Identifying MSG sensitivity is extremely difficult. The strangle-hold that chemical, food, drug, cosmetic, fertilizer, and pesticide industries have on the lives of Americans are nowhere better illustrated than in the glutamate industry's ability to guarantee the unrestricted use of processed free glutamic acid (MSG). These industrial giants have promoted the fiction that the pollutants and carcinogens poured into our food, drugs, cosmetics, fertilizers, and pesticides are not pollutants and carcinogens. They, through their wealth and positions of power, are ultimately responsible for medical school curricula that minimize the extent of the toxic effects of certain pollutants and carcinogens -- and for physicians' failure to look to these pollutants and carcinogens as a basis for much of the disease that currently plagues us. It is they who make generous contributions to universities and medical schools that carry out their research designs.  It is they who send friendly scientists on junkets around the world.  It is they who are directly responsible for the refusal of the United States government to regulate the use of processed free glutamic acid (MSG) in food.

There is no straightforward way to identify MSG in food, drugs, cosmetics, or dietary supplements.  So a consumer may have an MSG-induced adverse reaction, but, since MSG in food, drugs, cosmetics, and dietary supplements is not identified as such, the consumer may not realize that (s)he has come into contact with MSG.

Making matters worse, the "glutes" have sold the medical community on the fiction that reactions to MSG are allergic reactions--which is not true.  The "glutes" urge physicians to give allergy tests to people who might be MSG-sensitive, knowing full well that the MSG adverse reaction is a reaction to a toxin, not a reaction to an allergenic substance, and, as such, is not IgE mediated.  Traditional allergy tests only identify reactions that are IgE mediated.  The only way to determine if a person is sensitive to MSG is to feed MSG to that person and observe him or her for as long a 48 hours after feeding; or to have the person keep a record of food, drug, cosmetic, and dietary supplement use and MSG reactions. Learning to pinpoint MSG as a reaction trigger, recognizing reactions that might be MSG-induced adverse reactions, and understanding where MSG is hidden in food, are essential to recognizing or diagnosing MSG-induced adverse reactions.

Pinpointing MSG as a reaction trigger

A list of reactions that might be MSG-induced adverse reactions

Understanding where MSG is hidden

A list of ingredient names used to hide MSG in food

Migraine headache is the single most often reported adverse reaction to MSG.  As such, it might warrant special attention.  But migraine headache is really of special interest because it is never mentioned by the FDA, and never mentioned in glutamate industry propaganda.  It is so clear that MSG is a migraine headache trigger that no excuses are made by either industry or the FDA.  The subject of migraine headache is simply ignored.  Fortunately, the Internet gives wide coverage to the subject of migraine headache, and virtually every migraine headache clinic in the country refers to MSG as a migraine headache trigger. See, for example:

National Headache Foundation: MSG
www.headaches.org/consumer/topicsheets/msg.html

Migraine Headache: Northwestern University Medical School
www.nums.nwu.edu/neurology/meded/headache/MIGRAIN6.html

Migraine Headache - The San Francisco Headache Clinic - Headache
www.sfcrc.com/html/hatriggers.htm

A NOTE OF CAUTION:  Processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is a toxic substance.  A reaction to MSG is a reaction to a toxin/poison. A reaction to MSG is not an allergic reaction.  Traditional "allergy tests" will not identify people who are sensitive to a toxin/poison.
 
 

adandjack@aol.com 858/481-9333 http://www.truthinlabeling.org

This page was last updated on August 13, 2004.