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Sucker?

It sure is easy to get sucked into the “MSG-is-safe” advertising.  Let’s face it, they’re very good.  They’ve hired the best.  And we all can get pulled in.

I’m embarrassed to tell you how many times I’ve looked at the sentence “MSG is the salt form of the amino acid glutamate, which occurs naturally in a wide range of protein-rich foods and vegetables, such as shrimp, seaweed, and tomato,” and wondered if the sentence is designed to mean 1) “MSG,” a manufactured flavor enhancer, occurs naturally in food, or 2) “glutamate” occurs naturally in food.

It has only just occurred to me that the reader is supposed to come away with the idea that MSG occurs naturally in foods like shrimp, seaweed, and tomatoes.  That, after all, is one of the glutamate industry’s essential lies.

The truth is that MSG is manufactured.  It doesn’t occur naturally in anything. 

Here the lie is just put more subtly than usual.  Still, I can’t believe how long it took me to recognize this as fine-tuned propaganda designed to leave you and me with the misconception in our heads that MSG occurs naturally in food.  That’s how good they are at deceptive and misleading advertising.

In case you’ve missed the glutamate industry’s list of essential inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and deceptions we’ve recapped it here.

The six big fat lies 

#1: The glutamate contained in MSG is identical to the glutamate in the human body

#2: MSG is very well researched and found to be safe.

#3: It must be safe since the FDA has said so.

#4: MSG has been used for over a century without adverse reactions.

#5: MSG is naturally made, similar to yogurt, vinegar and wine.

#6: Monosodium glutamate occurs naturally in food. 

Actually: MSG is manufactured using genetically modified bacteria that excrete glutamic acid through their cell walls. In the United States, monosodium glutamate is produced in Ajinomoto’s plant in Eddyville, Iowa. 

The Ajinomoto plant in Eddyville, Iowa

The Whopper

Humans couldn’t eat enough Manufactured free Glutamic acid (MfG) to cause the brain damage, endocrine disorders, and assorted reactions that the laboratory animals had experienced. 

In addition to out and out lies, there’s the question of the ethics of omission of facts relevant to the safety of a product. The FDA says that it is illegal to omit relevant information when describing drugs.  That’s what the drug inserts are all about.  But according to the FDA – and the legislators who fund them – telling the whole truth about poisonous ingredients doesn’t hold true for food.

A big push has been launched in Nigeria to promote sales of MSG and the Nigerian branch of the Japanese company that now manufactures it.  As always, the propaganda aimed at Nigerians is attractive, persuasive, and delivered by authorities, celebrities and other “experts.”  Following are snippets (all of them lies) taken from a July 25, 2021 article in Punch:

“The safety of AJI-NO-MOTO® has long been scientifically proven and its safety approved by authorized agencies of the United Nations.”

“An extensive body of research which has been reviewed by scientists and governments around the world, including the US FDA, the American Medical Association, experts of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization and the European Commission’s Scientific Committee for Food demonstrates that glutamate is safe.” 

“Umami seasoning, according to [the subject of the interview] has been safely used as food ingredient since 1908 after it was discovered by a Japanese scientist, Dr. Kikunae Ikeda.”

“MSG’s 113-years history of safety validated by health organizations across the globe,” 

“MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese.” 

“MSG does not cause allergy; it does not cause asthma– no link at all; it does not cause obesity; no adverse effect on the lung. Again, no study has shown any group of people not to take glutamate.”

“Almost all seasoning contains MSG”

For more about the dangers posed by coming in contact with MfG (the poisonous ingredient in MSG) and the people who manufacture and market it, see:

There are seven lines of evidence leading to the conclusion that the manufactured free glutamate (MfG) in monosodium glutamate is toxic.

Data that demonstrate that glutamate in human tissue becomes excitotoxic – brain damaging – when present in amounts that exceed what a healthy person needs for normal body function.

Animal studies done in the 1970s that have demonstrated the toxicity of MSG and MfG.
And:
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/Data_from_the_1960s_and_1970s_demonstrate.pdf

Animal data offered inappropriately as evidence that MSG is harmless.

Alerts from independent researchers warning of dangers posed by ingesting MSG.

Human studies that have demonstrated the toxicity of MSG.

