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How to Find Hidden MSG on Food Labels

It is very difficult to really know whether MSG (monosodium glutamate) is in your food, because it goes by so many aliases. To avoid ingesting this toxic additive, you’re best off choosing fresh, unprocessed foods. But becoming familiar with the hidden names of MSG can also help you determine what foods to eat.

Here is just a sampling of ingredients that contain MSG (the link below has a full list):

  • Gelatin
  • Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
  • Yeast Extract
  • Malted Barley
  • Rice Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup

Also, many restaurants add MSG to their menu items, so when eating out always be sure to tell your server that you don‘t want MSG added to your food.

MSGMyth.com



Dr. Mercola''s Comments Dr. Mercola's Comments:

MSG (monosodium glutamate) is used as a flavor enhancer in countless processed foods. But while it works enhancing your food’s flavors it is also at work doing potential damage to your brain and body.

I doubt very many of our readers would actually consciously use this toxin as they are better educated than this. However the problem results from eating processed foods or eating in a restaurant where you have virtually no control of what is added to your food before you eat it. Believe me on this one, your body could care less if you or someone else put the MSG in your food, or if you even know about it. If you are ever going to Take Control of Your Health you will need to take responsibility for ALL the food you eat and be very conscious of avoiding this food in processed food you purchase or restaurant food you eat.

Unless of course you don't mind losing your brain cells.

If you don''t believe this then you clearly have not watched Dr. Blaylock's (retired neurosurgeon) lecture on MSG.

MSG is an excitotoxin, a type of chemical transmitter that allows brain cells to communicate. The problem is that excitotoxins can literally excite your brain cells to death. Aside from harming your brain, MSG has also been linked to eye damage, headaches, fatigue, disorientation and depression.

Children are most at risk from MSG. The blood brain barrier, which keeps toxins in the blood from entering the brain, is not fully developed in children. MSG can also penetrate the placental barrier and affect unborn children as well. Nonetheless, most major brands of infant formula contain some processed free glutamic acid (a form of MSG).

For more information about MSG, and how to protect yourself against it, take a look at my MSG links page.


Related Links:



Comment on This Article Community Comments (62)
 
 
Posted On Jul 11, 2007
Glutamate is even sprayed on conventional produce. It's called AuxiGro.

 
phooey
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 2/2007
phooey  
Replied

helpingheart
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
helpingheart  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
WOW!  Thanks for that info!

Makes one wonder what many other chemicals are used on the food supply......no wonder diseases abound in the U.S.


phooey
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 2/2007
phooey  
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
Good point helpingheart. It does make you wonder. There is no telling what is going on.
It is very important to BUY LOCAL FROM SMALL FARMS! I buy from a couple of farmers around the Nashville area. They let you come out and see the farm and watch how it works. Go ask ConAgra if you can watch how they operate.


Dr. David Spitz
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 12/2006
Dr. David Spitz  
 
Posted On Jul 14, 2007
Almost ALL soup you buy in a can has MSG, also disguised as:
  • Autolyzed Yeast Extract
  • Hydrolyzed Soy Protein
  • Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
  • Monopotassium Glutamate
  • Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
  • Glutamic Acid
  • Yeast Food
  • Yeast Extract Glutamate
  • Textured Protein
  • Sodium Caseinate

Be very wary of chicken and beef bouillon....it always contains MSG unless they say it doesn't. AND THEN I still don't believe them....so making your own is the BEST idea.

I'm sure there are many more. If anyone knows some more...please add.


Dr Dave


annapaloma
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
annapaloma  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

Yes, thanks for the name of that product, AuxiGro.

As I am MSG sensitive, I knew there was something

being added to produce, esp lettuce, as I have my usual

MSG symptoms shortly after eating it.  The worst offender, unfortunately,

is 'organic' lettuce. Watch the term 'Organically Grown' esp in large chain food marts. Organically Grown is a term applied to the growing process.  It may be true that the produce was organically 'grown'.  But, the AugiGro is applied

as a preservative POST HARVEST.  Therefore, the term 'organically grown' is

legally correct, and we are being poisoned by our 'organic food'.



Twin2
Novice User Novice User Joined On 1/2007
Twin2  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

Yes, AuxiGro is sprayed on some stuff.  Now bovine gelatine will be sprayed

on our meat at the grocery store. I'm afraid it will be.  Thanks to our government.  Anything

for a buck!  www.foodtechnology.ru/.../ng.asp I know I don't do well with msg, aspartame etc.  I too want

to just scream..............


