Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

MSG Update, Summer 2007
http://www.westonaprice.org/msg/msg-update-2007su.html
By Jack L. Samuels

People have been asking for the latest news regarding processed free glutamic 
acid (MSG). Not a week goes by that I do not receive several questions by 
email through our website, www.truthinlabeling.org, asking why the Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA) allows MSG to be included in foods without clear 
disclosure, and what is being done about the fact that so many people are 
reacting to MSG.

The government is doing nothing about MSG... unless you want to count their 
support of big business. The last FDA action regarding disclosure of MSG in 
processed foods was published in the Federal Register in 1993. This 
inadequate proposal for regulation was dropped with no action following 
dismissal of the federal lawsuit, which was initiated by the Truth in 
Labeling Campaign and concerned citizens asking the courts to force the FDA 
to require full disclosure of MSG on food labels.

Case Dismissed

As previously reported, in order for us to win our lawsuit, we had to 
demonstrate that the FDA had been arbitrary and capricious in its handling of 
the MSG issue. We believed that this would have been demonstrated through the 
court's review of certain documents we requested under the discovery process. 
The FDA refused to produce the documents we requested, claiming protection 
from such disclosure under the Administrative Procedures Act. The court 
allowed the FDA to keep the requested documents from the court, resulting in 
a dismissal of our case on the grounds that congress had given the FDA the 
power to determine what was safe. We could not prove that the FDA had acted 
improperly without the documents the FDA refused to show the court.

Following the loss of our lawsuit, a sympathetic congressman asked for one of 
the documents we had requested in court. After first trying to present the 
congressman with the wrong document, the FDA advised us, in writing, that the 
document we requested, a document that was earlier denied us under a Freedom 
of Information Act request, was unavailable and probably destroyed. The 
document in question was a study that cost the FDA over $500,000.

Mislabeling

Through the years, more and more food companies have begun to display "No 
MSG" or "No added MSG" prominently on processed food labels, all while 
contending that there is no concern about MSG in food. Most of these products 
do contain MSG in a "hidden" form. Such products are mislabeled, as defined 
in an FDA Backgrounder dated August 31, 1995, but still in use, and such 
labeling is considered deceptive and misleading under Section 403(a)(1) of 
the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The FDA has rarely taken action 
against companies that have mislabeled foods and, to our knowledge, has not 
taken such action regarding the mislabeled use of MSG in recent years.

For a number of years, I visited members of congress in Washington to ask 
that action be taken to force full disclosure of MSG on processed food 
labels. Rarely did I enter an office without finding that at least one staff 
member talked of their problems with MSG or the problems that one or more of 
their loved ones had with MSG. In several cases, the legislators admitted 
that they had an MSG-sensitive spouse. Yet, nothing has ever been done 
legislatively to force full disclosure of MSG on processed food labels.

Over the past several years, Republican members of congress failed to take 
action on the MSG issue, and some of the Democrats that I spoke to claimed 
that nothing would be done while the Republicans controlled congress. Now 
that the Democrats control congress, I wonder what the new excuse will be.

Reactions

In the meantime, the Republican-controlled congress passed the Food Allergen 
Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-282, Title II), 
and we are now beginning to see full disclosure on food labels of what the 
FDA contends are the eight allergens that cause 90 percent of food allergies. 
They are milk, eggs, fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod), crustacean shellfish 
(e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp), tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans), 
peanuts, wheat, and soybeans.1 MSG is not covered by the Act.

According to the FDA, an estimated 2 percent of adults and about 5 percent of 
infants and young children in the U.S. suffer from food allergies, with 
approximately 30,000 consumers requiring emergency room treatment and 150 
Americans dying each year because of allergic reactions to food. 
Interestingly, the FDA has stated that 25 percent of our population 
incorrectly believe that they have food allergies, a figure that just happens 
to match the 25-30 percent of subjects reported to react to MSG in 
epidemiological studies conducted in the 1970s, based on the amount of MSG in 
processed foods at that time.2,3,4

With the ever increasing use of MSG in processed foods (hidden under more 
than 40 difference ingredient names—see 
www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html), and even being sprayed on our 
crops (see www.truthinlabeling.org/msgsprayed.html), it would not surprise me 
that over 40 percent of our population are experiencing at least periodic 
reactions from MSG.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome

