MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE: FOOD FOR THOUGHT BUT NOT FOR EATING By Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D. May 10, 1991 Revised July 1, 1995 Aches and pains? Feeling lousy? It's part of life. What else is new? What's new is that some of those aches and pains may not just be part of life, but may be part of what you're eating. They may be caused by monosodium glutamate (MSG). MSG is used widely in food to enhance food's flavor. You will find it, in one form or another, in almost all processed or otherwise manufactured food. Instead of making chicken soup with a whole chicken, use half a chicken and a little MSG; you get a big chicken taste and save some money. Unfortunately, about 30 per cent of our population experiences one or more adverse reactions, along with the savings and explosion of taste, when they use MSG. A most interesting substance, MSG is added to food but has no nutritional value. It doesn't affect the food it is in, and it doesn't have any flavor. Rather, it produces its flavor enhancing effect by stimulating your taste buds. Scientists call glutamic acid, from which MSG is derived, an excitotoxic amino acid because it is known to excite, and even kill, brain cells in laboratory animals. MSG doesn't change your food at all. MSG changes you. We know that MSG excites the taste buds and causes adverse reactions. But we don't know how or why. And we don't know whether or not MSG is doing something to people who show no overt MSG reactions. We don't think anyone should use MSG. How do we know that MSG makes some people ill? If it were up to our Food and Drug Administration (FDA), you wouldn't, because the fact that MSG causes adverse reactions in humans appears to be a well guarded secret. But adverse reactions to MSG were mentioned as early as 1968 in the New England Journal of Medicine. And in 1969, Dr. John Olney wrote the first article that linked brain damage in laboratory animals (particularly infant animals) to MSG ingestion. In 1970, manufacturers (not the FDA) agreed to take MSG out of baby food. In 1978 or so, they finally took it out of "baby food," but not out of all food that's fed to babies. In 1988, Dr. George Schwartz published the book In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome, which cited case studies of MSG-sensitive individuals and revealed to its readers where, how, and why MSG was being hidden in processed or otherwise manufactured food. As a result of Dr. Schwartz's book, a consumer group, NOMSG, was formed, and reports of members have provided data never collected before. 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 neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, Parkinsonism, Huntington's disease, and Alzheimer's disease, which all affect the elderly. Scientists used to think that in adults, brain cells were protected from invasion of MSG. Now, however, researchers realize that there are at least five areas in the brain that are not well protected. What are the symptoms? Symptoms of MSG are many and varied. In fact, so many different symptoms occur that people often question how one substance could cause such diverse reactions. The answer lies in the fact that MSG is a neurotropic drug (a substance that effects the nervous system). If you realize that valium, which is a popular neurotropic drug, may produce a wide variety of side effects, you should not be surprised that the same is true of MSG. MSG-sensitive people have reported numerous reactions, including simple skin rash, bloating, fatigue, joint pain, shortness or breath, chest pain, severe gastric distress, diarrhea, asthma type symptoms, exercise induced asthma, headache, migraine headache, irregular heart beat, atrial fibrillation, rapid heart beat (called tachycardia), nausea and vomiting, anxiety attacks, depression, hyperactivity in children, mood swings, mouth lesions, flushing, and tremors. If you experience any of these symptoms, you must understand that none are caused exclusively by MSG. Most, if not all, could be caused by various physical conditions as well as by other food additives. But they can be caused by eating MSG. One of the things that makes diagnosis of MSG sensitivity extremely difficult is the different reaction times experienced by different people. Some people eat MSG and react immediately. Some react as late as 48 hours after ingesting MSG. A second consideration is the fact that reactions are dose related. Jeannette can not tolerate even the smallest amount of MSG without having a reaction. However, Pat tolerates small amounts, but reacts to MSG when she ingests four grams or more in any one meal. Although there are many adverse responses associated with MSG ingestion, one individual will always react in the same one, two, or three consistent ways, and do so within the same time frame. When Ron ingests just a little MSG, he gets light headed and somewhat disoriented. The reactions start about 20 minutes after he has eaten the MSG. If he eats a lot of MSG, he gets violent diarrhea, which starts about half an hour after he finishes his meal. If he eats a little MSG and engages in vigorous exercise, he goes into anaphylactic shock. How many people are sensitive to MSG? H. Schaumburg, writing in the late 60's and early 70's, estimated that approximately 30% of our population suffered adverse reactions when fed MSG in an ordinary diet at levels readily available on a given day. Other independent researchers confirmed his observations. Those studies were followed by studies sponsored by the glutamate industry which purported to demonstrate that no more than 1-2% of the population might be sensitive to MSG. Those industry- sponsored studies were methodologically inadequate, statistically unsound, and came to conclusions which did not follow from the results of the studies. Unfortunately, the amount of MSG readily available in food has grown to such proportions that we would now expect more than 30% of the population to suffer adverse reactions to MSG at levels readily available in an ordinary diet. Just what is this substance that makes some people ill? It is difficult to comprehend how glutamic acid (an amino acid), or one of its salts (glutamate) could cause the adverse reactions that we have described. For glutamate is one of the substances that make up protein. And we all know that protein is essential to maintaining good health. But protein is like a jigsaw puzzle. Every puzzle is made up of many pieces. The pieces in any one puzzle will differ in size and in shape, and you can buy puzzles that have pieces that are quite different from one another. Like puzzles, different proteins are made up of different amino acids. And, like puzzles, which can't be completed when a piece is missing, a protein is no longer the same protein when amino acids that once were a part of that protein are missing or broken. And when amino acids are just lying around like loose puzzle pieces, you don't have a protein at all. It's