By Wally Paul
October 16, 2010
As human beings, we’re the only species stupid enough to actually poison ourselves. As part of modern living, we create a wide variety of chemical toxins that go into the ecosystem through rivers and streams, the air, the soil and so on.
MSG — is one thing we humans are very fond of adding to our foods. Monosodium glutamate is a widely used food additive. It is the sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is a form of glutamate, a carefully regulated neurotransmitter. This food additive is produced by fermenting sugar beet molasses, and the overly processed form is a fine white crystal that resembles salt or sugar.
MSG doesn’t really have a taste of its own but is used to enhance the flavor of other ingredients. It is put in nearly every canned, packaged, or otherwise processed food out on the market. MSG fools the brain into thinking that something tastes better than it actually does, so it may be used in place of quality ingredients. We humans love that snack aisle.
Even though the Food and Drug Administration has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG over the years, they still classify MSG as an ingredient that is “generally recognized as safe”. Some common symptoms include headaches, sweating, flushing, weakness, nausea, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, facial tightness and tingling and burning of the face or neck. To we humans these symptoms mean we are eating right well.
MSG is an excitotoxin which means that it reacts with certain specialized receptors in the brain in such a way as to lead to destruction of certain types of brain cells. With above normal levels the neurons begin to fire abnormally. At higher concentrations, the cells undergo a specialized process of cell death. There is a special gate-keeper that protects the brain from most harmful substances in the blood, called the blood-brain barrier. With high consumption of MSG, the free glutamate in the blood can gradually seep into the brain and wreak havoc. More
The PPJ Gazette 