I have been told that the most common condition found in physicians' offices 
today is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that I believe is the 
result of all of the hidden forms of MSG in our food supply, and the use of 
aspartame. (Neuroscientists have found in animal studies that aspartic acid, 
which comprises about 40 percent of aspartame, loads on the same receptors as 
does glutamic acid, causes identical brain lesions and neuroendocrine 
disorders as does glutamic acid, and acts in an additive fashion with 
glutamic acid.) Yet, to my knowledge, scientist have not looked at an MSG 
link to IBS, a diagnosis that is primarily based on conditions presented to a 
physician rather than through a diagnostic procedure.
Obesity

In the summer, 2004 issue of Wise Traditions, I reported that MSG was likely 
the main cause of the obesity epidemic (see 
www.truthinlabeling.org/obesityepidemic.html), but governmental agencies and 
the media continue to blame a lack of exercise and high-fat foods. Recently, 
studies supporting this thesis have appeared in scientific journals,5,6 but 
our government agencies still refuse to look at MSG as a possible cause for 
much of the obesity problem, and our efforts to submit our findings to the 
American Diabetes Association have failed, even though obesity has been 
acknowledged to be a major contributor to the diabetes epidemic. In the 
meantime, a number of scientists who have seen our article on MSG-induced 
obesity have advised us that regular intake of MSG would affect insulin 
levels, resulting in reduced glucose levels and a feeling of hunger.

This certainly makes sense since over the years, we have had a number of 
people who have reported weight gain when they regularly ingest MSG. H. J. 
Roberts, MD, a board certified internist who has extensively studied the 
effects of aspartame, reported in 1990 that 34 patients he treated had gained 
weight while using aspartame. The average weight gain was 19 pounds and one 
of his patients gained 50 pounds while using diet soda sweetened with 
aspartame.7
Autism

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently 
acknowledged that the incidence of autism in our country is now one in 150 
children. For years, I have believed that there is a connection between MSG 
and autism, with particular concern that hidden sources of MSG are used in 
every vaccine that I have reviewed and in every infant formula on the market.

Vaccines also contain mercury, and one study found that mercury, in the 
presence of free glutamic acid increases the effects of neurotoxic glutamic 
acid.10 Up until recently, mercury-containing thimerosal was a common 
ingredient in vaccines. It is now reported that thimerosal has been removed 
from some vaccines, but it has been found to be present in small, undisclosed 
amounts in some "thimerosal free" vaccines. I suspect that thimerosal is 
being used in the medium in which bacteria used in vaccines are grown.

Recently, scientists reported that autistic children have a defect in their 
glutamate transport systems.11 It is of interest to note that several 
alternative medicine practitioners who treat autistic children have told me 
that autistic children appear to be MSG-sensitive, and, in fact, are highly 
allergic individuals.

Glutamate-Blocking Drugs

In May, 1998, The National Institutes of Health conducted a two day symposium 
entitled "The Glutamate Cascade: Common Pathways of Central Nervous System 
Disease States." Speakers and audience members came from around the globe to 
discuss the effects of glutamate and its involvement in certain medical 
conditions. The underlying message was the need for pharmaceutical companies 
to develop glutamate-blocking drugs.

At that time, the pharmaceutical industry believed that it would be 
relatively easy to develop glutamate-blocking drugs, but that was not to be 
the case. Now, however, almost ten years later, some glutamate blocking drugs 
are beginning to come to market. For example, Namenda is now on the market as 
an effective treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's Disease.

Rilutek, another glutamate-blocking drug, is now marketed for the treatment 
for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). It is the 
only drug currently licensed for the treatment of ALS.

Both Namenda and Rilutek are being studied for treatment of another severe 
neurodegenerative condition, Huntington's Disease. In a report on the study, 
researchers stated,

"... a drug called memantine [Namenda], which is used to treat Alzheimer's 
disease, and Riluzole [Rilotek], used in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, did 
protect the cells. Memantine demonstrated a stronger effect in the study. 
Memantine has also shown evidence of retarding the progression of 
Huntington's in people, while Riluzole has helped relieve some symptoms."12

