MSG

“I have not read it yet but the book, "The Slow Poisoning of America" (http://www.spofamerica.com/) might be a good book to read. The author was on the radio recently, and he made some good points about mono sodium glutimate and it's historical resons for being in the (backpacking) food we sometimes eat. I have no money-interest in the success or failure of the book. I'm just sharing it with you as the author awakened me to the severe damage that msg can do to a body. It's frightening, even. I never knew. I might have to look more carefully at my mountain house packages, too. You don't want to drink plenty of water and eat high calorie food to stay healthy on the trail all the while inadvertently chugging mono sodium glutimate, do you? Of course not. But the stuff, according to the author, is in a wide variety of our foods, and it's very harmful to you; moreover, it's not only known as msg. So, while you think your not going to eat any of the stuff, you say "Wow, I just have eaten a great meal. I should be pumped up for the next leg of the hike" you are actually poisoning yourself - provided that you agree with the author. As a hiker I need the challenge of the hills and the friendship of camping, but none of us needs to be handicapped at the 10 mile mark by a hiden chemical.

Check it out.”

“It really bothers me just how many chemicls we ingest everyday without prior knowledge of.”

“yeah, i don't eat those crappy backpacking "meals." last weekend i had some Mary Jane's Farm organic mac & cheese, which basically tasted like mushy cardboard, LOL. but at least i'm not poisoning myself!”

“it's not only known as msg

precision - Do you know what other names it goes by? Thanks.”

“I think Lecithin is rat hairs.”

“Sarge, I can't remember the alternative names of the chemical, but you should be able to find the names via a Google search or by reading the book.

Cheers.”

“Some people are MSG sensitive and some Chinese restaurants off MSG-free food. On the other hand, the Chinese use it by the bucket in just about everything they eat and there are still a feww of them left.”

“Lyra, what the hell were you doing in the backcountry?”

“yeah, i was sure to slip that in there, real subtle-like! i gotta keep you people on your toes.”

“we camped at the same spot we always do, like one mile from the car. LOL! in fact, Tarpy and i hiked out at night, got in our friend's truck, drove to the beer store, and hiked back in. HAHA!”

“Sign up for the car camping and cookoff trip lyra, and see how your mushy cardboard stacks up.”

“better look out, i might just! :-)”

“Here are some other names: Seems to be a fairly common list from several sources. I'm a little unclear at this point if, for example, all "gelatins" have msg or not...

Monosodium glutamate
Hydrolyzed “anything”
Autolyzed “anything”
Natural flavor/flavorings
Caseinate (sodium or calcium)
Carrageenan
Yeast extract or nutrient
Seasonings, Spice
Gelatin
Bouillon/Broth/Stock
Commercial soup or sauce base
Soy, wheat, whey protein
Soy, fish, or bean sauces
Malted barley flour
Malt extract
Corn byproducts: corn syrup, dextrose,
cornstarch, citric acid”

“given the amount of chemicals I digested in my youth I am not to concerned with MSG”

“last weekend i had some Mary Jane's Farm organic mac & cheese, which basically tasted like mushy cardboard”
lyra
2:35:44 PM
5/18/05

don't let Bison see you say that. He thinks they are great”

“I've never been much of a Michael Schenker Group fan myself, but hell I didnt know they were friggin killing people!”

“Yes. I remember now the hydrolyzed / autolyzed products you mention.

Thank you, Sarge.

Backpackers who read your post will benefit from the information, hopefully.”

“I knew that MSG is almost everywhere, but I had no idea that it really IS EVERYWHERE...dang..
you should think that especially backpacking foods would not include MSG.

I don't understand the list at all. everything with those items has MSG in it? I mean...that sucks. damn!

LOL Hyway.”

“all the more reason to dehydrate your own backpacking foods :)”

“Nothing will give me a raging headache as fast as MSG. I try to avoid it at all costs.”

“I'm not sure, but I think the book addresses the subject of headaches caused by MSG. The author of the book said on the radio interview that "when you have a headache what you're feeling is the death of neurons in your brain." I'm sure it's more complicated than that statement, but the writer drives home the point that even the brain is poisoned when you ingest MSG-related foods.”

“I think what you're feeling is the hyper-exciting of the neurons, which, by the way, often results in the death of them. So you're not really feeling them dying, but they die because they're hyper-excited by the msg.”

“The food ingredient "citric acid" provides us with a good example of why MSG-sensitive people with little tolerance are having difficulty staying well. Many people believe that "citric acid" comes from citrus fruits, and since most people can tolerate citrus fruits, "citric acid" should not be a problem. However, most of the "citric acid" used today is made from corn rather than from citrus fruits. The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a major producer of "citric acid.”

"Citric acid" is produced by fermentation of crude sugars. When "citric acid" is produced from corn, manufacturers do not take the time or undertake the expense to remove all corn protein. During processing, the remaining protein is hydrolyzed, resulting in some processed free glutamic acid (MSG). “Citric acid" may also interacts with any protein in the food to which it is added, freeing up more glutamic acid.

http://www.westonaprice.org/msg/msgfree.html”

“My friend has a severe reaction to MSG-- to the point that the doctors thought she had cancer-- she couldn't digest any foods and would feel full after eating a small biscuit at a restaurant... (She was NOT anorexic!) She would get severe migraines...

so, she started trying to pin-point what was the trigger and stumbled onto the MSG information...

Now, she has a list she carries everywhere when going to a restaurant-- she can't drink the juices (carrageenen), or drink any type of soup (lots of MSG), She has gone to watching her labels on every food she puts into her body! She has to make her own breads, cakes, cookies and crackers, etc... If she eats ANYTHING that has a form of MSG she gets severe migraines.


Apparently soybeans and onions are naturally occuring forms of MSG (which is why they use it a lot in soups... Soy Sauce is essentially MSG (which is a colorless liquid when extracted from soybeans) that has caramel coloring added to it... Really bad for you!

My friend told me that when something is listed as "Natural ________ Flavor", it generally means it's been enhanced with MSG...

MSG also is purported to trigger ADD and hyperactivity.....

This is why Thinkbubelz & I try to eat more organic foods-- most packaged foods are really bad for you (and we wonder why we are one of the worst countries in the world in terms of health? It has to do with the processed crap we feed ourselves!)

We try to dehydrate our own foods or to use things that don't contain MSG...”

“Gemini--
If I understood my friend correctly-- those things aren't alway things that contain MSG--but that they are most likely to contain MSG as a "hidden" ingredient... (anything listed as "natural flavoring" is suspect!)

She has avoided those types of foods-- and is now the proud mom of a healthy little girl. (Before she was aware of her MSG trigger--she wasn't even sure if she'd ever get pregnant because of her difficulty in eating "regular" foods!)”

“how anyone can eat sushi or sashimi without soy and wasabe is beyond me.”

“LOL
Manuka--I certainly can't! it's part of the flavor combination! (plus the pickled ginger!)

Some people are just extremely sensitive to MSG...”