MSG Dangers and Deceptions
by Jack L Samuels
http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/MSG.html
March 30, 1998 was a sad day for consumers concerned with the safety of
processed food.
On that date, Federal Magistrate Judge Thomas C. Mummert, III, ruled against
the Truth in Labeling Campaign (TLC) and 30 other plaintiffs who sued the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) in an effort to have all free glutamic acid
(MSG) disclosed on the labels of all processed food.
On December 13, 1994, a legal document referred to as a Citizen Petition was
filed with the FDA requesting that the FDA initiate a regulation that would
cause all processed food to be measured post-production for free glutamic acid,
the processed food component that consumers refer to as monosodium glutamate
(MSG). The Citizen Petition further requested that if free glutamic acid was
found to be present in a product, that its presence be stated on the label as
"MSG," in grams, with the amount present carried out to the third decimal
place.
Further, it was requested that an appropriate warning regarding MSG be
included on the labels of products in which it was found.
When the FDA failed to respond to the Citizen Petition within the 180 days
required under law, TLC, a nonprofit corporation concerned with appropriate
labeling of processed food, joined by the petitioners and several additional
individuals, filed suit against the FDA on August 29, 1995. The plaintiffs in
the
lawsuit included researchers, physicians, MSG-sensitive consumers and parents
of MSG-sensitive children. Some of the physicians involved in the suit were
MSG-sensitive, and most of the MSG-sensitive individuals involved had been
diagnosed as MSG-sensitive by a physician.
It should be noted that all participants in the Citizen Petition readily
agreed to be plaintiffs in the lawsuit except for one physician. That
MSG-sensitive physician, age 47, died prior to the initiation of the lawsuit
from the very
condition that he attributed to his MSG sensitivity.
The behavior of the FDA during the course of the lawsuit, in the opinion of
this writer, was not what one would expect from an agency concerned about food
safety. The agency attempted several times to have the suit dismissed on a
number of different bases; kept the court from seeing important documents that
we
had requested, on the grounds that a federal agency is protected from full
disclosure under the Administrative Procedure Act; and presented the court with
what can be best described as deceptive and misleading information.
The MSG Problem
MSG is a food additive that enhances flavours in food. It virtually has no
flavor of its own, but neurologically causes people to experience a more
intense flavor from the foods that they eat containing the substance. To
millions of
consumers, it means experiencing an adverse effect from the additive and
possible adverse health effects in the future. To the food industry, it means
increased profits, a simple way to balance taste in a product line and mask
unwanted tastes, and to make otherwise unpalatable foods acceptable. In
particular,
MSG helps replace flavor lost by elimination of fat in many low-fat and no-fat
foods.
The FDA requires that the ingredient "monosodium glutamate" be listed on the
labels of foods in which it is used. Technically speaking, that ingredient is
approximately 78% free glutamic acid, approximately 21% sodium, and up to 1%
contaminants. However, free glutamic acid is also found, in varying amounts, in
over 40 other labeled ingredients whose names give no clue to the fact that
free glutamic acid is present as a component of the ingredients. (See Table 1)
In some foods, glutamic acid is not specifically added, but is formed during
processing. That is why the TLC lawsuit called for post-production testing and
labeling of free glutamic acid.
Table 1: Hidden Sources of MSG
[ this does not transfer to email; go to the url above]
http://www.price-pottenger.org/Articles/MSG.html
These ingredients ALWAYS contain MSG:
These ingredients OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing:
Some unexpected sources of MSG:
The number of U.S. citizens affected by ingestion of MSG is in the tens of
millions. This figure is based on epidemiologic studies completed in the 1970's
that determined that at least 25% of the population reacted to MSG at the
levels that were then found in processed food.1,2 (The amount of MSG currently
found in processed food has increased dramatically over the years.) To counter
these findings, the glutamate industry funded their own epidemiological study,3
a study since relied on by the FDA. In the industry-funded study, 43% of the
respondents reported adverse reactions following a meal, reactions that we now
associate with MSG sensitivity. However, the author of the study narrowly
defined MSG sensitivity as three specific, mild and transitory conditions, all
occurring at one time, within a limited time following ingestion of MSG. Even
so,
the researchers found 1.8% of the test population reacting to MSG. Since the
time of that study, the FDA has claimed that approximately 2.0% of the
population react to MSG with mild and transitory reactions.