BBC News has announced that glutamate-blocking drugs being developed for 
treatment of strokes may also be helpful in the treatment of multiple 
sclerosis,13 and such prestigious organizations as the University of Maryland 
Medical School have stated, "A number of experimental drugs are being 
investigated for Parkinson's disease because they block the actions of 
glutamate, an amino acid that is a particularly potent nerve cell killer. 
Some of these drugs block a receptor group to glutamate called 
N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). NMDA antagonists are showing some promise for 
reducing symptoms of Parkinson's disease, particularly tremor."14

Richard Hennebery, PhD, a neuroscientist, stated it well when he testified at 
an open meeting on April 7, 1993, held by the Federation of American 
Societies for Experimental Biology in conjunction with an FDA-funded study 
they were conducting on the safety of MSG in food. He said, "I consider it 
ironic that the pharmaceutical industry is investing vast resources in the 
development of glutamate receptor blockers to protect CNS [central nervous 
system] 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.15

Government Stonewall

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), relying, at least in part, on 
claims of the FDA that MSG is safe, has allowed the use of free glutamic 
acid, a known neurotoxic amino acid and endocrine disruptor, on all 
agricultural crops. The EPA continues to approve the use of AuxiGro WP 
Metabolic Primer (AuxiGro) for use on crops, a product that contains over 30 
percent processed free glutamic acid (MSG).

The FDA has approved countless new food ingredients that include processed 
free glutamic acid (MSG).

The FDA has refused to take action against companies that mislabel foods 
regarding MSG or to take action to require disclosure of MSG on food labels.

Our government has allowed the introduction of an artificial flavor to 
replicate the effects of MSG without requiring testing for adverse reactions. 
The product, called Senomyx, is heavily financed by such food giants as Kraft 
Foods Global, Inc., Nestle SA, Campbell's Soup Company, The Coca-Cola 
Company, Cadbury Co., and Ajinomoto Co., Inc. Senomyx, Inc. claims that they 
will follow their MSG replacement product with a sugar substitute and a salt 
substitute. Company literature tells us that Senomyx products work 
neurologically, using the same pathways as those used by MSG to perceive 
enhanced flavor.

Recent efforts to ban aspartame in New Mexico were defeated, apparently 
through the efforts of a number of industry lobbyists. In recent years, there 
has been activity in the Republic of the Philippines to ban aspartame, but 
industry forces have kept such a ban from being approved.
Conclusion

There is no question in my mind that the effects of MSG on the health of our 
nation and, in fact, the health of other nations that are now using the same 
processed foods that we use, is even greater than informed people like myself 
believed. MSG use in our food supply may turn out to be a more severe problem 
than the use of tobacco.

I personally believe that each and every congressman and senator should be 
embarrassed to represent a government that brags about passing the Food 
Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, a law that may help 2 percent 
of the population. Meanwhile, MSG, a well-known neurotoxic, endocrine 
disrupting substance, is being sprayed on fields and added to processed foods 
in ever increasing amounts, and there is no effort to require full disclosure 
of MSG on food labels even though it is clearly stated in the literature that 
MSG adversely affects more than 25 percent of the population, and, in many 
cases, is causing life-threatening and life-altering reactions.

As we lead up to another presidential election, I cannot believe that our 
congress would remain silent on the MSG issue if every member of the Weston 
A. Price Foundation would write to their congressman and senators in 
Washington and insist that the FDA be required to have all MSG fully 
disclosed on food labels. I would suggest that, when appropriate, the 
writer's reaction to MSG should be stated, and the difficulty in identifying 
MSG from food labels and obtaining reliable information from food producers 
and sellers should be reported. Proper disclosure of MSG on labels of 
processed food would require that food producers have every processed food 
analyzed for free glutamic acid, post production, and that if free glutamic 
acid was found in the food that it be disclosed on the label as "MSG," with 
the amount present stated in milligrams. After the initial analysis of 
processed foods on the market, analysis would only be required for new 
products and any product that undergoes a change in recipe. The cost to a 
company would be less than $100 per product, a small expense for improved 
health in our country.

Sidebars
MSG and Cancer

Russell L. Blaylock, M.D., author of the outstanding book, Excitotoxins: The 
Taste that Kills, in a September 27, 2006 interview with Mike Adams of 
NewsTarget.com stated that MSG and aspartame have been found to dramatically 
promote cancer growth and metastasis, making cancer cells more mobile. Dr. 
Blaylock also reported that researchers have found that glutamate blockers, 
when administered with conventional pharmaceuticals like chemotherapy drugs, 
significantly enhance the effects of the cancer drugs.

