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The Science that Says that MSG Places Humans at Risk
Epidemiologic
studies completed in 1969 and the 1970's demonstrated that at least 25% of the
population react to monosodium glutamate.(1-4) Today, we recognize that those reactions
range from mild and transitory to debilitating and life threatening.(5)
MSG-sensitive consumers react to free glutamic acid (or free glutamate) that occurs in food as a consequence of a manufacturing process or fermentation -- regardless of the name of the ingredient that contains the processed free glutamic acid (MSG). The Food and Drug Administration has even acknowledged that consumers refer to all free glutamic acid as MSG.(6) Yet, consumers who choose to avoid MSG have great difficulty doing so, because more than 40 different food additives contain MSG without disclosure, and the number of such additives continues to grow.
Scientists have not determined the mechanism(s) that cause MSG reactions. It is known that the reactions are sensitivity reactions, i.e., reactions to a toxin or poison, as opposed to allergic (IgE mediated) reactions. It is known that MSG-sensitive consumers react to glutamic acid only in its free form, and only if it has been released from protein through a manufacturing process or fermentation.
It is
known that free glutamic acid found associated with unadulterated protein, and
glutamic acid bound in protein or freed from protein during normal digestion is
L-glutamic acid only;(7-9) while free glutamic acid found in processed food
contains both L-glutamic acid and D-glutamic acid,(7-8) and may also contain
other undesirable by-products that scientists refer to as impurities including pyroglutamic acid, mono and dichloro propanols, and/or
heterocyclic amines.(10-11) The propanols and heterocyclic amines are
carcinogenic.
There are three neurotoxic amino acids commonly found in some food additives: glutamic acid, aspartic acid (found in aspartame, a sugar substitute), and L-cysteine.(12-13) Free glutamic acid ingested as MSG can cross the placenta during pregnancy,(14-15) can cross the blood brain barrier in an unregulated manner during development, and can pass through the five circumventricular organs, which are "leaky" at best, at any stage of life.(16-17) In addition, the blood brain barrier can be compromised by such things as drugs, seizures, stroke, trauma to the head, hypoglycemia, hypertension, extreme physical stress, high fever, and the normal process of aging.(18) It is generally accepted that the young are particularly at risk from ingestion of MSG.
MSG-sensitivity is difficult to diagnose because the reaction is not IgE mediated; because individual tolerance levels vary; and because MSG reactions may occur anywhere from immediately to 48 hours following ingestion. The key to diagnosis lies in the fact that an individual typically responds to MSG with the same reaction(s), and after the same elapsed time each time that MSG ingestion exceeds the individual's tolerance level. To date, there has been no systematic study to determine the minimum amount of MSG needed to cause an adverse reaction, and researchers have not yet found the mechanism(s) underlying sensitivity to MSG.
For further information regarding MSG, please
visit our Web site at http://www.truthinlabeling.org
Also, feel free to call or e-mail the Truth
in Labeling Campaign at 858/481-9333 or adandjack@aol.com
5. Analysis of Adverse
Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).Prepared for the Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration.Raiten,
DJ, Talbot, JM, and Fisher, KD, eds.Bethesda,
Maryland: Life Sciences Research Office of the Federation of American Societies
for Experimental Biology, July, 1995.
8. Analysis of Adverse
Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).Prepared for the Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration.Raiten,
DJ, Talbot, JM, and Fisher, KD, eds.Bethesda,
Maryland: Life Sciences Research Office of the Federation of American Societies
for Experimental Biology, July, 1995.Page 9.
11. Analysis of Adverse Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate
(MSG).Prepared for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and
Drug Administration.Raiten, DJ, Talbot, JM, and
Fisher, KD, eds.Bethesda, Maryland: Life Sciences
Research Office of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental
Biology, July, 1995.Page 32.