MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)

Tomatoes are evil. That's actually the name of a website that gave me a chuckle when I discovered it years ago. If I eat too many tomatoes or too often I experience excruciating pain from the very core of my bones. Because so many autoimmune patients are sensitive to nightshades, I always wondered if my reactions were because it was a nightshade. Hmmm...but I don't react to peppers or potatoes so it didn't quite ring true.

A friend of mine recently told me she has trouble with MSG. I remember thinking, Doesn't everyone? Since the 1970s the health industry has been warning consumers of its toxicity. Monosodium glutamate was created by a Japanese chemist to be used as a flavor enhancer. It is one of those pervasive additives that is found in nearly every processed food, but most often used in Chinese restaurant foods. Years ago one could buy a shake container of MCS called "Accent" to use like salt or pepper on your meats. Do they still sell Accent?

The reactions people get from eating MSG-laced food range from headaches, asthma, facial burning, nausea, heart palpitations, chest pain, drowsiness, and weakness. My friend's personal reactions include restless leg syndrome (or what I like to call a sleepless night in hell), jello brain, dizziness, depression, exhaustion, crying episodes, headaches, and electrical shocks. These are symptoms common to chemical poisoning.

This is called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome due to the association of symptoms after eating Chinese food. Conventional medicine information found online makes it sound psychosomatic and a few articles blame these negative reactions on anti-Asian racism! Wow. The incompetence and ignorance of the medical industry never cease to shock me. The FDA has deemed MSG as GRAS or generally recognized as safe. Of course. I wonder which chemical company is paying the FDA to sweep it all under the rug. Probably whoever produced Accent.

Then there are the ingredients with hidden MSG such as gelatin, whey protein, seasonings, corn syrup, yeast foods, soy proteins, natural flavors, vinegar, rice syrup, enzymes, citric acid, carrageenan, broth, and guar gum to name just a few. The full list may be found HERE.

What I did not know is glutamic acid is naturally found in whole, non-processed foods and could produce the same symptoms if those foods are eaten in quantity or if the person is sensitive. The foods highest in natural glutamate are: cheese, soy sauce, walnuts, TOMATOES, meats, milk and milk products, peas, broccoli, mushrooms, and bone broth.

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Wow. I have been repulsed by cheese, soy, and walnuts all my life so I have rarely eaten these things. Does my body know something I don't? It usually does. I ate tomatoes not because I loved them, but because they were supposed to be good for a body. When I finally connected the pain to tomatoes, I stopped immediately.

And then there is bone broth...well, if you've read my posts on the war with bone broth when I was doing everything possible to suck it up and drink it down, you already know how I feel about it. It seems the longer one simmers the bone broth, the more glutamate it produces. Who would have known?

For anyone who accidentally overdoses on MSG, my friend's quick remedy is to mix 1/2 to one teaspoon of cream of tartar in 8 ounces of water and drink it down. It's supposed to work, but I read you can clean metals with cream of tartar so I would be hesitant.

My suggestion for anyone with MCS...stay far away from MSG. If you are eating clean, wholesome, non-processed foods or following the Paleo diet, this will be easy. If you have food or chemical sensitivities, avoid naturally high-glutamate foods in quantity and be aware of your reactions.


**Yeah, someone gave me some tomato plants for my garden. I sure love the smell. I've been giving the beautiful fruits away to neighbors.