Glutamate industry human studies rigged to produce negative results (no harm done by MSG).

Thank you letters.

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Controversy FDA style

How does the FDA rationalize its ongoing defense of monosodium glutamate (MSG)? Easy, create a “controversy,” or more specifically, a controversy FDA style.

A controversy FDA style over the safety of MSG was fabricated (produced / manufactured / concocted) when:

1) Lots of people got sick after eating MSG (1), neuroscientists working outside of industry showed there was brain damage after feeding large doses of MSG to laboratory animals (2a,2b), and researchers studying glutamic acid (glutamate) in various corners of the globe warned that ingestion of free glutamate (such as that found in MSG) should be limited because it had been shown to be hazardous to human health (3); and   

2) The manufacturer of MSG produced research that guaranteed negative results (no harm done by the product) using placebos that would cause reactions identical to those caused by MSG, for example (4), suppressed information about the hazards of MSG (5), and, with the active support of the FDA (6) claimed that MSG is a harmless food additive.

Resources

1. Consumers tell us that ….
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/letters.html

2a. Review of animal studies done in the 1970s that have demonstrated the toxicity of MSG and MfG (including review of animal data offered inappropriately as evidence that MSG is harmless).
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/review_studies.pdf

2b. Evidence of excitotoxicity of ingested MfG demonstrated in animal studies done in the 1970s
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/Data_from_the_1960s_and_1970s_demonstrate.pdf

3.  Warnings
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/review_of_alerts_2.pdf

4. The fail-safe way to ensure that their studies would conclude MSG is harmless 
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/designed_for_deception_short.pdf

5. The Toxicity/Safety of Processed Free Glutamic Acid (MSG): A Study in Suppression of Information
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/manuscript2.pdf

6. Industry’s FDA
https://www.truthinlabeling.org/assets/industrys_fda_final.pdf


If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.

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Hydrolyzed Pea Protein

Two years ago, we posted a blog alerting you to the hidden, excitotoxic (brain damaging) free glutamate in pea protein. Since there has been a lot of interest in that topic, we think it’s time to repost the article. Here is the original piece, along with an interesting comment we received (and our reply) at the end.

Hydrolyzed Pea Protein

Ingredients called “protein” on ingredient lists are not proteins.

Beef is “beef,” soy is “soy,” tomatoes are “tomatoes,” and peas are “peas.” Those are the FDA’s “common or usual names” for whole foods. “Pea protein” is made of man-made amino acids manufactured in food processing plants with peas as the starting material. And each and every man-made/manufactured hydrolyzed pea protein will contain the three potentially toxic amino acids* aspartic acid, L-cysteine, and glutamic acid. This is true for every hydrolyzed protein. It may be called “natural,” “organic,” or “raw,” but it will still contain potentially toxic aspartic acid, L-cysteine, and glutamic acid. There are no exceptions. And there are no toxic amino acids in whole protein.

Today, there is a widespread marketing effort to substitute hydrolyzed vegetable protein for real protein, and to expand the use of hydrolyzed proteins in general. While there certainly are other varieties of hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, pea protein is presently the favorite of food manufacturers.

Substituting vegetables for meat may have many benefits for consumers, but hydrolyzed vegetable proteins don’t deliver vegetables. What they provide are arrays of amino acids which are produced in food processing and/or chemical plants. And three of those amino acids (L-cysteine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid) can be toxic to humans. These three amino acids are called “excitotoxins” by scientists. When consumed in amounts that exceed what a human needs for normal body function, they cause brain damage, endocrine disorders, and observable reactions such as asthma, migraine headache, a-fib, fibromyalgia, and seizures. Glutamic acid is the amino acid in MSG that causes brain damage, endocrine disruption, and adverse reactions.

Manufacturers’ claims of benefits for manufacturers

1) Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins are making great inroads into health and nutrition markets.

2) Every hydrolyzed protein will have flavor-enhancing properties. Glutamic acid, the amino acid that triggers taste buds to cause increased perception of taste, will be found in all hydrolyzed proteins.

