Misleading MSG safety claims can put your health at risk

This ‘fake news’ is hazardous to your health

Absorbing effective propaganda is like unknowingly drinking the spiked punch at the company party. You don’t realize until you finish it up – and by then you’re already under the influence!

And that kind of devious trick — in the form of a disinformation campaign — is what’s going on right now with the food additive monosodium glutamate, or MSG.

Slowly but surely, story after story keeps popping up in all kinds of publications (as well as social media sites like Facebook), trying to convince you that this flavor enhancer is perfectly harmless.

I’ve done some digging, and I still can’t say exactly who’s behind this as they’ve left no solid trail to follow.

However, I can tell you that the glutamate industry (yes, there is a glutamate industry!) is very powerful and has deep pockets. And ever since the 1960s, when a prominent researcher discovered that MSG could kill the brain cells of baby mice, that industry has been using its influence to mislead the public about the risks of consuming this flavor enhancer.

But here at eAlert, we’re committed to sharing the real truth about MSG – and why avoiding it is one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Busting the ‘myth busters’

In the UK, The Guardian just ran a story about how top chefs in Britain are sprinkling MSG on their food with abandon to bring out the full flavor of dishes and “render them surprisingly delicious.”

That story claims that we’ve been “brainwashed” into thinking of MSG as something to be afraid of.

Others talk about how delicious MSG makes food taste and how silly it is not to use it. And the usual industry PR pitch that we’ve been hearing since the backlash against MSG first started is that the chemical is naturally occurring, so reports of any ill effects are merely “anecdotal.”

Well, that’s pure baloney! And I’ll tell you why in a moment.

But first, the top prize for prevarication should go to a video on Facebook called “MSG isn’t toxic.” With over 23 million views so far, it’s already influenced way too many people.

Maybe you’ve even seen it yourself and wondered if it could be true. Put out by a digital marketing company called Everhance, this video attempts to erase decades of scientific fact, pinning the entire blame for MSG’s bad reputation on “one time when one uninformed person questioned it.”

Seriously? I could pick this video to shreds, but that would only serve to give it more credit than it deserves.

Instead, I’d rather just tell you the top four facts you should know about MSG:

#1: The naturally occurring MSG found in foods such as mushrooms and tomatoes is not the same as the manufactured version added to all varieties of processed foods, as that second kind contains highly toxic byproducts. The MSG that occurs naturally in food does not trigger the adverse reactions that the additive does.

#2: When you ingest the MSG additive, it’s neurotoxic – poison for the brain. More specifically, it’s an excitotoxin, which means that the substance can literally “excite” your brain cells to death.

#3: MSG is known to promote the growth of cancer cells by causing them to become more “mobile” and enhancing their ability to metastasize.

#4: MSG is also known to trigger asthma, eye problems, obesity, migraines, and an irregular type of heartbeat called A-fib (which even the totally mainstream American Heart Association admits).

And while it’s true that glutamate is present in the body and necessary for your brain to function, that’s not the whole story.

The brain closely regulates glutamate, as getting too much can be catastrophic. And when someone has had a stroke or serious head injury, the surge in glutamate that results can inflict massive brain damage. It’s even known as a “glutamate storm.”

That’s why eating foods loaded with manufactured MSG can have such a disastrous effect on your brain (and is especially risky for kids).

But even when an item claims to have “no added MSG,” you still have to be wary of other hidden forms of this chemical — such as hydrolyzed protein, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract, and any kind of “soy protein” – which are commonly added to processed foods such as soups, chips, frozen dinners, and even nuts.

So, the next time you see one of those “myth-busting” videos or articles about MSG, know it for what it is – the result of a giant, well-oiled PR machine at work, trying hard to plant seeds of doubt in your mind.

“Chinese restaurant syndrome: has MSG been unfairly demonized?” Joanna Blythman, May 21, 2018, The Guardian, theguardian.com