Even If It Is Too Late For Us, I Must Help YOU

Did you know that Americans consume 300 million pounds of excitotoxins each year? That figure does not even include aspartame. I have written about free glutamate in our food supply before, but I get obsessed about it periodically.



I think Greg and I have both suffered long-term damage from exposure to MSG and MSG derivatives from when we were infants and children. I bet the majority of us suffer from it. If you were born between 1950 and the mid-70s, possibly late seventies, MSG was added directly to infant formula and baby food. It wasn't until Dr. John Olney discovered brain lesions in laboratory rats that had been injected with MSG, and testified before congress that MSG exposure caused irreparable damage to the hypothalamus of infants, did the food industry agree to take it out.

Unfortunately for a lot of us, that was too late.

The hypothalamus is the part of the brain that controls the endocrine system, the
nervous system, and the pituitary gland. So an MSG damaged hypothalamus can cause immune system problems, reproductive problems, obesity-related problems due to a damaged endocrine system, and the inability to feel satiety or hunger.

I have had severe immune issues since I was a child. I was infertile. I'm certain my thyroid has never worked properly.

Greg has been overweight his entire life. MSG damaged adults have a disproportionate placement of fat in their abdomens and crave sweets. They don't feel full and cannot lose weight even when they diet.

Those are our symptoms. People also suffer autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, and Parkinson's disease later in life and are more susceptible to MSG or MSG derivatives as adults in the progression of their disease.

While actual MSG has been taken out of our children's formula and baby food, free glutamate in many different forms is still present in baby formula and it is in almost all processed food. The highest concentrations are in soups, salad dressings, gravies, and "flavored" foods like chips and crackers. Even organic processed food has high levels of free glutamate, because the FDA considers it "all natural", and if the glutamate is processed from organic sources it can be labeled as such.

I would like to say that we NEVER eat it, but we do and my kids were heavily exposed to it as infants. I avoid it whenever possible now, but I wasn't aware of these things when the children were babies, so Amanda received high levels of free glutamate in her soy formula. Soy protein isolate is MSG.

Hypothalamus damaged children often have ADHD and other spectrum disorders.

Here is the list of hidden sources of MSG in our food.

These ALWAYS contain MSG
Glutamate
Glutamic acid
Gelatin
Monosodium glutamate
Calcium caseinate
Textured protein
Monopotassium glutamate
Sodium caseinate
Yeast nutrient
Yeast extract
Yeast food
Autolyzed yeast
Hydrolyzed protein
(any protein that is hydrolyzed)
Hydrolyzed corn gluten
Natrium glutamate (natrium is Latin/German for sodium)


These OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing

Carrageenan
Maltodextrin
Malt extract
Natural pork flavoring
Citric acid
Malt flavoring
Bouillon and Broth
Natural chicken flavoring
Soy protein isolate
Natural beef flavoring
Ultra-pasteurized Soy sauce
Stock Barley malt
Soy sauce extract
Whey protein concentrate
Pectin
Soy protein
Whey protein
Protease
Soy protein concentrate
Whey protein isolate
Protease enzymes
Anything protein fortified
Flavors(s)
Flavoring(s)
Anything enzyme modified
Anything fermented
Natural flavor(s)
& flavoring(s) Enzymes anything Seasonings
(the word "seasonings")

As you can see, it is almost impossible to cut all of these out of your diet. But we limit them by not buying "flavored" stuff and avoiding frozen processed food or canned soups, even organic ones.

I think it is especially important to post this again for those of you that still have children under the age of three. The blood/brain barrier doesn't close until three and it is even more important for you to keep these out of your children's diet than it is for me. I have already damaged my children, I am sure.
It may be too late for us, but if I can help your children, then I feel like I'm doing something.

EDITED TO ADD: Is is not even 8:50am and I have already had a marketer of CAMPBELL'S SOUP contact me about giving me free products if I endorse Campbell's new SPONGE BOB soup. Uh, like sure. If you give your kids Sponge Bob soup, you are giving your child BRAIN DAMAGE. Do you know how much MSG is in that crap? So where is my free stuff now? HUH? See how they control what we eat?