 
 
 
Posted On Jul 12, 2007
Folks, MSG is not the only toxic substance sneaky manufacturers are hiding in products -- I've been totally avoiding hydrogenated fats and oils since I first found out in the 70's how harmful they are, but I recently discovered that Magnesium Stearate and Stearic Acid are TRANS FATS, and they are ubiquitous in vitamin supplements! It's extremely difficult to find supplements that don't contain one or both (although there are some companies that don't use fillers, binders, lubricants, etc.). I think this is outrageous! I know many of us here don't use a lot of supplements, if any, but people who do are actually undermining their health by using vitamins they're being told are "all natural" and beneficial. Of course when confronted with this, the vitamin companies say that the amount of Magnesium Stearate and Stearic Acid in supplements is minuscule and therefore harmless. But I've been doing some research, and found the following information:

How Much Hydrogenated Lubricant Oils Are You Getting With Your Supplements? 

Up to 5% of the average 1000 mg capsule or tablet is magnesium stearate. That's 50 milligrams. Suppose you take 8 capsules or tablets a day. That's 250 a month – or 12,500 mg of this hydrogenated oil, nearly half an ounce. That works out to about 6 ounces of hydrogenated oils a year, from just 8 pills a day. Many people take more supplements, and ingest pounds of this toxic oil we try to avoid in our diets – while directly inhibiting the utilization of the nutrients they're supplementing!

This is the vitamin industry's "dirty little secret", and it needs to be widely exposed.

 
Ajax
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 12/2006
Ajax  
Replied

helpingheart
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
helpingheart  
 
Posted On Jul 13, 2007
Again.. WOW!  Thank you for that info!  TRANS FATS in vitamin supplements!  Who would have thought?!

Had no idea!!!  So fortunate to be here with all you dedicated V.V. Readers!

Now I need to make a changes to whole food supplements like Dr. Mercola has suggested: Garden of Life supplements (if any at all).  I know - we should get our nutrients from our local organic food as much as possible.


helpingheart
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 6/2006
helpingheart  
 
Posted On Jul 14, 2007
Ajax -  by the way - where did you get your information??  I'd really like to know the source, to confirm this info.

Thanks!  : )

?


Ajax
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 12/2006
Ajax  
 
Posted On Jul 17, 2007
Hi Helpingheart, I found the information HERE. I also read a short blurb in the April 2007 issue of Better Nutrition magazine (page 8) about the dangers of the FDA-approved REPLACEMENT for TRANS FATS that is actually WORSE than trans fats -- Interesterified Fats. CLICK HERE to read all about this deadly new creation they'll be foisting off on people.

I'd also like to mention a DVD everyone should see. It is a very comprehensive DVD on the GMO's being promoted. This film is very well done and very informative as to what is happening in the food industry and what is short of us eating "soylent green." http://www.thefutureoffood.com/ There's a preview clip there you can watch. 

Hope this helps!




DRK_203
Novice User Novice User Joined On 7/2007
DRK_203  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

According to both Wikipedia and Dr. Mary Enig's book, "Know Your Fats" (p 270), stearic acid is a saturated fat, not a trans fat (it can't be both, there must be at least one double bond in a trans fat).  

It is also found in nature, in cocoa butter, for example.



lookingfortruth
Novice User Novice User Joined On 7/2007
lookingfortruth  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

Ajax, after Magnesium Stearate or Stearic Acid on my vitamin bottle, in parenthesis, it says "vegetable source".  Is this still a Trans fat?



hmm
Novice User Novice User Joined On 8/2006
hmm  
 
Posted On Jul 29, 2007

Stearic acid is a fatty acid, not a fat.

Unsaturated fatty acids sourced from plants may indeed be hydrogenated...to actually make them become stearic acid. This stearic acid is completely chemically identical to naturally occurring stearic acid, so there is no reason why it should have ANY negative effects.



Myau
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 3/2007
Myau  
 
Posted On Dec 27, 2007

Magnesium Stearate and Stearic Acid are not trans fats.

They are not exactly very desirable ingredients, as we would like our supplements to be as pure as possible, but they are also not dangerous ingredients either.

Supplements encapsulated in vegetable capsules usually do not contain these.

Look here for more info on what exactly Magnesium Stearate and Stearic Acid are:

www.nowfoods.com


 
 
 
Posted On Jul 13, 2007
Don't forget the term "natural flavors" !

I'm extremely allergic to this drug.  I told my personal care quack about how I finally figured out what was making me sick, thanks to a book I read on the subject, and she told me I shouldn't read all that stuff because it's putting ideas into my head.  I fired her.  No more duck-tors for me!

 
saynotoquacks
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 4/2007
saynotoquacks  
Replied

NZ Mary
Savvy User Savvy User Joined On 11/2006
NZ Mary  
 
Posted On Jul 13, 2007
Good for you. I'm sensitive to MSG too. These days I hardly ever go to the Doctor but if I do I'll tell him and see what his reaction is. It'll probably be something along the lines of "M S what?"


neroli moonstone
Apprentice User Apprentice User Joined On 6/2007
neroli moonstone  
 
Posted On Jul 16, 2007
I havent met anyone who can tolerate msg. remeber those bad meals in chinese restaurants that use lots of msg in the days before we were aware of its toxicity? Love Dom ox


annapaloma
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
annapaloma  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

Duck-tors!  That is extremely funny.  I am going to use that.