3) Clean labels are certainly at the top of the list. Unfortunately, not all consumers have caught on to the fact that glutamic acid (a.k.a. glutamate), which is the toxic component of MSG, will be found in all hydrolyzed proteins. So while more and more consumers are attempting to avoid MSG, substituting a flavor-enhancing hydrolyzed vegetable protein for flavor-enhancing MSG would allow the product to have a “clean label” – one that would give the consumer no clue that it contained glutamate, MSG’s toxic component.

4) Hydrolyzed vegetable proteins will have great appeal for vegetarians, vegans and others who want to limit their intake of meat.

Manufacturers’ claims of benefits for consumers (which will also benefit industry)

1) Protein-rich, non-animal products are in great demand as more and more people look for substitutes for meat, fish, and poultry. Hydrolyzed proteins contain the arrays of amino acids that make up most proteins. So, properly promoted, hydrolyzed protein products will appeal to those looking for vegetarian or vegan sources of dietary protein. The fact that high-protein diets are being touted for weight-loss, makes these products even more attractive.

2) Chemical-free claims are another way the food industry is hyping hydrolyzed proteins. Although all hydrolyzed proteins are produced in food processing and/or chemical plants, industry’s promotional materials refer to hydrolyzed vegetable proteins as being “natural” – saying they are derived from a variety of “natural plant resources.”

That should be no surprise since MSG, which is made by fermentation of carefully selected genetically engineered bacteria that secrete glutamic acid through their cell walls, is referred to by industry as “naturally occurring.”

A production flow sheet for manufacturing hydrolyzed vegetable protein

3) Claims of health benefits from hydrolyzed vegetable proteins are typically made. Market-watchers claim that consumer awareness of these so-called benefits is increasing. The claim has been made that hydrolyzed vegetable proteins will help reduce intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, and because it’s an effective way to lower cholesterol, it will decrease the risk of heart disease.

But even with all that propaganda going for it, something is still bothering the glutamate industry.

You’d think that with all their research and planning, glutamate industry giants would feel secure in their efforts to sell hydrolyzed proteins to naïve consumers. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. It would appear that consumers’ growing recognition of the toxic effects of the manufactured glutamic acid in MSG, hydrolyzed proteins, maltodextrin, and some other 40+ ingredients is getting in the way of sales. One industry watcher said it this way, “The high contents of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in hydrolyzed protein products continues to be a bottleneck for pervasive adoption as consumers show an unprecedented alacrity** to read labels to spot ingredients with a bad rep in terms of potential side effects.”

The Truth in Labeling Campaign would like to take some of the credit for that greater consumer awareness and “alacrity.” So, let’s hear it for the Truth in Labeling Campaign — since 1994, providing consumers with the names of ingredients in which manufactured free glutamate, the brain-damaging, endocrine-disrupting, reaction-causing component of MSG, are hidden.

*killing brain cells and disrupting the endocrine system when present in quantity
**enthusiasm, readiness, quickness, promptness, speed, swiftness, rapidity, keenness, zeal

Comment from Cesar Barbero:

It is incredible the level of IGNORANCE in the post. All aminoacids could be toxic (like water) in excess, this is why they are degraded/excreted when eaten in excess. Pea protein contains > 20% glutamic acid covalently linked inside the protein chain. Upon ingestion, te protein is hydrolyzed in the digestive tract to free aminoacids (including glutamic acid). Eating partially hydrolyzed protein, raw protein isolate, raw peas or the completely hydrolized protein, is the same because only the aminoacids are absorbed. In fact, it has been shown that muscle growth (in bodybuiliding) is faster when using the completely hydrolyzed protein than the protein isolate, because no internal hydrolysis is required.

Reply from the Truth in Labeling Campaign:

Thank you for sharing your concerns.

You don’t seem to realized that there are only a handful of excitotoxic amino acids, and only three that are added to processed foods: glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and L-cysteine. (You might want to look up a definition of excitotoxicity.)

When the words “pea protein” appear on a food label, the ingredient being referred to is a hydrolyzed protein produced using peas as the starting material. If “peas” were an ingredient in a product, the ingredient label would say “peas.”

Your statement, ”Pea protein contains 20% glutamic acid covalently linked inside the protein chain. Upon ingestion, te protein is hydrolyzed in the digestive tract to free aminoacids (including glutamic acid)” pertains to the protein present in peas – whole, unadulterated, unprocessed peas. If “peas” were an ingredient in a product, the ingredient label would say “peas.”

