Excitotoxicity is the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged or killed by excessive stimulation by neurotransmitters such as glutamic acid (glutamate).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1969 when researcher Dr. John Olney of Washington\nUniversity in St. Louis observed that process in his laboratory, it should <\/em>have resulted in sweeping changes\nin how food additives are regulated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He noted that glutamate fed as monosodium glutamate (MSG) to laboratory animals\nkilled brain cells and subsequently caused gross obesity, reproductive\ndysfunction, and behavior abnormalities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Before that, the world knew nothing of what Dr. Olney had\ndubbed \u201cexcitotoxins.\u201d And after Olney\u2019s discovery, the existence of free excitotoxic\namino acids present in food became the best-guarded secret of the food and drug\nindustries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, excitotoxins present in food remain largely ignored\nor unknown, mostly because the rich and powerful food and pharmaceutical industries\nwant it that way. A great deal of food industry profit depends on using excitotoxins\nto \u201cenhance\u201d the taste of cheaply made food. And a great deal of pharmaceutical\nindustry profit depends on selling drugs to \u201ccure\u201d the diseases and disabilities\ncaused by the excitotoxins in the food supply. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What\nare excitotoxins?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Excitotoxins are often amino acids, but not all amino acids are excitotoxins. The amino acid with the greatest excitotoxic footprint is glutamate. When present in protein or released from protein in a regulated fashion (through routine digestion), glutamate is vital to normal body function. It is the major neurotransmitter in humans, carrying nerve impulses from glutamate stimuli to glutamate receptors throughout the body. Yet, when present outside of protein in amounts that exceed what the healthy human body was designed to accommodate (which can vary widely from person to person), glutamate becomes an excitotoxic neurotransmitter, firing repeatedly, damaging targeted glutamate-receptors and\/or causing neuronal and non-neuronal death by over exciting those glutamate receptors until their host cells die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technically speaking, neurotransmitters that over-stimulate\ntheir receptors to the point of killing the cells that host them are called excitotoxic\nneurotransmitters, and the resulting condition is referred to as\nexcitotoxicity. Glutamate excitotoxicity is the process that underlies the\ndamage done by MSG and the other ingredients that contain processed free\nglutamic acid (MfG). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Glutamate is called a non-essential amino acid because if\nthe body does not have\nsufficient quantities to function normally, any needed glutamate can be produced\nfrom other amino acids. So, there is no need to add glutamate to the human diet.\nThe excitotoxins in MSG and other ingredients that contain MfG are not needed\nfor nutritional purposes. MSG and many other ingredients have been designed to\nenhance the taste of cheaply made food for the sole purpose of lining the\npockets of those who manufacture and sell them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Glutamate neurotransmitters trigger glutamate receptors\nboth in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissue (heart, lungs, and\nintestines, for example). After stimulating glutamate receptors, glutamate neurotransmitters\nmay do no damage and simply fade away, so to speak, or they may damage the\ncells that their receptors cling to, or overexcite their receptors until the cells\nthat host them die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s another possibility. There are a great many\nglutamate receptors in the brain, so it\u2019s possible that if a few are damaged or\nwiped out following ingestion of MfG, their loss may not be noticed because\nthere are so many undamaged ones remaining. It is also possible that\nindividuals differ in the numbers of glutamate receptors that they have. If so,\npeople with more glutamate receptors to begin with are less likely to feel the\neffects of brain damage following ingestion of MfG because even after some\ncells are killed or damaged, there\nwill still be sufficient numbers of undamaged cells to carry out normal\nbody functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That might account for the fact that some people are more\nsensitive to MfG than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Less is known about glutamate receptors outside the brain \u2013\nin the heart, stomach, and lungs, for example. It would make sense (although\nthat doesn\u2019t make it true) that cells serving a particular function would be\ngrouped together. It would also seem logical that in each location there would\nbe fewer glutamate receptors siting on host cells than found in the brain, and\nfor some individuals there might be so few cells with glutamate receptors to\nbegin with, that ingestion of even small amounts of MfG might trigger asthma,\natrial fibrillation, or irritable bowel disease; while persons with more cells\nhosting glutamate receptors would not notice damage or loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Short-term effects of excitotoxic glutamate (such as asthma\nand migraine headache) have long been obvious to those not influenced by the\nrhetoric of the glutamate industry and their friends at the U.S. Food and Drug\nAdministration. Hopefully, researchers will soon begin to correlate the adverse\neffects of glutamate ingestion with endocrine disturbances such as reproductive\ndisorders and gross obesity. It is well known that glutamate plays an important\nrole in some mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, but the fact that\ningestion of excitotoxic glutamate might contribute to existing pools of free\nglutamate that could become excitotoxic,\nstill needs to be considered. Finally, a few have begun to realize the\nimportance of glutamate\u2019s access to the human body through the mouth, nose and\nskin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are three excitotoxic amino acids used in quantity in\nfood, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals,\nprotein drinks and powders, and dietary supplements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) Glutamic acid — found in flavor enhancers, infant\nformula, enteral care products for invalids, protein powders, processed foods,\nanything that is hydrolyzed, and some pesticides\/fertilizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Aspartic acid — found in low-calorie sweeteners,\naspartame and its aliases, infant formula, protein powders, anything that is\nhydrolyzed, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) L-cysteine — found in dough conditioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Dr. Edward Group, the six most dangerous\nexcitotoxins are: MSG (monosodium glutamate), aspartate, domoic acid, L-BOAA,\ncysteine, and casein. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Edward Group The 6 Most Dangerous Excitotoxins. Global\nHealing Center. (accessed 8\/20\/2016)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blaylock RL. Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills<\/em>. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Health Press; 1994.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olney JW. Brain Lesions, Obesity, and Other Disturbances in Mice Treated with Monosodium Glutamate; Science<\/em>. 1969;164:719-21. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Olney JW, Ho OL. Brain damage in infant mice following oral intake of glutamate, aspartate or cystine. Nature<\/em>. 1970;227:609-611.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olney, J.W. Excitatory neurotoxins as food additives: an evaluation of risk. Neurotoxicology<\/em> 2: 163-192, 1980.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olney JW. Excitotoxins in foods. Neurotoxicology<\/em>. 1994 Fall;15(3):535-44. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gudi\u00f1o-Cabrera G, Ure\u00f1a-Guerrero ME, Rivera-Cervantes MC, Feria-Velasco AI, Beas-Z\u00e1rate C. Excitotoxicity triggered by neonatal monosodium glutamate treatment and blood-brain barrier function. Arch Med Res<\/em>. 2014 Nov;45(8):653-9. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Verywellhealth.com. \nAn Overview of Cell Receptors and How They Work https:\/\/www.verywellhealth.com\/what-is-a-receptor-on-a-cell-562554<\/a> (Accessed 5\/5\/2019)<\/p>\n