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MSG - The Deadly
Mouth Aphrodisiac
By Janet Allen c. 2000 All Rights
Reserved
"The worst piece of information I have when
I am in the midst of the reaction is that I am going to live. I only want to
die. It will not happen...I know I will live through this, and that's torture."
"I come across embarrassingly as if I have
brain damage, even though I graduated from a good college, top of my class."
"If I don't make it, I don't eat it. I have
to make everything from scratch. I can't eat in restaurants. It's just really
pathetic and I'm really depressed."
What do the people who made these comments
have in common? What devastating condition could they possibly be referring to,
the one factor which makes their lives at times akin to a living hell? The
answer is a condition termed "MSG Symptom Complex" by the Federation of American
Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), an independent body of scientists
sponsored by the U.S. government's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in
September 1992 to review all available data bearing on the safety of the food
additive Monosodium Glutamate and related substances.
For a full one third of the U.S. population
(70 to 75 million Americans) , consuming this chemical (as well as the close
relative Aspartame, also known as "Nutrasweet" or "Equal") will result in mild
to moderate physiological and emotional reactions. For a small minority of
people, accidental ingestion could prove to be severely debilitating and
sometimes even life-threatening.
What's worse, the New England Journal of
Medicine and Science Magazine have both published articles linking Glutamic Acid
and other excitatory amino acids (namely Aspartic Acid and L-Cysteine) to the
development of various neurological diseases.
The FDA-funded FASEB report was in response
to a set of laws on the books designed "to protect the public health, to
prohibit the use in food of additives which have not been adequately tested to
establish their safety." In 1958, the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 21)
established a FOOD ADDITIVES AMENDMENT which subsequently required that
manufacturers show "proof of a reasonable certainty that no harm will result
from the proposed use of an additive." This included the DELANEY CLAUSE, which
demanded a federal ban on any food additive shown to cause cancer when fed to
either animals or humans.
At the Fourth Annual No MSG (National
Organization Mobilized to Stop Glutamate) Conference held in Los Angeles in
October 1996, members flew in from all over the country to hear lectures by
respected doctors, scientists, authors, and activists, receiving legislative
updates, medical findings, food and nutritional tips, and a chance to gain more
information on how to cope with MSG sensitivity. The following attendees agreed
to share their unique stories with us:
Erik J. of New Jersey has been experiencing
symptoms since college. For a period in excess of 24-hours after ingesting MSG,
Aspartame, or Sulfites, he develops a cloudy head, faded memory, an inability to
concentrate, and excess nervous energy. It has impacted his life enough to
motivate this cross-country journey.
Kaye W. of Montana watched her infant
daughter react negatively to MSG-infused
baby food back in the 1950's. Her own typical
reactions have included stomach aches, swollen abdomen and gums, frequent
urination, difficulty in focusing her eyes, and extreme "gallbladder pains" that
have lasted for up to a week. In addition, her rectal and genital regions become
highly irritated and inflamed, complete with hardening of the tissues and
vaginal bleeding. After a particularly serious attack from eating an offensive
salad dressing, her doctor even suggested per- forming a colostomy. After
eliminating MSG from her diet, the condition resolved itself completely and
surgery was cancelled. She happily lost 20 pounds within 2 months from this
change in her food intake.
Natalie M. of Los Angeles suffers severe
12-18 hour migraine headaches that don't hit her until 8-10 hours after she has
swallowed MSG. At that point, she can't ingest anything and even regurgitates
her own saliva. Her ability to function plummets to zero until the reaction
abates. It is a self-described nightmare.
Ten years ago, Pat Conway of Palm Springs,
California would meet her mother for lunch every Wednesday at the same Chinese
restaurant. By the end of the meal each week, like clockwork, she would become
clammy and sick, plagued by diarrhea. Progressively over time, the symptoms
became worse: chest pains, heart pounding, depression. The doctor diagnosed her
condition as "panic attacks" and accused her of being a hypochondriac.
Previously affluent and happily married, this "mystery illness" destroyed her
relationship. Eventually she learned that she was acutely sensitive to MSG.
Today, a single bite of food laced with this
flavor enhancer will trigger full respiratory arrest for Conway within 30
seconds. At a sea- food restaurant, one nibble of shrimp cocktail (which the
waitress had assured her contained no MSG) landed her in the hospital emergency
room for 4 hours with a heart rate of 200 beats per minute, followed by severe
depression. In another instance, eating a little bag of flavored nuts during an
airplane ride resulting in the stewardess having to drop her the oxygen mask.
The numerous breathing crises she has endured have caused her to develop asthma.
She's moved to a house only two minutes away
from the E.R. The paramedics have been summoned to her rescue so many times that
she not only knows them by name, but has begun educating them and the hospital
staff on this affliction of which most medical professionals are largely
ignorant. She feels it just as necessary to inform the general public,
especially those employed in the food service industry. "People who work in
restaurants are as much a problem as the problem. Because of my MSG sensitivity,
they treat me like a space alien, embarrass me, tell me not to worry. They
believe that my allergic response would consist only of a little itching and a
few hives."
