Johnny Geno Spirtual Center

   Kombu, a seaweed, was first used in Japan as a flavor enhancer without understanding that glutamic acid was its flavor-enhancing component. In 1908, a doctor, Kikunae Ikeda of Tokyo, Japan, isolated the main ingredient MSG, or monosodium glutamate, and started what has become a million-dollar industry.
   He noticed that glutamic acid had flavor-enhancing potential. MSG does not affect food; instead it tricks your brain into thinking the food which you are eating tastes good. MSG is not a preservative and does not protect food from contamination or spoilage.
   Manufacturers can use inferior ingredients, and by adding MSG, can mask the inferior quality and freshness of foods. It is used to disguise the tinny taste of canned products and to give a fresh taste to frozen or freeze-dried foods. Food companies are able to make their ingredients go much further with the help of this flavor enhancer, thus cutting their production costs. Inferior products and higher profits prevail at the expense of consumer health.
   Why is MSG such a concern? What if someone were to tell you that this chemical (MSG), when added to food, could cause brain damage in your children, and that this chemical could affect how your children's nervous systems formed during development so that in later years they may have learning or emotional difficulties? What if there was scientific evidence that these chemicals could permanently damage a critical part of the brain known to control hormones so that later in life your child might have endocrine problems? How would you feel?
   Suppose evidence was presented to you strongly suggesting that the artificial sweetener in your diet soft drink might cause brain tumors to develop, and that the number of brain tumors reported since the introduction of this widespread artificial sweetener has risen dramatically? Would that affect your decision to drink these products, and especially to allow your children to drink them? What if you could be shown overwhelming evidence that one of the main ingredients in this sweetener (Aspartate) could cause the same brain lesions as MSG? Would that affect your buying decisions?
   And finally, what if it could be demonstrated that all of these types of chemicals, called excitotoxins, could possibly aggravate or even precipitate many of today's epidemic neuro-degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), and Alzheimer's disease? Would you be concerned if you knew that these excitotoxin food additives are a particular risk if you have diabetes, or if you have ever had a stroke, brain injury, brain tumor, seizure, or have suffered from hypertension, meningitis, or viral encephalitis?
   Would you also be upset to learn that many of the brain lesions caused by these products are irreversible and can result from a SINGLE exposure of these products in sufficient concentration? How would you feel when you learn the food industry hides and disguises these excitotoxin additives (MSG and Aspartate) so they can't be recognized? Incredulous? The fact is, many foods are labeled as having "No MSG", but in fact, not only contain MSG, but also are laced with other excitotoxins of equal potency and danger.
   According to the manufacturer, Varivax-Merck chicken pox vaccine (Varicella Virus Live), contains L-monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed gelatin, both of which contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG), which causes brain lesions in young laboratory animals, and causes endocrine disturbances like obesity and reproductive disorders later in life. It would appear that most, if not all, live virus vaccines contain some ingredient that contains MSG.
   Reactions to MSG are dose related, i.e., some people react to even very small amounts. MSG-induced reactions may occur immediately after ingestion or after as much as 48 hours. The time lapse is typically the same for any one individual.
   While some people can use MSG with unnoticed adverse effects, many others have severe reactions to it, some of them life-threatening. MSG has been linked to asthma, headaches, and heart irregularities. Behavioral and physical problems of children, such as incontinence and seizures, as well as attention deficit disorder (ADD), have been diagnosed and successfully treated as MSG disorders.
   Why do some people experience a reaction after ingesting MSG? MSG works like a drug, altering taste buds' sensitivity. While all people do not seem to notice a reaction to the current dose levels found in our food supply, about 30 percent of the population does respond seriously. As higher and higher doses of MSG are added to foods, more and more people are experiencing reactions. Current levels added to food are fifty times higher than amounts used forty years ago, and the quantity continues to grow every year.