Tracking MSG Dangers
The ingredient "monosodium glutamate" was invented in Japan in 1908.4 The
inventor, Kikunae Ikeda, identified the flavor enhancing substance of seaweed,
recognizing that Asians had used seaweed for flavouring for thousands of years.
Shortly thereafter, he and a partner formed Ajinomoto, currently a six billion
dollar firm, that is the world's largest producer of MSG. Use of the product
was minimal in our country until after World War II, when it was introduced to
the United States food industry as a flavouring agent that our military
discovered made Japanese army rations more palatable than our own. Many may
remember when pure monosodium glutamate became available in our stores in a
product
called "Accent."
In 1968, a Chinese physician who immigrated to our country, Dr. Robert Ho Man
Kwok, wrote a letter to the editor of The New England Journal of Medicine5 to
ask for help in determining why he and friends suffered numbness, weakness,
and palpitations when they dined in certain Chinese restaurants. He reported
that the condition occurred 15 to 20 minutes following the meal and lasted
about
two hours. The letter was published under the heading "Chinese Restaurant Sy
ndrome." Published responses that followed indicated that Dr. Kwok's problem
was a reaction to monosodium glutamate and -- as industry protested -- the
debate over the safety of MSG began.
About the same time, John W. Olney, M.D., a neuroscientist at Washington
University, St. Louis, Missouri who recently had been appointed to the National
Academy of Science, noted that mice being fed MSG for a study of retinal
deterioration had become grotesquely obese.6 Believing that the obesity was
related
to the function of the hypothalamus in the brain, he sacrificed MSG-fed mice
and found that MSG caused hypothalamus lesions and neuroendocrine disorders,
and
that the very young were at particular risk. Neuroscientists now generally
agree that glutamic acid is neurotoxic, killing brain neurons by exciting them
to death.
Dr. Olney's findings did raise concern, especially since he had pointed out
that the very young were most susceptible to damage because the protective
blood brain barrier remains under development in the young. Because of Dr.
Olney's
work, considerable pressure was put on the food industry to remove MSG from
baby food. In an apparent effort to diffuse the pressure, they agreed. To this
date, however, the FDA has taken no official action to disallow MSG in baby
food.
Although baby food sold today appears to be MSG-free, there are junior food
products with MSG, and, of course, infants eat table food, much of which
contains MSG. Also, baby formula contains ingredients with MSG; formulas for
allergic infants contain much larger amounts than regular formula.
Industry Research
In 1969, just as the dangers of MSG were being discovered, the glutamate
industry formed a nonprofit organization, the International Glutamate Technical
Committee (IGTC), and in 1977 formed a subsidiary, The Glutamate Association
(TGA), to defend the safety of its product, the ingredient "monosodium
glutamate."
To this day, IGTC serves as a research organization for the MSG industry,
interacting with scientists and others, and providing research grants for
studies
on the subject of MSG. Until several years ago, TGA served as the MSG
industry's connection to consumers, acting somewhat like a public relations
firm.
Today, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) most often acts for
TGA,
distributing questionable information on the subject of MSG to the media and
clogging the Internet with similar misleading information. IFIC holds itself
out as an independent organization concerned with food related health issues.
In fact, IFIC is funded primarily, if not totally, by the food industry whose
products it claims to be safe.7 Through a foundation, IFIC provides grants to
agencies such as the American Dietetic Association and the American College of
Family Practice Foundation.
If one were to review the literature to determine if controlled studies have
ever been done on humans to prove or disprove that they are sensitive to MSG,
one would find that, with possible rare exception, all such studies have been
conducted under sponsorship of IGTC or one of their agents or supporters. One
would also find that both test and placebo materials have typically been
provided by IGTC. In one case, where the researcher used soup in the study, the
researchers obtained the soup from Ajinomoto in Japan rather than rely on a
source in this country.8 In these controlled studies, some subjects always
react to
MSG, but large numbers of subjects also react to a placebo. These studies
conclude that since the subjects react to both MSG and placebos, it "proves"
that
it is not the MSG that people are reacting to. As faulty as this logic is, it
is these studies that the FDA relies on in concluding that MSG is safe.
