Who has MSG sensitivity?

Answer 1

From http://www.msgmyth.com/brochure.pdf

Monosodium Glutamate, MSG, is called a "flavor enhancer". It is not a preservative and it has no nutritional value. It does nothing to food, but it does affect the person using it. It's called an "excitotoxin" or neurotoxin by leading neuroscientists because of its degenerative and deadly effects on the brain and nervous system. Neurons are over stimulated to the point of exhaustion and cell death. MSG first goes to the brain through membranes in the mouth and throat, and also enters the blood stream as MSG laden foods are digested. It tricks the brain into thinking it's getting something tasty.

MSG is not a naturally occurring substance. It's man-made from glutamic acid, which is an amino acid found in all complete proteins. These amino acids occur naturally in many plant and animal tissues. Artificially created MSG involves processes that break down and change naturalbound glutamate (usually from corn, grain starches, molasses) into various free forms of glutamate. One form, d-glutamic acid is never found in nature. Free glutamates can enter the blood stream 8-10 times faster than bound or natural glutamate which is found in tomatoes, milk, and mushrooms.

Commercial processes used today to manufacture MSG weren't in use until the 1960s. There's nothing "natural" about the MSG in wide use today. Aspartame (NutraSweet®) is another widely used excitotoxin.

MSG came into wide use in the mid-1970s and gained in popularity with food producers through the 1980s. MSG and aspartame are two powerful excitotoxic food additives that flooded the food industry by the mid-1980s. MSG is linked to numerous diseases, symptoms, and complaints. It affects the neurological systems of the body. These same ailments are being researched and reported to be on the rise, often unexpectedly and without explanation.

Here is a brief list of common effects of MSG and some curious statistics published by national organizations.

Heart maladies- More than 70 million Americans have one or more forms of cardiovascular disease and 43% of all deaths in the U.S. are related to these problems. The number of cardiovascular operations went up 287% from 1980-1990.

Alzheimer's disease, not an identifiable healthcare cost in 1980, now ranks third after cancer and Heart disease among the most costly health problems in America. Four million people afflicted at a cost of $47,000/person/year, is $188 billion/year in healthcare costs.

Headaches & Migraines- $2.2 billion/year are spent on drugs to treat headaches, with a 74% increase in these chronic conditions between 1980-1990.

Asthma, which was on the decline until the mid-eighties, now shows a 100% increase in the Death Rate among children and seniors. Incidence has increased 600% in the last 10 years. The FDA recognizes that "uncontrollable asthma" can be caused by MSG, but stops there, unfortunately.

Tumors- There has been an 88% increase in tumors since 1982.

Birth Defects and Reproduction Disorders - MSG is a known "mutagen" (mutates fetuses) and causes significant damage to intellectual development, growth patterns, reproduction and gonadal

functions.

Neurological/Emotional Disorders - Lab studies show devastating effects on brain development including dyslexia, autism, attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, schizophrenia, violent episodes (rage), panic attacks, seizures, paranoia, depression, and cerebral palsy. Humans are 5 times more

sensitive to MSG than rats which were used in tests.

Obesity is one of the most consistent effects of excitotoxin exposure and is a growing problem, nationwide, that knows no age or sex boundaries. In fact, scientists feed glutamate to young laboratory animals as a reliable way of inducing obesity. MSG triggers an insulin/adrenalin/fat storage/food craving response. This depletes seratonin levels which trigger headaches, depression, fatigue, and leads to more food cravings.

Fibromyalgia is a growing epidemic. Fibromyalgia patients who eliminated MSG and aspartame during a study conducted by the University of Florida reported complete relief of symptoms (2001).

Parkinson's, ALS, MS, and Huntington's diseases, like Alzheimer's, are all progressive neurogenic diseases showing brain/nerve cell damage.

Other symptoms of MSG sensitivity include: swollen throat and tongue, racing heart, joint pain, vertigo, skin disorders, sleeping disorders, burning, tightness or redness on face, and gastrointestinal complaints.

Answer 2

From http://www.geocities.com/missionstmichael/MSG.html

WHO IS SENSITIVE TO MSG?

MSG-sensitive people report reactions ranging from simple skin rash to severe depression and life-threatening physical conditions. Two or more reactions occurring together, or one following another, are not uncommon. The amount of MSG ingested may play a role in the severity and specific nature of a reaction. The intensity or severity of a reaction also appears to be affected by alcohol ingestion and/or exercise just prior to, or immediately following, MSG ingestion, and some women report variations in their reactions at different times in their menstrual cycles.

DIAGNOSIS OF MSG SENSITIVITY!

Diagnosis of MSG sensitivity is extremely difficult.

· None of the symptoms of MSG-toxicity are caused exclusively by MSG. Most, if not all, could be caused by various physical conditions as well as by other food additives.

· Some people eat MSG and react immediately. Some react as late as 48 hours after ingesting MSG. Of help in diagnosis is the fact that for any one person, the time between eating MSG and reacting to it is generally the same.

· Reactions are dose related. Some people can not tolerate even the smallest amount of MSG. Others tolerate single small amounts, but react to MSG when they ingest a gram or more in any one meal. Others can ingest five grams or more, without evidencing a reaction. Canned soups analyzed some time ago each contained about .6 grams MSG. Five grams of MSG can sometimes be found in a single meal.

· The adverse effects of MSG ingestion may be cumulative. People have reported eating products containing small amounts of MSG once a week without experiencing reactions, while having reactions when those same products were consumed two or three days in a row.

· MSG is very often hidden in food. Hiding MSG makes recognition of MSG so complex and confusing that people who are sensitive to MSG have a great deal of difficulty pinpointing their sensitivities. If a person reacted after eating something known to contain MSG, he might suspect that MSG was the culprit. But if that person had the same reaction after eating something that contained MSG, but did not disclose that fact on the label, he would very likely question his original suspicion. Until all sources of MSG are easily identifiable, evaluation of possible MSG reactions will be difficult.

Difficulty in diagnosing MSG-sensitivity is compounded by the industry practice of illegally advertising "No MSG," "No MSG Added," or "No Added MSG" on labels when products do contain MSG.

Diagnostic tools generally available to physicians are limited to a procedure called "challenge." In a physician's office, an appropriate dose (or doses) of MSG would be given to the patient, and provision would have to be made for both restricting the patient's contact with other potential reaction triggers and observing reactions delayed by as much as 48 hours.

As an alternative, physician and patient working together may be able to identify, or rule out, MSG as a reaction trigger through analysis of a patient food diary. Restricting intake to totally unprocessed food and drink for three weeks, then reintroducing items, one at a time, may help identify offending sources of MSG.