Los Angeles resident David Livingstone has
been taken for a wild ride of his own on the MSG roller coaster as a result of
the food industry's lax attitude toward the problem. In July 1993 during a
business lunch, he ordered vegetable soup at a Marie Callender's Restaurant
after his waitress represented to him that it was free of monosodium glutamate.
He had clearly advised her of his health concerns, after which she assured him
that the chefs made all the soups from scratch daily.
Walking back to his office, he felt the
symptoms of an asthma attack coming on. His inhaler did not provide him with the
usual relief, so he promptly drove over to his primary care physician, who was a
close 5 minutes away. Experiencing intense bowel discomfort, diarrhea, and
profuse perspiration, it was there that he passed out and went into massive
anaphylactic shock (a chemically-induced poisoning of the system), which
triggered severe respiratory arrest. Apparently, the MSG had triggered a
response for his lungs to shut down. His doctor began applying CPR, which was
then taken over by the paramedics who arrived to transport him to the hospital
by ambulance.
Once there, he went into full cardiac arrest
and lost his pulse for 7 minutes. More CPR was administered, during which time
some ribs were cracked. After being worked on for an hour, David was finally
resuscitated and stabilized. For the next 3 days, he was unconscious on a
respirator in the Intensive Care Unit, then remained another 3 days in the
hospital for observation and treatment. An MIR determined that there was some
deadening of the gray matter of his brain due to Hypoxia (lack of blood flow to
deliver oxygen). He still remains with a slight neurological deficit.
Back on his feet and more than a bit
perturbed, this less-than-satisfied customer returned to the same restaurant to
do a bit of investigation. Inquiring about the exact recipe of the vegetable
soup, he discovered that it actually contained "beef base," a pasty, tar-like
material on whose label MSG was clearly listed as an ingredient. Because soup is
hot and liquid, the glutamate it contains is absorbed very quickly into the
human system and causes a more severe, immediate reaction. Because he claims his
"near-death experience" was a direct result of Marie Callender's providing him
with wrong information, David Livingston initiated in June 1994 a Products
Liability and Misrepresentation Lawsuit against the company. Intending to
protect other consumers as well as himself, he feels that "restaurants need to
be more proactive in providing information about their food's internal
ingredients to sensitive individuals, especially those that ask." The case is
set for trial in June 1997 in the Glendale Superior Court.
Restaurants making false allegations about
their use of MSG may just be more the rule than the exception. Jack Samuels, who
founded the Illinois-based TRUTH IN LABELING CAMPAIGN with his wife Adrienne
(both are MSG-sensitive), recounts the tale of an ABC news station in San Diego
that investigated 10 different Oriental restaurants, each claiming they didn't
use any MSG. After a laboratory tested food purchased from each venue, the
chemical was indicated to be present in all samples. A similar venture pursued
by a New York station uncovered an equivalent amount of fraudulent claims by
that city's eateries.
David Livingston and ABC are not alone in
their pursuit of honesty and integrity in the culinary MSG minefield: In 1988, a
Pasadena, California District Attorney successfully sued Union Foods for
mislabeling their Golden Ramen soups as containing
"NO MSG," when in fact it did. Under Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act, the FDA has acknowledged that such a practice would be considered
deceptive mislabeling
of a product. A California Civil Code also permits such a lawsuit if a company
makes untrue representations. The Japanese-owned company agreed to pay a
$153,000 fine and recall 455,000 cases of the soup.
In December 1994, a Citizen Petition was
filed by the TRUTH IN LABELING CAMPAIGN (in conjunction with 29 independent
citizens, including 10 physicians) requesting the FDA take specific action. It
asked that all processed foods be tested for the presence of glutamates and, if
present, that MSG be identified and its amount listed in grams on the label.
It's estimated that the total investment in these testing and relabeling
procedures would fall around $3 billion, resulting in a price increase of only
one quarter cent per product. When the FDA failed to respond within the
prescribed 180 days, lawyers for the petitioners filed suit in Federal Court in
August 1995. As the FDA first attempted to have the Court dismiss the Complaint,
then was withholding important documents and evidence in their possession, the
trial date has been continually postponed, but is scheduled for sometime this
year.
HOLD THE MSG!
If all this uproar over a simple seasoning
has taken you by surprise, then pull out your chopsticks and get ready to burst
a well-established bubble, for the "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" has gone
international. If you thought the only place you had to exclaim "Hold the MSG!"
while ordering a meal was at your local chow mein eatery or egg roll takeout
joint, read on. Its presence has spread like a virus, in epidemic proportions,
into almost everything we eat (at least anything that's "convenient"), and we've
all been fooled. This article is to shed light on the deleterious effects of
Monosodium Glutamate, a dangerous "excitotoxin" which is currently used in some
form in almost every single processed, pre-cooked, and pre-packaged food
manufactured today, whether frozen, canned, boxed, or dried. Not always
detectable by examining the product label, it may be hidden under any one of a
number of seemingly innocuous, even wholesome and healthy-sounding ingredients.
So buyer beware, as it may not always s be-where you expect to find it.