Placebo Problems
For years, I could not figure out why large numbers of subjects in MSG
industry-sponsored studies were reacting to placebos which, by definition,
should be
made up of inert, non-reactive material. Finally, in 1993, we found the
answer. The placebos contained aspartame! The proof was contained in a letter
signed by the chairman of the IGTC.9 It was found in a file of the FDA. The use
of
aspartame dated back to 1978, three years before aspartame was approved by the
FDA for human consumption.
Aspartame is far from inert and non-reactive. It contains approximately 40%
aspartic acid, 50% phenylalanine, and 10% of a methyl ester. Neuroscientists
have determined from studies on experimental animals that both aspartic acid
and
glutamic acid load on the same receptors in the brain, cause identical brain
lesions and neuroendocrine disorders and have an additive affect. Indeed,
MSG-sensitive people suffer similar adverse reactions from aspartame, providing
that they ingest amounts that exceed their tolerance levels, and vice versa. At
this writing, the FDA has on file approximately 7,000 unsolicited reports of
adverse reactions to aspartame.
The proof of the inappropriate placebos was turned over to the FDA. After
several years of prodding, the FDA turned for vindication to a special Expert
Panel of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB),
then studying the safety of MSG in food for the FDA. Many months later, FASEB,
in a wishy-washy response, indicated that aspartame should no longer be used
as test material in studies on MSG sensitivity.10
Yes, IGTC did respond to the advice given by FASEB. They changed the placebo
materials that were to be used in studies that were under development. The
first study using new placebo material has now been published. The new placebo
material does not contain aspartame, but contains sucrose11, a substance that
will affect the findings of any study on MSG intolerance. If sucrose is used in
placebos, it will also be used in test material where it will -- surprisingly
-- diminish the effect of MSG.12 IGTC knows this well because they funded
research that said so. The FDA also knows that sucrose and other carbohydrates
diminish the effect of MSG.
FDA Studies
In a July, 1995 FDA-funded report by FASEB entitled "The Safety of MSG in
Food," FASEB was to have reviewed all of the published studies and reports
relating to MSG. Their eight member Expert Panel, at least four of whom had
conflicts of interest, did not do so. Instead, they elected to prepare a 20
page
Executive Summary for broad distribution that consisted of answers to 18
specific
questions posed by the FDA. These questions created the impression that MSG
causes only mild and transitory problems.
The FDA did not ask about, and FASEB did not even address, the fact that MSG
causes migraine headaches, the leading reaction to MSG, and a reaction that is
now well recognized by headache clinics throughout the country. Also not
properly addressed in the July, 1995 FASEB report are a number of studies that
have found that when MSG is administered to pregnant rats or mice, or to very
young rats or mice, the offspring or young rodents all suffer from very
specific
and very definite learning disabilities.13 The report also fails to mention
that many studies point to grotesque obesity in animals that were administered
MSG when young,14 and that MSG has been implicated in neurodegenerative
diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's
disease),15-17
certain psychiatric conditions,18 and heart irregularities such as
tachycardia.19 (See Table 2 for a list of adverse conditions reported by
MSG-sensitive
individuals).
Table 2: Collected Reports of Adverse Reactions to MSG
[the graph does not transfer to email; go to the url ]
Natural vs. Unnatural Glutamic Acid
In defense of their position that MSG is harmless, the MSG industry, food
processors, and the FDA point to the fact that glutamic acid, bound with other
amino acids as a component of protein, does not cause reactions in humans; and
they go on to ask how that could be since the glutamic acid freed from protein
during digestion is identical to the glutamic acid freed from protein through
a manufacturing process, and used as a flavor enhancer. In fact, they contend
that some unadulterated foods, such as tomatoes picked from the vine, so to
speak, or mushrooms contain free glutamic acid, and would cause adverse
reactions if an individual were truly sensitive to MSG.
We had the free glutamic acid in tomatoes measured. The amount was minute --
11 pounds of tomatoes produced only one gram of free glutamic acid. Yet, we
know that some individuals can react to minute amounts of "manufactured" free
glutamic acid, but will not react to unadulterated foods such as tomatoes or
mushrooms. We found out something else. There is a difference between ingesting
foods in which glutamic acid is bound or ingesting the minute amounts of
glutamic acid in unprocessed food and the free glutamic acid that occurs in
food as
a consequence of a manufacturing process.