What is the meaning of, “[amino acids] are degraded/excreted when eaten in excess.”

The following statement is not true. It is not true that “Eating partially hydrolyzed protein, raw protein isolate, raw peas or the completely hydrolized protein, is the same ……” Truth is that when proteins are hydrolyzed, the glutamate produced is accompanied by unwanted by-products of production.

What is the meaning of “…the same because only the aminoacids are absorbed.” Are you saying that when you eat something nothing is absorbed except amino acids? No vitamins, minerals, starches etc.?

The following is irrelevant to the material covered in the post, but could you tell me, anyhow, the source of this statement: “ In fact, it has been shown that muscle growth (in bodybuiliding) is faster when using the completely hydrolyzed protein than the protein isolate, because no internal hydrolysis is required.” I seem to have missed reading that research report.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns. I’m sure our readers will appreciate both your comments and our replies.

If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.

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Have you been eating these popular FDA-approved chemical stews?

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented untold challenges for people everywhere. For certain segments of the U.S. food industry, however, it was likely a dream come true.

Sales of what the FDA calls “substitute” foods are off the charts, and new products are being introduced at a record pace. According to industry experts, last year saw an almost 30 percent increase in these “foods,” with sales hitting the $7 billion mark (that’s right, B as in billion), far exceeding the growth of the “total U.S. retail food market.” As a result, experts now consider 2020 to have been “a breakout year for plant-based foods across the store.”

But what do those billions of dollars in sales represent? Not a healthy new way to eat while saving the planet, that’s for sure. In truth, these products, which are advertised as being wholesome alternatives to real meat, fish and eggs, are chemically laden promotors of obesity, infertility and migraines, filled with brain-damaging manufactured free glutamic acid (MfG) — the same toxic ingredient found in monosodium glutamate.

So, what are these toxic products made from and how do manufacturers get away with using the names of real food on their packaging?

Ersatz eggs

Let’s start with plant-based “eggs,” an unknown commodity just a short time ago that is now out-selling the real deal at ten times the rate.

The leader in the artificial egg game is JUST, Inc., makers of JUST Egg, which contains nothing that any reasonable person would consider having come from a bird of any kind. JUST, however, has no shame about splashing the word EGG all over its product and website. The company (known as Hampton Creek when it introduced its first fake product, mock mayo) is apparently taking advantage of an odd FDA loophole in the “standard of identity” (SOI) for what can be called an egg. While the FDA requires that there be a legally binding SOI for hundreds of items from peanut butter to pasta (consisting of a detailed description of that food), you won’t find eggs among them. And, to make things even crazier, the FDA is prohibited from creating an SOI for eggs.

So, a product concocted of mung bean protein isolate (containing MSG’s toxic component MfG), canola oil, tetrasodium pyrophosphate (a thickening agent or coagulant) and transglutaminase (a.k.a. “meat glue”), among other highly processed ingredients, came to be called “egg,” outselling highly nutritional real eggs.

Fake fish

The ever-expanding market for imitation food has reeled in a host of phony fish dishes, the latest coming from “Good Catch,” with its “fish-free TUNA.”

This product contains more brain damaging MfG ingredients than any other product we’ve previously looked at, including pea protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, faba protein, lentil protein, soy protein isolate, citric acid and yeast extract.

Why the company has not been challenged by the FDA for false and misleading labeling isn’t clear, since the FDA has a long list of what can legally be called tuna, which is limited to actual varieties of real fish. Nestle, which also makes a faux fish product at least calls it “Vuna,” a product that “tastes like tuna.”

That little detail hasn’t stopped “Good Catch” from netting millions of dollars in investment capital, including close to $30 million in its latest round of funding.

The big kahuna of mock meat

While meatless burgers and nuggets have been around for some time, it wasn’t until Impossible Foods came along with the additive-filled concoction it calls a “burger” that the market for consuming bogus beef took off.

While Impossible claims it’s busy saving the Earth from devastation, it doesn’t have much to say on its main component, soy-protein concentrate, an MfG filled excitotoxic ingredient. And that’s not the only one. You’ll also find natural flavors, potato protein, yeast extract and soy-protein isolate in their “burgers.”