one thing to eat protein. We all need protein, in one form or another, to stay healthy. It's quite another thing to eat free, isolated, amino acids. Scientists don't necessarily agree on exactly what happens when we eat free amino acids. One theory says that when we ingest free glutamate, the amino acid balance in the body is thrown out of balance, creating a situation that needs adjustment. And the body reacts just as it does to various kinds of stress--to poison, to transient illness, or to disease. For years, nutritionists have warned about the potential hazards that imbalance of amino acids can cause. A second theory says that something in the manufacture of the glutamate causes humans to experience adverse reactions. Although there is glutamate in protein, eating protein does not cause the adverse reactions associated with eating glutamate. Only the manufactured free glutamate cause the reactions. Where is MSG found? Where is MSG hidden? What can you do to avoid MSG? MSG is manufactured through a process of protein hydrolysis. When protein hydrolysis yields a product that is 99% free glutamate (glutamate separated from the protein in which it was originally found), the product is called "monosodium glutamate" ("MSG") by the FDA and must be labeled as such. When a protein hydrolysate consists of less than 99% free glutamate, the product is called one of a variety of names including "sodium caseinate," "calcium caseinate," "autolyzed yeast," "textured protein," "yeast food," "hydrolyzed vegetable protein," and "hydrolyzed protein." All these products contain MSG. Typically, the amount of free glutamate in these products ranges between 8 and 40 per cent. The FDA points out that all of these hydrolyzed protein products occur naturally; but unlike the naturally occurring "MSG" which is 99% or more free glutamate and is required by FDA regulation to identify its MSG content with the words "monosodium glutamate," under present regulations, the other hydrolyzed proteins do not have to mention that they contain MSG. On any given day, a new product may enter the market, and a new source of MSG may be at hand. Names that can be used to signify a hydrolyzed protein appear not to be subject to any restrictions. But that's not the half of it. Under FDA regulation, hydrolyzed protein may be included in various products with no mention of the hydrolyzed protein. The information we have at this time tells us that broth, bouillon, stock, flavoring, natural flavoring, natural flavors, and a whole host of products called natural chicken flavoring, natural turkey flavoring, etc. contain MSG insinuated into the product through the use of some form of hydrolyzed protein. So MSG sensitive people who know about the hiding of MSG are afraid to eat any product that has "flavoring" or "natural flavoring" in it, for example, even though it might be MSG-free. As a result, the grocery shelf, the refrigerator, and the freezer case, contain very little that a sensitive person can be sure is free of MSG. Further, the amount of MSG found in food today is growing. It is found in most soups, salad dressings, and processed meats; in some crackers, bread, canned tuna fish, most frozen entrees, ice cream, and frozen yogurt. Lately we've seen it included in the new "low fat" foods. That makes sense because if you remove the flavor provided by the fat, you have to put back the flavor, and that, some say, calls for MSG. This hiding of MSG has a second consequence, much more insidious than forcing MSG-sensitive people to limit their diets. Hiding MSG makes recognition of MSG so complex and confusing that people who are sensitive to MSG have a great deal of difficulty realizing it. Think about it. If you eat something with MSG in it, and you have a bad reaction, you might think at first that you are sensitive to MSG. But then you eat something that does not say MSG anywhere on the label and you have that same reaction. "Obviously," you conclude, "it is something else to which I am sensitive, not MSG." Not until you recognize all of the hidden sources of MSG will you be able to make a proper evaluation of what is causing your reaction. Just as MSG in food is presently identified some times and not others, the FDA has proposed a regulation that the glutamate in "certain" hydrolyzed proteins should be disclosed. The proposed regulation as published in the January 6, 1993 Federal Register does not make clear what "certain" means. To the consumer, however, "certain" means that MSG will continue to be hidden in food. Following the August 31, 1995 release of a report on the safety of MSG done for the FDA by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D., J.D., reiterated the need to label "significant" amounts of MSG. "Significant" means that MSG will continue to be hidden in food. What can be done about the hiding of MSG? All across the United States people are asking food processors, the FDA, the Congress, and the President, to see that MSG is identified whenever and however it appears in the end product of processed or otherwise manufactured food. Others would like to see MSG removed from the FDA's GRAS (generally regarded as safe) list. It is up to the consumer to convince those who are in a position to change things that MSG should be labeled and/or removed from the GRAS list. At the same time, people who understand the problem are trying to alert their families and friends to the hidden forms of MSG. On August 29, 1995, 29 persons, including physicians, scientists, and parents on behalf of their children, joined with the Truth in Labeling campaign to file suit in Federal Court, asking the court to intercede on their behalf and require that all MSG in processed food be labeled. Depending on the schedule of the judge assigned to the suit, we expect that hearings will begin early in 1996. You, as an individual, owe it to yourself and to your family to make certain that you are not sensitive to free glutamic acid that occurs in food as a consequence of a manufacturing process (MSG). Difficult as it may be, a two week regime of fresh cooked fruits and vegetables and fresh fish, poultry, and meat (no turkey please, because most turkey is basted with broth that contains MSG) which includes nothing processed out of a box, bottle, bag, jar, or can (no candy or gum, either) should tell you pretty well where you stand on MSG. If things that bothered you before your "diet," like headache, muscle tension, asthma, heart irregularities, and gastric distress do not bother you in the two week "diet" period, you should begin to look seriously at the food you were previously eating for food additives that might be causing your problems. One of the food additives you should look at is MSG. If you are concerned about MSG sensitivity, or would like to help the Truth in Labeling Campaign, (a nonprofit corporation), write Jack Samuels, Truth in Labeling Campaign, P.O. Box 2532, Darien, IL 60561. A stamped, self-addressed envelope would be appreciated.