When Dr. Russell Blaylock came out with his eye-opening book in 1994, \u201cExcitotoxins: the Taste that Kills,\u201d he forecast an ongoing obesity epidemic based on the sheer amount of MSG and other excitotoxins dumped into processed foods and beverages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, almost three decades later he says, \u201cUnfortunately, my prediction has come true. Obesity is now a national epidemic \u2013 not just among adults, but also among children, even the very young.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the damage caused by our national obesity epidemic didn\u2019t stop with extreme weight gain. It has helped to foster another widespread condition (even called a \u201cpandemic\u201d by some doctors and researchers), known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD. This chronic liver condition was a rare occurrence only a few decades ago. Now it\u2019s not only rampant among adults but being diagnosed more and more in kids, some just toddlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the name implies, NAFLD is a buildup of fat in the liver, something that can progress to a life-threatening condition called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can lead to liver failure and liver cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MSG has the distinction of contributing to NAFLD and NASH is two ways. As Blaylock revealed in Excitotoxins<\/em>, it had been decisively shown in research that baby mice fed MSG became \u201cgrossly obese,\u201d and that their \u201cobesity was very difficult to reverse.\u201d (Today, researchers turn to MSG as a tool to fatten up their lab animals for obesity studies.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other way MSG is helping to create this pandemic of liver disease was found in a study showing how low doses of MSG (extremely easy to consume if you eat any kind of processed food), combined with the ever-popular sweetener high fructose corn syrup, \u201cgreatly increased the risk\u201d of both liver conditions, Blaylock recently reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HFCS, a cheap genetically modified sugar substitute, is extremely toxic to the liver. Study after study has found a significant connection between ingesting all forms of processed fructose and liver damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for MSG and the manufactured free glutamate (MfG) it contains, it not only is a major cause of obesity that leads to NAFLD, but has been linked to numerous other conditions including many incapacitating neurological disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ironically, many processed foods labeled as \u201clow-cal,\u201d which are pitched to those hoping to lose weight, contain the worst additives when it comes to weight loss, as well as liver health. For example, HFCS-90, with a whopping 90 percent fructose, is often added to diet dishes, as only a small amount is needed for sweetening. And since lower-calorie processed foods are typically made from cheap, tasteless ingredients, MSG and other forms of MfG are added liberally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Dr. Blaylock has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the toxic nature of MSG and other excitotoxins \u2014 warning for decades about the dangers of consuming them \u2013 unfortunately, you still don\u2019t have to look very hard to find them in our food supply.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n But perhaps as even more children sadly fall victim to suffering the consequences of the widespread use of such additives, more people will join those already demanding change<\/a> in how processed foods are made and regulated.<\/p>\n