Aside from the known brain-damaging nature of these ingredients, there’s also a GMO ingredient called soy leghemoglobin, or heme, added as a color additive to make the burger appear to “bleed” like real meat. That’s now the subject of a lawsuit filed by The Center for Food Safety (CFS) challenging the FDA’s approval of the ingredient.

This genetically modified soy (a newcomer to the human diet), was OK’d by the FDA without “extensive safety testing before approving its use,” CFS states.

The heme is produced by a chemically complex process in which the DNA from genetically modified soy is extracted, inserted into genetically engineered yeast and fermented to produce genetically engineered heme.

The FDA has no comment as to the regulatory compliance of these fake foods other than saying (in a 2018 press release) that it’s on a “fast track” in reviewing “substitute” food products. The last we were told by the FDA is that staffers there are busy reading over 13,000 comments on this issue and that they take “labeling concerns seriously.” But apparently not all that seriously, as more and more foods that aren’t really foods are being manufactured and misleadingly labeled all the time.

How one health crisis is helping to fuel another

It seems that it took a world-wide health crisis to give these “substitute” products the push needed to rake in those billions in sales. Along with meat shortages last year and the all-around difficulty in buying actual food items, somehow these products became labeled by some as “healthier” eating, with numerous articles attributing the plant-based “revolution” to Covid-19.

But despite all the extravagant claims made by manufacturers, if you read the ingredient labels on these products you’ll find that they are not eggs, meat or fish, and not the kinds of “plants” grown by farmers either. As we’ve said before, a better name might be chemical-based junk foods.

Finally…

Watch out for products that make protein claims on the packaging. Most are made from combinations of manufactured free amino acids such as those found in MSG and in aspartame. This includes snack bars, cookies, smoothie mixes, protein powders and protein drinks in addition to fake eggs, fish, and meat.

All, “substitute” protein products will contain MSG or its toxic MfG.

Remember also that soy, pea and bean protein do not taste remotely like meat, fish or eggs, so MfG-containing flavor enhancers like MSG are added to trick your tongue into making that taste association.

Check out our list of ingredient names that contain MfG as well as our brochure to take shopping with you. Better yet, if you want to do all you can to have a healthy diet, ditch the processed foods and ultra-processed fake foods, altogether.


If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.

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The two G’s, glyphosate and glutamate, even more toxic together

Dr. Stephanie Seneff’s new book Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate Is Destroying Our Health and the Environment, dissects the truth about glyphosate, a toxic chemical incorporated into hundreds of weed-killing formulations – the most widely known being Roundup.

Seneff, a senior research scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, documents the case against glyphosate, that she describes as a chemical that can deliver the “slow kill” as it gradually accumulates in your tissues and over time becomes the catalyst for some “horrible diseases.”

Seneff connects use of the herbicide with a long list of illnesses and conditions including kidney and liver disease, diabetes, multiple types of cancers, urinary tract infections, antibiotic resistance, mineral deficiencies, and the destruction of our beneficial gut bacteria leading to immune-system malfunctions.

If you follow the Truth in Labeling Campaign blogs or have visited our website, you know that we have lots of information on glutamate: How protein (meat, chicken, fish, milk, etc.) contains bound glutamate along with other amino acids that, when normally digested, are vital for normal body function. How manufactured “free” glutamate (MfG) which is found in monosodium glutamate (MSG) and dozens of other food additives, differs from the glutamate found in nature. And how, when glutamate is present in the body in excess, it causes brain damage.

Seneff, however, describes a new dimension of danger.

She links glyphosate exposure to glutamate neurotoxicity, noting that the weedkiller interferes with the mechanisms that prevent excess – brain damaging — glutamate from accumulating. As told in Toxic Legacy, “Roundup increased the amount of glutamate released into the synapse (the point of communication) by neurons. It also interfered with the ability of brain cells to clear glutamate from the synapses by converting glutamate to glutamine.”

Seneff describes the normal cycle of glutamate production and clearance, an amazingly complex system that depends on the trace mineral manganese to prevent the accumulation of excess – brain damaging — glutamate. And manganese “can be chelated by glyphosate, making it unavailable.”