In 1993, the Truth in Labeling Campaign advised the FDA that acid-hydrolyzed 
proteins are accompanied by carcinogenic propanols. (In the US, acid 
hydrolysis is the most common method of hydrolyzing proteins because it is 
the least expensive and most efficient method of hydrolysis.) The FDA advised 
us that the amount of carcinogens from acid hydrolyzed proteins was too low 
to be a concern for humans. However, in the last several years, the food 
regulatory agency in England has removed certain sauces from grocers' shelves 
because of a level of carcinogens that they believed to be unsafe. Recently, 
the English agency acknowledged to me that all of the recalled items 
contained an acid-hydrolyzed protein, and the carcinogenic agents were 
propanols. Now, as the English government works on an international level to 
resolve the problem, the FDA has joined forces with them.

In 1978, Nemeroff and co-workers found that the levels of the hormone 
prolactin were elevated in MSG-treated male rats.8 Recognizing that the 
excessive use of MSG can increase prolactin levels, and that increased 
prolactin levels could affect the health of prostate and breast tissue, I 
contacted scientists, but no research followed on the subject. Now, in 2006, 
Harvey and co-workers have published a paper in which they state that "... 
recent findings from human epidemiology and molecular biology suggest that 
prolactin is a risk factor for breast cancer, and probably prostate cancer."9
MSG and Bees

In early 2007, the news media reported that honeybees were vanishing, placing 
crops and beekeepers at peril. To date, no reason for the mass death of 
honeybees has been found, but I cannot help but wonder if the increased use 
of AuxiGro WP Metabolic Primer (AuxiGro) throughout our nation, with its 
content of more than 30% neurotoxic processed free glutamic acid (MSG), could 
be a factor. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and at least 
three major organizations involved with bees have been contacted without 
reply.

REFERENCES

   1. http:www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/alrgqa.html#q2.
   2. Reif-Lehrer L. A questionnaire study of the prevalence of Chinese 
restaurant syndrome, Fed Proc. April, 977;36(5):1617-23.
   3. Kenney RA, Tidball CS. Human susceptibility to oral monosodium 
glutamate. Am J Clin Nutr. Feb 1972; 25(2): 140-6.
   4. Schaumburg H. Chinese-restaurant syndrome. N Eng J Med. May 16, 1968; 
278(20):1122.
   5. Hermanussen M, et al. Obesity, voracity, and short stature, the impact 
of glutamate on regulation of appetite. Eur J Clin Nutr. Jan, 
2006;60(1):25-31.
   6. Fernandez-Tresguerres Hernandez JA. Effect of monosodium glutamate 
given orally on appetite control (a new theory for the obesity epidemic). An 
R Acad Nac Med (Madr). 2005; 122(2):341-355 - discussion 355-60.
   7. Roberts, HJ. Aspartame (NutraSweet)—Is it Safe? ISBN 0-914783-37-8, 
1990; Chapter 17: pages 147-50.
   8. Nemeroff CB et al. Models of neuroendcorine regulation: use of 
monosodium glutamate as an investigational tool. Dev Neurosci. 1978; 
1(2):102-9.
   9. Harvey PW et al. Hyperprolactinaemia as an adverse effect in regulatory 
and clinical toxicology: role in breast and prostate cancer. Hum Exp Toxicol. 
July, 2006;25(7): 395-404.
  10. Aschner et al. Methylmercury alters glutamate transport in astrocytes. 
Neurochem Int. Aug-Sept, 2000; 37(2-3):199-206.
  11. Shuang M, et al. Family-based association study between autism and 
glutamate receptor 6 gene in Chinese Hans trios. Am J Med Genet B 
Neuropsychiatr Genet. Nov 15, 2004; 131(1): 48-50.
  12. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=55472.
  13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/581156.stm.
  14. 
http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/what_other_drugs_used_parkinsons_disease_000051_8.htm.
  15. http://members.aol.com/adieonly/page/index.htm.

About the Author

Jack Samuels and his wife, Adrienne Samuels, PhD, are founders of Truth in 
Labeling, a nonprofit organization dedicated to accurate labeling of MSG and 
the removal of MSG from use in agriculture. For further information, see 
their website at www.truthinlabeling.org.