The glutamic acid in non-manufactured proteins contains only L-glutamic acid.
Only L-glutamic acid is produced in higher organisms.20 However, when
glutamic acid is freed from protein through a manufacturing process, invariably
D-glutamic acid, its "mirror image" (stereoisomer) is also produced, along with
a
chemical called pyroglutamic acid.21 If an acid is used to free the glutamic
acid from protein -- a common method used in our country, but forbidden in some
European countries -- mono and dichloro propanols22 are also produced; and,
based on a report of the FDA, if a process is used to make what the flavouring
industry refers to as reaction or processed flavours from certain proteins,
heterocyclic amines are produced. Mono and dichloro propanols and heterocyclic
amines are known to be carcinogenic.
Dealing with MSG
We know that MSG-sensitivity is a sensitivity to a toxic substance rather
than an allergy. MSG sensitivity is not IgE mediated; there are no antibodies
developed in the body. Therefore, traditional allergy tests do not detect
MSG-sensitivity and it does not appear possible to desensitize an MSG-sensitive
individual to the substance.
We know that tolerance levels for MSG can vary from milligrams on up, and
that it is easily possible to ingest as much as six grams of MSG in a meal
today.
Alcohol, stress and other factors can enhance MSG sensitivity. Some people
experience their only reactions in Chinese restaurants because Chinese
restaurants tend to use higher amounts of MSG than are found in most other
restaurants;
but the MSG problem is not restricted to dining in Chinese restaurants. MSG
is now found in virtually all processed foods.
We know that MSG reactions occur in individuals at varying times after
ingestion, from immediately following ingestion up to 48 hours following
ingestion.
The reaction time following ingestion of MSG is almost always the same each
time for an individual. Once this reaction time is determined, an individual
can
always look back after a reaction and identify the food that has caused the
problem.
To test for MSG-sensitivity, go on a 2-3 week diet on which you limit your
food intake to fresh cooked fruits and vegetables and fresh, unadulterated
fish,
meat, and poultry. During the diet use no sauces, flavoring food solely with
fresh herbs. Eat nothing processed out of a box, bottle, bag, jar, or can.
Eliminate bread, dairy products, "basted" turkeys, or items from the deli
counter. Eliminate all aspartame and any product that contains the words
"hydrolyzed"
or "amino acids," including shampoos and supplements. If you feel better
after the diet, then begin to add back foods to determine the items that may be
causing you problems. Listen to your body. It is a marvellous laboratory.
Growing Concern
We know that scientists are increasingly concerned about glutamic acid,
although most research is on the glutamic acid in the body (endogenous glutamic
acid) rather than the MSG that we ingest (exogenous glutamic acid).
Pharmaceutical companies are spending millions of dollars on drugs to control
the effect of
endogenous glutamic acid on certain disease and injury processes. On May 3-5,
the National Institute of Health sponsored a seminar entitled "The Glutamate
Cascade: Common Pathways of Central Nervous System Disease States."
In his testimony before FASEB on April 7, 1993, neuroscientist Richard C.
Henneberry, Ph.D. summed up his presentation by saying: "I consider it ironic
that the pharmaceutical industry is investing vast resources in the development
of glutamate receptor blockers to protect CNS neurons against glutamate
neurotoxicity in common neurological disorders, while at the same time the food
industry, with the blessing of the FDA, continues to add great quantities of
glutamate to the food supply."
Although MSG-sensitive individuals must stay away from MSG, I feel that MSG
is not good for anyone. A growing number of neuroscientists believe that MSG
may be a "slow neurotoxin," resulting in neurodegenerative diseases such as
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's later in life.
There is no question in my mind that one day MSG will be properly disclosed
on the labels of processed food, and that its use in processed food will be
dramatically reduced. I assure you that I will continue to work individually
and
through TLC to see that all MSG in all processed food is disclosed. You may
remain current with the MSG issue by visiting the TLC Web site on the Internet
at: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/ Your help in the MSG labeling campaign
would be appreciated.
Note: Further information about the dangers of MSG is contained in
Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills by Russell Blaylock, MD, available from PPNF.