As Seneff says, “There is no question that glyphosate disrupts glutamate.”

Seneff also makes it clear that excess glutamate “is a known factor in several neurological disorders, including depression. Abnormally high levels of glutamate lead to excessive oxidative stress in the brain, causing neuronal damage, particularly in the hippocampus.”

But avoiding glyphosate, like avoiding MfG, is a challenge.

Glyphosate-based herbicides, which are totally unregulated and available just about anywhere, are sprayed in back yards, driveways and parks. They are also doused on hundreds of millions of acres of genetically modified crops, such as corn, cotton and soy, and are sprayed on non-organic wheat, barley and oats to speed up drying. Despite the fact that glyphosate is considered a “probable” human carcinogen by the World Health Organization and currently the subject of thousands of lawsuits over its role in causing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers, it sells like water in the desert. 

MfG found in MSG, yeast extract, hydrolyzed proteins and dozens of other flavor enhancers as well as protein substitutes, shows up in processed foods from soup to nuts. In addition, the latest big sellers, plant-based protein foods, are typically loaded with MfG. The Impossible Burger, for example, contains six potentially brain-damaging ingredients that include soy-protein concentrate, natural flavors and yeast extract.

Despite the pervasive nature of both glyphosate and free glutamate, there are still some steps you can take to avoid these toxins as much as possible.

Glyphosate:

  • If you can’t implement a totally organic lifestyle, always shop organic for the Big Five GMO foods: Corn, canola, sugar beets, soy and cotton (cottonseed oil is used in conventional nuts and chips, while canola is used in just about everything, as is corn and soy);
  • Buy organic dairy as well, since genetically modified alfalfa is extensively fed to dairy cows;
  • Whenever possible, buy organic versions of any products containing oats, wheat and beans, which don’t have to be genetically modified to be sprayed with glyphosate as a drying agent shortly before harvest.
  • When outside, steer clear of areas that have had pesticides applied, sometimes indicated by a white flag.

Manufactured free glutamate (MfG):

  • Make it a habit to avoid processed foods, especially ones that say “No MSG added” on the label;
  • Download our brochure listing the names of ingredients containing MfG;
  • Avoid mock meat, fake fish or other faux foods.

Even without the helping hand of glyphosate, MfG is associated with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, MS, stroke, ALS, autism, schizophrenia, depression and many other neurological conditions. Remember, the brain you save may be your own.


If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.

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Aspartame: the placebo used in ‘MSG-is-safe’ studies

But to make sure the conclusion that MSG is harmless would be beyond reproach, glutamate-industry researchers guaranteed that subjects would react to placebos with the same reactions that are caused by MSG. They did that by using aspartame as the toxic ingredient in their placebos, which worked well for them because the aspartic acid in aspartame and the glutamic acid in MSG cause virtually identical reactions (as well as identical brain damage). Having set that up, glutamate-industry researchers (and the propaganda artists who quote them) will say “These people aren’t sensitive to MSG, they reacted to the ‘placebo’ too.”

If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.

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Don’t expect to learn the truth about MSG from today’s U.S. researchers

I’m certainly not afraid to speak out. I’ve been speaking out on the hazards of MSG for more than 30 years along with Jack Samuels, slowing down only to grieve his death and tell his story, “It Wasn’t Alzheimer’s, It Was MSG.” Given that the US maker of MSG controls the medical journals, the media, and the FDA as well as legislators who might have FDA oversight, speaking out has been limited to updating our fact-based webpage, making it easier to use and writing blogs. And I filed three Citizen Petitions with the FDA requesting that MSG and the toxic glutamate in it be stripped of their GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status. But apparently those who would or could do something for the welfare of the American people were not paying attention.

But something changed in the 2020s. Maybe the pandemic caused some soul searching – at least in Asia and Africa. Maybe there was so much free-glutamate in processed food (free-glutamate being the toxic ingredient in MSG and all other flavor enhancers) that the numbers of people reacting to flavor enhancers escalated to the point that it couldn’t be denied. Or maybe Ajinomoto’s campaigns to clear MSG of its bad name backfired, and people realized that it was lies that were being told over and over and over again in industry propaganda dressed up as news — or lies being told by celebrity chefs who really don’t use MSG in their cooking.

