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Monsodium Glutamate and the FDA
Truth in Labeling, Really?

open letter to monsanto, dupont, sygenta > Schwab is it bo time? > BVO alert > wally world > activia yogurt

Ask A Healer Articles About Food Additives

What I like and don't like about the FDA

by Ask a Healer

Suggested Reading:
Detoxing MSG from the Body

KFC and MSG + Aresnic

Ruby Tuesday and MSG

Wendys - Now, that's Better?

Zaxbys "Special" Sauce

Does Hydrolyzed Equal MSG?

I like that the FDA is finding and recalling health products that have contamination or undisclosed ingredients. Regardless of whether a product is natural or a drug, I believe the FDA should let us know when something contains contaminants or when labeling is misleading. However, the Food and Drug Adminstration often seems selective in catching or banning such mislabeling.

Truth in Labeling, really? MSG sliding through the FDA labeling cracks: For example, there are quite a few ingredient names used to disquise the presence of monosodium glutamate ( free glutamic acid ) in products but so far the FDA has not gone after any of the many manufacturers who still use one or more than many ingredient names that contain msg or have been altered in manufacture in such a way as to release or create free glutamic acid.

As a person very allergic to msg (monosodium glutamate) in all forms, and as a person who also has done her homework and knows that msg is an excito-toxin that is poisonous to the body, I am offended that the FDA still allows manufactures to hide this ingredient under so many other names.

I honestly believe free glutamic acid and msg are both toxic and should not be in foods at all, whether it's monosodium glutamate outright or msg that has been created thru processing or alteration of some ingredients. It is confusing to me exactly what the difference is but it appears that free glutamic acid, created when soy protein or whey protein is isolated or when certain extractives are created, does the exact same thing to a body that outright msg does.

Here are just a few of the ingredients that either always or sometimes contain msg / free glutamic acid: stock, whey protein extract, isolated soy protein, guar gum, pea protien, whey protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein (Red Lobster skirts around the msg issue with HVP), enzyme modified, autolyzed yeast extract, broth, bullion, calcium caseinate, natural flavoring, hydrolyzed oat flour, gelatin, barley malt, pectin, potassium glutamate, malt extract, soy sauce, soy protein isolate, stock, textured protein or texturized protein, maltodextrin, whey protein, yeast extract and natural meat tenderizer. For more on sources of hidden msg / free glutamic acid, please visit the Truth in Labeling page on hidden sources of msg.

Eating out is a huge challenge for the glutamate-sensitive individual. Avoiding gravies, soups and diet foods (MSG added because reduction in fat often equals reduction in flavor) and diet salad dressings can reduce the risk but really, MSG (or hidden msg via products that contain free glutamic acid as an unlabeled ingredient) could be in anything you order at a restaurant.

Monosodium Glutamate is not the only additive approved by the FDA, for wide use in foods and beverages, which is known to create serious health challenges and allergic response in many who consume them and to even more people with asthma, severe allergies or other health issues such as gastrointestinal challenges.

Others include carrageenan, xylitol, sorbitol and aspartame.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that breaks down into methyl alcohol ... How 'bout that one? Ask your doctor if it would be ok if you drank methyl alcohol every day. See what he or she says. Aspartame has been linked to a long list of side effects and reactions including chronic fatique, major headaches, depression, problems with menstrual cycle, constipation, etc. In studies done with rats, the ingestion of aspartame resulted in tumors of the brain and grand mal seizures in some of the rats. Yet, aspartame continues to be FDA-approved and your children probably drink or eat something containing it.

Health Care Disclaimer: I have been repeatedly told, by companies that include msg in their products and most significantly by the reps for one of the biggest and oldest soup companies around, that msg is not harmful. I simply and absolutely do not believe that. I also believe MSG is added intentionally to soups and children's products to increase consumption of those products by children. As an excitotoxin, MSG excites the taste buds and so children want more of whatever contains it.