Heated Debates and MSG Facts

I originally wrote this post a couple of years ago but thought it important enough to share on my new blog. This past week I've been reminded of this stuff through reading of the Nestle Family boycott from a fellow mom blogger. I've been inadvertently avoiding all Nestle products just to avoid the MSG content, but now I see there are so many more reasons why they should be avoided. I have absolutely no doubt that MSG is the underlying cause behind the nations obesity epidemic, the rise in cancer and heart disease and the general poor health of Americans today, but for some reason no one appears to give it the proper credit....or any credit. After researching my brains out about the stuff I came to the conclusion that it would not be something I would ever voluntarily feed to my children or family. That is the primary reason we eat organic food. NOT because I am a sold-out organic lover, but because over the past 2 years of reading product labels I've discovered that products labeled "organic" generally have the least amount of preservatives and some prepared foods do not contain any MSG so i feel i can safely feed them to my kids.

Up until a couple years ago I was under the impression that Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) (nicknamed “cancer fertilizer”) was only found in chinese food. After doing some of my own internet research I’ve found that it’s in nearly everything that comes in a bag, box or can. Sickening huh? All this time I thought we were eating an MSG free diet when in truth we are being inundated with the stuff. I’m doing my best to get the word out without freaking out, so I’m making a post about it for everyone who’s like me and just didn’t know.

Want to know what’s causing obesity in America?

Trying to eat an MSG free diet? It’s a lot more difficult than you think. There are a few websites out there to help. I’m including the list of alias names for MSG for anyone that it might benefit…..

The following are a few products that ALWAYS contain MSG:

• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
• Hydrolyzed Protein: (plant, vegetable, any kind)
• Sodium or Calcium Caseinate
• Autolyzed Yeast, Yeast Extract
• Yeast Food, Yeast Nutrient
• Textured Protein
• Glutamic Acid
• Monopotassium Glutamate
• Gelatin

The following products may contain MSG or create MSG during processing:

• Natural Flavors, flavoring, flavors, natural anything flavor
• Bouillon or Stock
• Broth (chicken, beef, any kind)
• Carrageenan
• Whey protein, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate
• Soy sauce, soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate
• Malt Extract or Flavoring, Malted Barley
• Maltodextrin
• Anything Protein fortified
• Anything Fermented
• Anything Ultra Pasteurized
• Anything Enzyme-modified