Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer. In a 1995 report by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, two groups of people were defined as intolerant of MSG. This includes those who eat large quantities of MSG and those with "poorly controlled asthma". Our research indicates that anyone can suffer after consuming monosodium glutamate; especially if they are deficient in either taurine or magnesium. In the 1995 report, which was contracted by the F.D.A., there was public admission that MSG yields the following symptoms:

• Burning sensation in the back of the neck, forearms and chest

• Numbness in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back

• Tingling, warmth, and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms

• Facial pressure or tightness

• Chest pain

• Headache

• Nausea

• Rapid heartbeat

• Bronchospasms (difficulty breathing)

• Drowsiness

• Weakness

Note that this is the short list (the one with side effects that the F.D.A. actually admits) and it does not consider the higher toxicity of direct injection into the blood. The long list, which is 15 times longer, includes heart attacks. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in rapid damage to nerve cells in the brain. MSG is in a special class of chemicals called excitotoxins, which are known to directly attack brain cells. In 1978, MSG was banned from baby foods and other baby products that were produced for children who were less than one year of age, because the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Academy of Sciences expressed concerns. It is now being used in these products again, in addition to being added to childhood vaccines.