Jamie - posted on 12/19/2011 ( 20 moms have responded )
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I know a lot about MSG because I am allergic to it and was forced to do a lot of research on it because I was so sick. It is a food additive that they use to add flavor, but also to trick your mouth into thinking the food has more nutritional value than it does and it stimulates your appetite so you eat more. It is linked to obesity and COUNTLESS other problems including brain damage.
( "Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate (MSG), an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well.
Abnormal function of glutamate receptors have been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain." Dr. Joseph Mercola in the Huffington post : www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/msg-is-this-silent-killer_b_491502.html)
What I want to know is why is MSG in our baby formula and baby food? Why aren't we as mothers doing anything about this?
This the list of ingredients for Gerber good start straight from the web site: http://www.gerber.com/AllStages/products...
Ingredients
WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE (FROM COW'S MILK, ENZYMATICALLY HYDROLYZED, REDUCED IN MINERALS), VEGETABLE OILS (PALM OLEIN, SOY, COCONUT, AND HIGH-OLEIC SAFFLOWER OR
HIGH-OLEIC SUNFLOWER), LACTOSE, CORN MALTODEXTRIN, AND LESS THAN 2% OF: POTASSIUM CITRATE, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM CITRATE, MAGNESIUM CHLORIDE, FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC SULFATE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, COPPER SULFATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, MANGANESE SULFATE, SODIUM SELENATE, M. ALPINA OIL*, C. COHNII OIL**, SODIUM ASCORBATE, INOSITOL, CHOLINE BITARTRATE, ALPHA-TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, NIACINAMIDE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, PHYLLOQUINONE, BIOTIN, VITAMIN D3, VITAMIN B12, TAURINE, NUCLEOTIDES, (CYTIDINE 5'-MONOPHOSPHATE,
DISODIUM URIDINE 5'-MONOPHOSPHATE, ADENOSINE
5'-MONOPHOSPHATE, DISODIUM GUANOSINE
5'-MONOPHOSPHATE), ASCORBYL PALMITATE, MIXED TOCOPHEROLS, L-CARNITINE, B. LACTIS CULTURES, SOY LECITHIN.
The very first ingredient is "hydrolyzed" which is a process that creates free glutimate.
#4 "corn maltodextrin" is also a sneaky word for MSG.
Anything "disodium" is also fishy, and there are 2 on here.
The FDA claims it is safe but admits up to 20% of the population are "sensitive" to it. With so much childhood obesity and ADD and maybe even Autism perhaps we should force the FDA to take a serious look into what they are putting in not only our food, but our children's food.
(" Confirmation of toxicity
In the years that followed, neuroscientists replicated the work of Olney, and Olney spoke out repeatedly about the toxic potential of glutamic acid freed from protein prior to ingestion. In 1972, for example, Olney testified before the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs that ingestion of MSG places humans at risk, with the greatest risk being for the very young; and that a National Academy of Science panel organized to determine whether MSG ought to be banned from baby food had produced an "industry arranged whitewash" by a group of scientists with almost no experience in neuropathology (Gillette, 1972). In the early 1970s, manufacturers of baby food voluntarily removed the monosodium glutamate from their products, but replaced the monosodium glutamate with MSG-containing ingredients such as autolyzed yeast and hydrolyzed vegetable protein. In the late 1970s, manufacturers voluntarily removed all obvious MSG-containing ingredients from baby food.
Today scientists know that MSG kills brain cells and causes neuroendocrine disorders in laboratory animals; and that it causes adverse reactions in humans. Scientists know that the blood brain barrier, once thought to prevent glutamate that comes from exogenous sources (eating included) from entering the brain, is not fully developed until puberty; is easily damaged by such conditions as high fever, a blow to the head, and the normal course of aging; and, in the area of the circumventricular organs, is leaky at best at any stage of life. Scientists know that a diverse number of disease conditions such as ALS, Alzheimer's disease, seizures, and stroke are associated with the glutamate cascade (Blaylock, 1994).
Scientists also understand that MSG is simply processed free glutamic acid, or processed free glutamic acid combined with sodium (depending on how it is defined), and that glutamic acid is a neurotransmitter that causes nerves to fire; and when present in excess quantities, causes nerves to fire until they die. Scientists understand that in addition to the L-glutamic acid found in unprocessed, unfermented, unadulterated free glutamic acid, processed free glutamic acid invariably contains D-glutamic acid and brings with it pyroglutamic acid and other contaminants--some of which, depending on procedures used for processing and the protein source, are carcinogenic." http://www.truthinlabeling.org/l-manuscr...)
I know some of you probably think I am crazy but sit down to a meal with me and watch what happens when I eat this stuff (I instantly turn red with MSG and any free glutamic acid products, and the worst part is how sick I get for a week following). Our children are the most vulnerable to problems related to MSG and any exito-toxins. I think we as mom's need to speak up and get this stuff taken out of their food. It's not necessary, and it's not safe.
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