But, our situation with food is not funny.  Locally grown food, or grow your own, and preparing your food from scratch, are the only ways to guarantee the cleanest possible intake.  The more I learn from Dr. Mercola and all of you, the more the writing is on the wall.  Thanks to you all, I grew a garden this year.



visualartist
Novice User Novice User Joined On 12/2006
visualartist  
 
Posted On Jul 29, 2007

I recently had the misfortune of being treated by a "NUTRITIONAL MEDICINE" MD. It took me a while to realize he wasn't "as advertised"... What did it for me was when he didn't even know about MSG and other common sense things, and suggested I try Splenda or Nutrasweet (!!!)... I was so shocked. I fired him too! :-o


 
 
 
Posted On Jul 29, 2007

what a wonderful website that you have.  I have spent hours learning how to be healthier.  I trust this site and will share it with others.  I had bought a well known food product and there was an ingredient in it and when I called the company they would not tell me what it was.  Now I know why they did not tell me what it was...another name for MSG is what I just found out.  I will have to be more careful.  Thank you very much for all your research.  


 
intohealth
Novice User Novice User, Joined On 7/2007
intohealth  
Replied

ImJustHealthConscious
Novice User Novice User Joined On 7/2008
ImJustHealthConscious  
 
Posted On Aug 10, 2008

You are so right!!

I had spent many years feeling sick and lethargic and it was really thanks to Dr. Mercola's website that I got back on my feet again. It was after getting a free subscription to Mercola.com that I received an email about the dangers of metal toxicity and amalgam fillings. I did some further investigations for myself and quickly woke up to the truth. I never really made the connection to my inexplicable health issues, which, seemed to be getting worse. My dentist told me that my amalgams were safe and not to worry about them. What utter nonsense!  Now add to this the ramifications of working around metal fabrication industries as I have in the past as an engineer, and you have a super-size potion for health trouble.

It's encouraging to know that there are many real, highly qualified doctors still out there that will speak out and are not bought up by the medical system and high profit pharmaceutical companies. I am on my way to a healthy recovery now. I still quite a way to go as can be expected, but I am feeling much better and am rapidly recovering!

I want to encourage other people that are not well to take charge of their own health. Eat properly, exercise daily, and do not rely on the "health care system" to keep you healthy because, as I and many others have sadly learned, it won't.  

Stay healthy! :)


 
 
 
Posted On Jul 11, 2007
Staying away from any process food will be of great help.

I could just SCREEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
annapavlova42
Savvy User Savvy User, Joined On 2/2007
annapavlova42  
Replied

c.sirtoff
Novice User Novice User Joined On 6/2006
c.sirtoff  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

I suffered for years not understanding about MSG and l-glutamine as a supplement.  Thank you Dr. for confirming what I learned the hard way.  I cannot take anything with glutamine as a supplement not only do the headaches last for days but I feel totaly drained of energy.  It is a shame that this is allowed in our food.



bagarino
Novice User Novice User Joined On 1/2007
bagarino  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

Dr, Mercola wrote: "Here is just a sampling of ingredients that contain MSG (the link below has a full list)":

I avoid MSG like the plague but for the sake of completeness I think it would have been better to say "MAY contain". In Europe, where all ingredients are listed on the packet you can see whether MSG is present. Many people in Europe seek to avoid MSG after bad experiences in Chinese restaurants where it is heavily employed. As a result you'll see several products including HVP and stock cubes that actively promote themselves by stating that they are MSG-free.



ILona Lee
Novice User Novice User Joined On 7/2007
ILona Lee  
 
Posted On Jul 28, 2007

Soy sauce has MSG??????????



Nicolelm
Novice User Novice User Joined On 2/2007
Nicolelm  
 
Posted On Jul 29, 2007

it is just so shocking to see what the food industry allows humans to consume. wouldn't it be easier, and cheaper to just eat everything the way it was intended?



Pat_Heaton
Novice User Novice User Joined On 11/2006
Pat_Heaton  
 
Posted On Jul 30, 2007

Has anyone researched the effects of daily use of MSG in cultures like Japan & China?  Is fermented Soy (miso) safe to use.  Has the white powdered MSG used by the above, b een fermented?


 
 
 
 
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