Excitotoxins
Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is one of the most controversial ingredients ever used, yet so few understand what it is or what it does. It and its partner, Aspartame, also known as Nutra-sweet, are classified as excitotoxins. We’ve all heard of MSG and Nutra-sweet, but how many of us actually know what they are or how they affect the human body?
One look at the word should make us nervous about consuming these additives; toxins are just that: toxic. Excitotoxins are a class of substances that damage neurons through paroxysmal, or sudden, uncontrollable activity. These substances are being put into our foods at alarming rates and they know that they damage neurons! We even willingly add this to our own foods through products like meat tenderizer, which is almost totally MSG.
According to the book “Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” by Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, an excitotoxin is defined as:
"A substance added to foods and beverages that literally stimulates neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees. Can be found in such ingredients as monosodium glutamate, aspartame (NutraSweet), cysteine, hydrolyzed protein, and aspartic acid." [Emphasis mine]
Discovered in Japan in 1909, Monosodium Glutamate, most commonly referred to as MSG, occurs naturally in soy sauce and other soy products. Because it is a neurotoxin, it actually fools our brains into believing that what we are eating tastes better than it actually does. In large doses it is absolutely toxic, causing death. In the Philippines a man committed suicide by drinking water laced with a large amount of MSG. Almost immediately he began foaming at the mouth and was dead in minutes. There was nothing that could be done for him.
In 1969 scientists discovered that MSG given to mice and rats while still within their mother’s womb became quite obese. For the scientific world this was wonderful news; there were no mice or rats that were naturally obese and we needed to use them to study obesity. Now they could “make” obese animals to study. They just had to feed them a strict diet of MSG. Great news for them, bad news for us.
Since 1969 they have known that MSG causes obesity, yet they not only continued to add it to some of our foods, but they have increased the variety of foods containing it. What was once labeled the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome” is now referred to as “MSG Sensitivity.” In fact, Kentucky Fried Chicken contains more MSG than the Chinese restaurant next door. That was the secret in the Colonel’s secret recipe. That’s what makes KFC’s chicken taste so good. Oh, and did I mention that MSG is addictive?
Soup mixes and bullion cubes were unheard of before the discovery of Monosodium Glutamate. You can actually buy it in the bulk food isles to add to your home cooking. At one time it was proudly advertised, but now that the word is out on how detrimental it is to our health, the food industry has had to find ways to hide it. A product can be labeled “No MSG” and still have ingredients that either have MSG in them or cause its manufacture in our bodies. The following ingredients are ones to watch for: anything that says hydrolyzed, autolyzed or modified, and textured protein.
Aspartame, most commonly known under the names Equal and Nutra-sweet, was first discovered in 1965 by a technician working for the Searle company, but it wasn’t until 1969 that they revealed to the world that they had created a synthetic sweetener that was 100-200 times sweeter than sugar. One of the main components of aspartame is methanol, or wood alcohol, which is also used in the manufacturing of formaldehyde. People who drink wood alcohol can damage their eyes and even go blind. In fact, methanol will form formaldehyde in our bodies.
As excitotoxins, MSG and aspartame both over stimulate nerve cells, breaking down the function ability of the entire nervous system. When nerve cells are over excited they break down and die. Since our brain is a major component of the nervous system, these excitotoxins attack and destroy our brains. They are two of the main weapons that are being used to dumb-down America.
Studies indicate a direct link between excitotoxins and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). In my own experiences I have seen what happens to a hyperactive child who is given Doritos (loaded with MSG). I myself am a victim of aspartame poisoning, having an addiction to Diet Pepsi. The “brain fog” was so thick that I would forget what I was talking about halfway through a sentence. To this day the symptoms return if I ingest any aspartame. And this is only the beginning.
Not only do excitotoxins cause damage at the cellular level, but they have also been linked to many other ailments, from epilepsy to Multiple Sclerosis. Both MSG and aspartame may trigger or mimic: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein-Barr, Post-polio Syndrome, Lyme Disease, Grave’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, ALS, Epilepsy, Hypothyroidism, MS, Fibermyalgia, Lupus, ADD and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. If you suffer from severe migraines, you might want to take a good look at what you’re eating, because excitotoxins trigger them as well.
They also affect your eyes, ears, chest and gastrointestinal system. Many people use aspartame to help control their diabetes, not realizing that it can actually cause loss of diabetic control and weight gain. So much for that diet soda! Excitotoxins also increase our susceptibility to infections and have been linked to cancer, most notably brain cancer, and Leukemia.
The pharmaceutical companies spend millions of dollars annually researching something called “glutamate blockers” because they know how bad excessive glutamate is for our systems. So why are they putting more glutamate into our foods? With all the evidence pointing to the toxicity of these two products, and others like them, why do they continue to put them into our food and act as if they are harmless? Could it be that they really are trying to kill us?
The list of chronic illnesses associated with these substances, and the fact that both MSG and aspartame cause weight gain, should make us pause and take notice of the ingredients of the foods that we choose to consume. The fact that they attack our bodies at the cellular level should be cause for their out-right ban worldwide, yet nothing is done. When the facts behind their passage by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigated, one finds more questions than answers. It seems that our citizenry is under attack by the very people who are supposed to be protecting us.
"From this place also you will go out with your hands on your head; for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper with them." (Jeremiah 2:37)