognized by many in the medical profession as an excitotoxin – a type of drug which damages brain cells. It was first created in 1908 by Dr Kikunae Ikeda in Japan . The Japanese had been adding Kombu, a type of seaweed, to their foods as a flavor enhancer for over a thousand years. Dr Ikeda isolated the compound from Kombu which made the food taste better – it was glutamate. He founded the Ajinomoto Company to make and sell this new flavor enhancer – monosodium glutamate.”

Health Canada has an article on their website.  It discusses what it is and if it’s ‘safe’.  But there is a part of the article that should be in a larger, bold font:

“Claims pertaining to the absence or non-addition of monosodium glutamate such as “contains no MSG“, “no MSG added” and “no added MSG” are considered misleading and deceptive when other added sources of free glutamate are present (e.g., hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), hydrolyzed soy protein (HSP), soya sauce or autolysed yeast extracts).”

There are many other names for MSG.  So just because the label reads “no MSG” or MSG isn’t listed in the ingredients, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

If these appear in the list of ingredients, there is MSG:

• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Hydrolyzed Protein:(plant, vegetable, any kind)

• Sodium or Calcium Caseinate

• Autolyzed Yeast, Yeast Extract

• Yeast Food,  Yeast Nutrient

• Textured Protein

• Glutamic Acid

These OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing:

• NATURAL FLAVORS, flavoring, flavors,

• Natural “anything” flavor.

• Bouillon or Stock

• Broth (chicken, beef, any kind)

• Carrageenan

• Whey protein, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate.

• Soy sauce, soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate.

• Malt Extract or Flavoring, Malted Barley

• Maltodextrin

• anything Protein fortified

Scary, isn’t it??

“More than meets the Tongue” is a great article.  I wanted to take some quotes from the article, but every time I read it, I just want to copy and paste the whole thing.  So please go over here and read it.  All of it.

As stated in the article, many fast food restaurants and companies use MSG in their foods.    I’m not going to give you a list….because it’s been done already so you can go read that here. 

Here are a few other sites with some interesting info:

http://www.themonitor.ca/article-245273-Beware-of-MSG-and-its-aliases.html
http://www.rense.com/general52/msg.htm
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/
http://www.msgmyth.com/
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/FactMSG.htm

So there you go.  MSG is out there…you just have to look for it.