A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
If ever there was a wolf in sheep's
clothing, this was it. Until recently, the wool had been pulled securely over
the eyes of even this health food advocate, and I was adamant to reverse the
damage now that my blindfold had been lifted. I had just finished devouring two
incredible books on the subject, and this powerful new knowledge inspired the
activist in me to take my first action. Armed with a bag of product "rejects" in
one hand and a list of food additives in the other, I ventured into the grocery
store and sniffed out the customer service desk, determined to take advantage of
the company's "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" policy. (Many
supermarkets and health food stores have such policies in place, even if the
products have been opened or used.) I knew it would be the first time that a
customer returned items because they contained not just MSG, but "hydrolyzed
vegetable protein," "natural flavorings," "corn syrup," "barley malt", or
"calcium caseinate," so I came prepared--documentation close at hand--to explain
the whole story should any argument ensue. Surprisingly, the manager quickly and
cheerfully refunded my money, casually commenting, "So you're allergic to MSG,
huh?"
COBRA IN A BASKET Allergic? Tip of the
iceberg, I thought. Try brain cell destruction; try Alzheimer's Disease; try
neurodegenerative ailments. If he only knew the extent to which I yearned to
spew two volumes worth of statistics, scientific data and case studies at him
like so many cognitive bricks, shattering an ignorance that permeates the food
industry and consumers alike.
Because although approximately one-third of
all Americans are sensitive to MSG consumption, reacting with symptoms running
the gamut from fatigue, headaches, nausea, and diarrhea to heart irregularities,
asthma attacks, and depression, the down-and-dirty bottom line of this
excitotoxin's detrimental effects on the human organism is devastatingly simple:
Consumed over a long period of time in great enough quantities, monosodium
glutamate poses a serious threat to one's physical, mental, and emotional
well-being. Like a cobra curled up in a basket, this toxic substance has
insidiously slithered its way into the cuisine of an entire generation and
waits, coiled and silent, ready to pounce on even the most unsuspecting victim.
Its venom, its poison accumulates invisibly...a predator that may strike now or
later, sparing some fortunate individuals, striking others without warning. So,
Mr. Grocery Store Manager, NO, I'm not allergic to MSG in the classic sense (as
far as I know, although I don't keep track of every headache or bout of minor
depression), but YES, I definitely am allergic to Death. So give me my money
back, please.
AT THE ORIGIN OF FLAVOR
Who would have dreamed that at the root of
this whole fiasco was an innocent little piece of seaweed? For thousands of
years, Japanese chefs had been spicing up their cuisine by the simple addition
of a flavor-enhancing ocean plant called "kombu" or "sea tangle" (Laminaria
japonica), which can still be purchased in many specialty or natural foods
outlets. A chemistry professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo named Kikunae
Ikeda began to investigate this seaweed's amazing, yet mysterious, qualities,
and in 1908 was successful in isolating its active ingredient as the sodium salt
of the amino acid Glutamic Acid, or Monosodium Glutamate.
Aware that a potential treasure chest sat
bubbling in his test tube, Ikeda quickly patented his newly discovered food
secret and teamed up with another enterprising businessman, Saburosuke Suzuki,
to form the Ajinomoto Company (litreal translation: "At the Origin of Flavor").
Their intention was to synthesize this substance in the laboratory and introduce
it to the world in a massive campaign of development, marketing, and
distribution. By 1933, production had escalated to 10 million pounds yearly, and
"Ajinomoto" (the term is used interchangeably with MSG) was the Orient's most
popular seasoning.
Its consumption has doubled in every decade
since the 1940's, with the United States alone using in excess of 80 million
pounds annually. Additionally, this figure fails to include the enormous
quantities of hydrolyzed vegetable protein used (an ingredient also produced by
the Ajinomoto Co.), which contains between 12-20% MSG and is mixed into
everything from canned tuna fish to baby food to those vegetarian meat
substitutes you thought were safe. Today, this same company is responsible for
manufacturing more than half the world's supply, and has managed to make it a
staple within the processed food and restaurant industries. What wheat is to
bread, MSG is to almost anything in a box, bottle, or can.
Is a relatively fragile molecule and it may be lost from
foods during preparation, cooking and/or storage. In spite of the fact that
vitamin C is easily destroyed, it has the ability to preserve foods by virtue of
its role as a reducing agent.
Some scientists believe that naturally occurring
bioflavinoids increase the influence of ascorbic acid on good health. Flavinoids
are, in essence, plant pigments largely responsible for the colors of many
fruits and vegetables containing large quantities of Vitamin C.
Some plants and animals are able to produce their own
ascorbic acid because they have a cascade of enzyme that can transform glucose
into ascorbic acid when needed. Interestingly, somewhere in the chain of
evolution, humans either lost or never developed the enzymes that can
manufacture Vitamin C, and therefore are dependent on dietary intake of ascorbic
acid.
We have experienced results in this field with cancer,
HIV, Chron's, Lupis and other autoimmune disorders, skin bruises and other skin
disorders in our practice.
The key to good health, mental and spiritual well being is
to know yourself, believe in yourself, love yourself truly from the heart.
Understand we were all created perfectly and equally. Stay focused, enjoy and
live every moment fully.
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