   What kinds of reactions can MSG cause in people? Reported reactions to MSG include: headaches, migraines, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, asthma attacks, shortness of breath, anxiety or panic attacks, heart palpitations, partial paralysis, "heart-attack like symptoms," balance difficulties, mental confusion, mood swings, behavioral disorders (especially in children and teens), allergy-type symptoms, skin rashes, runny nose, bags under the eyes, flushing, mouth lesions, depression, and more.
   In addition, medical research has demonstrated glutamate relationships in Alzheimer's Disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), diabetes, Huntington's Disease, and Parkinson's Disease.
   NOTE: Scientists used to feel that infants were the group most at risk from MSG. Now, however, researchers have found a relationship between MSG and some of the dreaded neuro-degenerative diseases such as ALS, Parkinsonism, Huntington's disease, and Alzheimer's disease, which all affect the elderly.
   While MSG in its pure form must be labeled, food manufacturers are aware that consumers have become savvy to the term, "monosodium glutamate," and are now adding enormous amounts to our foods under devious and difficult-to-identify names�with the Food and Drug Administration's approval.
   The not so new game is to label hydrolyzed proteins as pea protein, whey protein, corn protein, etc. If a pea, for example, were whole, it would be identified as a pea. Calling an ingredient pea protein indicates that the pea has been hydrolyzed, at least in part, and that processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is present.
   Those wishing to eliminate MSG from their diets are faced with an almost impossible task. Food preparers are often unaware that they're even using MSG. Labels can be misleading. A label that says "No MSG added" doesn't necessarily mean that the food is free of MSG, it simply means that the manufacturer didn't put in additional MSG. MSG goes under many aliases, one of the most common being "hydrolyzed vegetable protein," an additive used to increase the protein content of a wide variety of foods.
   MSG is now the most widely used flavor enhancer in the world. MSG and MSG-containing substances are used in almost all processed foods and of course, in fast foods. They're also found in nearly all canned and frozen foods. Don't be fooled by labels which read "organic"; those, too, can have MSG and/or MSG-containing substances. If it comes in a box, a bottle, a jar, a can, a package of any kind, it most likely contains one of these substances.
   Manufacturers also hide MSG as part of "natural flavorings," because it is a natural product. But being natural is not the same as being harmless. Remember also that the powerful excitotoxins aspartate and L-cysteine are frequently added to foods and, according to FDA rules, require no labeling at all. Remember: By FDA definition, all MSG is "naturally occurring." "Natural" doesn't mean "safe." "Natural" only means that the ingredient started out in nature.
   When added to another ingredient (frequently the case with carrageenan, for instance), the FDA does not require that MSG be listed as such on a label. Food labels are arranged in descending order of ingredient concentrations. The earlier an ingredient below appears on a label, the higher the likelihood that the food contains MSG.
   MSG can be used (and hidden) in processed food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, personal care products, and drugs. It can be used in waxes applied to fresh fruits and vegetables. It can be used as ingredients in pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, and plant growth enhancers � remaining in the edible portion of the plant or on the edible portion of the plant when its leaves, fruits, nuts, grains, and other edible parts are brought to market.
   MSG is shorthand for processed free glutamic acid, i.e., glutamic acid that has been manufactured or freed from protein through processing or bacterial fermentation. It is a toxic substance. It can be used without disclosure.
   To understand how MSG can easily be hidden, you must first understand that there are two very distinct ways of manufacturing MSG. The first is through manufacture of a product called "monosodium glutamate." There are a number of ways in which this can be achieved, but the end result will always be a product that contains glutamic acid (glutamate), sodium (salt), moisture, and a number of contaminants. It is important to understand that in "monosodium glutamate," glutamic acid will be the only amino acid present. If there were other amino acids present while the "monosodium glutamate" was being manufactured, they would have been cleaned out.
   When any product contains 79% free glutamic acid (with the balance being made up of salt, moisture, and up to 1 per cent contaminants), the product is called "monosodium glutamate" by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and must be labeled as such. FDA regulations require that all food ingredients be called by their "common or usual names," and "monosodium glutamate" is the "common or usual name" of the ingredient that contains 79% free glutamic acid (with the balance being made up of salt, moisture, and up to 1 per cent contaminants).