Jack L. Samuels has worked in the health care field since 1957. In 1971, he
was diagnosed as being MSG sensitive. Even though he has avoided all restaurant
meals and foods labeled as containing MSG, he has lost consciousness about 25
times due to hidden MSG in food ingredients. He and his wife Adrienne founded
the Truth in Labeling Campaign to encourage proper labeling of MSG in our
foods.
References
1. Reif-Lehrer, L. A questionnaire study of the prevalence of Chinese
restaurant syndrome. Fed Proc, 36:1617-1623, 1977.
2. Kenney, R. A. and Tidball, C. S. Human susceptibility to oral monosodium
L-glutamate. Am J Clin Nutr, 25: 140-146, 1972.
3. Kerr, G. R., Wu-Lee, M., El-Lozy, M., McGandy, R., and Stare, F. J.
Objectivity of food-symptomatology surveys. J Am Diet Assoc, 71: 263-268, 1977.
4. Schwartz, G. R. In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome, Santa Fe, NM, Health
Press, 1988.
5. Kwok, R. H. M. The Chinese restaurant syndrome. Letter to the editor. N
Engl J Med, 278: 796, 1968.
6. Olney, J. W. Brain lesions, obesity, and other disturbances in mice
treated with monosodium glutamate. Science, 164: 719-721, 1969.
7. Encyclopedia of Association, Detroit, MI, Gale Research, 144, 1998.
8. Goldschmiedt, M., Redfern, J. S., and Feldman, M. Food coloring and
monosodium glutamate: effects on the cephalic phase of gastric acid secretion
and
gastrin release in humans. Am J Clin Nutr, 51: 794-797, 1990.
9. Ebert, A. G. Letter to Sue Ann Anderson, R.D., Ph.D., Senior Staff
Scientist, Life Sciences Research Office, Fed. of American Societies for
Experimental
Biology, March 22, 1991. FDA Docket No. 90N-0379 (Item CR2).
10. Analysis of Adverse Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Life
Sciences Research Office, Fed. of Am. Soc. for Experimental Biology. Prepared
for Ctr
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA. 105, July, 1995.
11. Yang, W.H. The monosodium glutamate syndrome complex: Assessment in a
double-blind placebo-controlled, randomized study, J Allergy Clin Immunol,
757-762, June 1997.
12. Stegink, L. D., Filer, L. J.,Jr., Baker, G. L., and Bell, E. F. Effect of
sucrose ingestion on plasma glutamate concentrations in humans administered
monosodium L-glutamate. AJ Clin Nutr, 43:510-515, 1986
13. Frieder, B. and Grimm, V.E. Prenatal monosodium glutamate (MSG) treatment
given through the mother's diet causes behavioural deficits in rat offspring.
Intern J Neurosci, 23: 117-126, 1984.
14. Nikohletseas, M.M. Obesity in exercising, hypophagic rats treated with
monosodium glutamate. Physiol Behav, 19: 767-773, 1977.
15. Zorumski, C. F. Environmental excitotoxins and neurodegenerative
disorders. Biol Psychiatry, 27: 90A, 1990
16. Bai, G and Lipton, S. A. Aberrant RNA splicing in sporadic amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis. Neuron, 20: 363-366, 1998
17. Lin, C. G., Bristol, L. A., Jin, L., Hoberg, M. D., Crawford, T.,
Clawson, L., and Rothstein, J. D. Aberrant RNA processing in a
neurodegenerative
disease: the cause for absent EAAT2, a glutamate transporter, in amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis. Neuron, 20: 589-602, 1998
18. Olney, J.W. Excitotoxic amino acids and neuropsychiatric disorders. Annu
Rev Pharmacol Toxicol, 30: 47-71, 1990.
19. Gann, D. Ventricular tachycardia in a patient with the "Chinese
restaurant syndrome." Southern Medical J, 70: 879-880, 1977.
20. Beatrice Trum Hunter. The Great Nutrition Robbery, New York, NY: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1978, page 35.
21. Kimber L. Rundlett and Daniel W. Armstrong. Evaluation of free
D-glutamate in processed foods. Chirality, 1994;6:277-282.
22. Pommer, K. (Novo Nordisk BioChem Inc) Franklinton, NC, Cereal Foods
World.
23. Broadwell, R.D., and Sofroniew, M.V. Serum proteins bypass the
blood-brain fluid barriers for extracellular entry to the central nervous
system. Exp
Neurol, 120: 245-263, 1993.
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