Today a friend of the Truth in Labeling Campaign sent me a copy of this research: “Worldwide flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate combined with high lipid diet provokes metabolic alterations and systemic anomalies: An overview” that included the warning, “This comprehensive review formulates health care strategies to create global awareness about the harmful impact of [MSG with a high lipid diet] on the human body and recommends the daily consumption of more natural foods rich in antioxidants instead of toxic ingredients.”

And that wasn’t the only warning I’ve seen in recent years. Others have included:

  • Study of the Toxic Effects of Monosodium glutamate on the Central Nervous System (Egypt)
  • Entering a new era of quantifying glutamate clearance in health and disease (Canada)
  • Anti-inflammatory activity of ginger modulates macrophage activation against the inflammatory pathway of monosodium glutamate (Egypt)
  • Targeting metabotropic glutamate receptors for the treatment of depression and other stress-related disorders (USA)
  • Modulation of immune functions, inflammatory response, and cytokine production following long-term oral exposure to three food additives; thiabendazole, monosodium glutamate, and brilliant blue in rats (Egypt)
  • Natural products as safeguards against monosodium glutamate-induced toxicity (Iran)
  • Dietary monosodium glutamate altered redox status and dopamine metabolism in lobster cockroach (Nauphoeta cinerea) (Nigeria)
  • Antiapoptotic and antioxidant capacity of phytochemicals from Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) and their potential effects on monosodium glutamate-induced testicular damage in rat (Egypt)
  • Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)-Induced Male Reproductive Dysfunction: A Mini Review (Nigeria)

In the 1980s, researchers focused on identifying and understanding abnormalities associated with glutamate, often for the purpose of finding drugs that would mitigate glutamate’s adverse effects. It is well documented that free glutamate is implicated in kidney and liver disorders, neurodegenerative disease, and more. By 1980, glutamate-associated disorders such as headaches, asthma, diabetes, muscle pain, atrial fibrillation, ischemia, trauma, seizures, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), epilepsy, addiction, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), frontotemporal dementia and autism were on the rise, and evidence of the toxic effects of glutamate were generally accepted by the scientific community. A November 15, 2020 search of the National Library of Medicine using PubMed.gov returned 3872 citations for “glutamate-induced.”

Millions of health care dollars could be saved by simply considering MSG when making diagnoses. And if the truth about the toxic potential of free glutamate were told and its use in food reduced, disease and disability would certainly be reduced with it. Given that free glutamate plays a role in a wide variety of abnormalities, decreasing the amount of free glutamate added through ingestion of free glutamate in flavor enhancers and protein substitutes to the body’s glutamate pools certainly wouldn’t do any harm, and many have argued that evidence says that decreasing the presence of excitotoxic amino acids in processed and ultra-processed foods is called for. It’s time to follow the science of independent researchers and not the propaganda spewed forth by the glutamate industry.

Adrienne Samuels


If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.

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Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, MS, epilepsy and 10+ other diseases all have this in common

It looks like Ajinomoto is fighting tooth and nail, pulling out all the stops to convince the public that their brain damaging (excitotoxic) monosodium glutamate (MSG) is harmless. They’re pouring millions of dollars into buying advertising space in newspapers throughout the world, issuing press releases, covertly publishing YouTube commercials dressed up as news, buying testimonials from celebrity chef, sports personalities, and good-looking young women who call themselves “sci moms.” They’ve mastered brainwashing on social media. Yet people keep getting sick after eating MSG. Not everyone, of course, just lots of people. And Ajinomoto’s MSG sales have been slipping.

There’s something else, too. Scientists are beginning to realize that somehow glutamate has something to do with increases in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, ALS, autism, schizophrenia, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), epilepsy, ischemic stroke, seizures, Huntington’s disease, addiction, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), frontotemporal dementia, and autism. No one has yet identified a cause and effect relationship, but the scientific community now recognizes that glutamate is associated with each of them. Data? A January 18, 2020 Medine search (www.pubmed.gov) for “glutamate-induced,” returned 3742 references.

If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. If you have hints for others on how to avoid exposure to MfG, send them along, too, and we’ll put them up on Facebook. Or you can reach us at questionsaboutmsg@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @truthlabeling.