   The second way of producing MSG is through breakdown of protein, i.e., processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is created when protein is either partially or fully broken apart into its constituent amino acids. A protein can be broken into its constituent amino acids in a number of ways (autolysis, hydrolysis, enzymolysis, and/or fermentation). When a protein is subject to autolysis, hydrolysis, enzymolysis, and/or fermentation, the amino acid chains in the protein are broken, and the amino acids are freed. Acids, enzymes, and/or fermentation processes may be used to create MSG in this way.
   There are over 40 food ingredients besides "monosodium glutamate" that contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG). Each, according to the FDA, must be called by its own, unique, "common or usual name." "Autolyzed yeast," "maltodextrin," "sodium caseinate," and "soy sauce" are the common or usual names of some ingredients that contain MSG. Unlike the ingredient called "monosodium glutamate," they give the consumer no clue that there is MSG in the ingredient. The Truth in Labeling Campaign has asked the FDA to require manufacturers to identify ingredients that contain MSG by listing MSG on a product's label. In response, we have been told that FDA regulations require that all food ingredients be called by their "common or usual names," but there is no requirement that a constituent of an ingredient be identified.
   MSG does not affect food; instead it tricks your brain into thinking the food which you are eating tastes good. MSG is not a preservative and does not protect food from contamination or spoilage.
   Manufacturers can use inferior ingredients, and by adding MSG, can mask the inferior quality and freshness of foods. It is used to disguise the tinny taste of canned products and to give a fresh taste to frozen or freeze-dried foods. Food companies are able to make their ingredients go much further with the help of this flavor enhancer, thus cutting their production costs. Inferior products and higher profits prevail at the expense of consumer health.
   MSG is hidden in ingredients used in processed food. English names of ingredients known to contain and/or produce MSG during manufacture are listed on the following Web page: [citation??]
   Names of ingredients known to contain or create MSG during manufacture E-numbers are numerical designations which have been developed within the European Community (EC) for declaration of foodstuff additives. The list does not include all ingredients that contain MSG. MSG is being sprayed on growing fruits, nuts, grains, and vegetables; not all, just some. And, yes, there have been reports of MSG reactions to produce.
   MSG can be hidden: In Wine -- Sprayed on wine grapes, including California wine grapes; In food with labels that say "No Added MSG," "No MSG Added," or "No MSG"; In food that is falsely advertised as containing no MSG; In food whose manufacturers claim, in response to questions, that their products contain no MSG; MSG can be hidden by restaurateurs who claim that the food they serve contains no MSG.
   A Final Note...
   Dr. Blaylock, an expert on the subject of MSG, recounted a meeting with a senior executive in the food additive industry who told him point blank that these excitotoxins are going to be in our food no matter how many name changes are necessary...
   Below is a partial list of the most common names for disguised MSG. Please be certain to check the complete list given elsewhere:
   Additives that always contain MSG:
     Autolyzed Yeast
     Calcium Caseinate
     Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
     Hydrolyzed Protein
     Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
     Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
     Monosodium Glutamate
     Plant Protein Extract
     Sodium Caseinate
     Textured Protein
     Yeast Extract
   Terms that frequently indicate hidden MSG additives:
     Malt extract
     Bouillon
     Broth
     Stock
     Flavoring
     Natural Flavoring
     Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
     Seasoning
     Spices
   Additives that may contain MSG or excitotoxins:
     Carrageenan
     Enzymes
     Soy Protein Concentrate
     Soy Protein Isolate
     Whey Protein Concentrate
     Protease enzymes of various sources can release excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins.
   Reference:
     Blaylock, Russell L., M.D. Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, Health Press, Santa Fe, NM 87504, 1994.
     Schwartz, George R., M.D. and Schwartz, Kathleen A. In Bad Taste: The MSG Symptom Complex, Health Press, Santa Fe, NM 87504.