Monosodium Glutamate, aka Sodium Glutamate or MSG, is a flavor enhancer added to may products, including Chinese food, canned vegetables and soups, and processed meats as well as restaurant food, salad dressings, chips, and frozen entrees. The FDA claims that MSG is generally regarded as safe but its use is still controversial. Flavor enhancers are believed to stimulate appetite, thus contributing to obesity. Also, flavor enhancers have also been shown to destroy nerve cells in infant mice. The following symptoms are associated with MSG intolerance: headache, nausea, weakness, edema, change in heart rate, burning sensation, difficulty breathing, wheezing, flushing, sweating, sense of facial pressure or tightness, or numbing, tingling or burning sensations in or around the mouth. Also, avoid hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or HVP, which may contain MSG.
Sodium Nitrates and Nitrites are both used a food preservatives used in preserving and fixing color in cured meats and fish. Sodium nitrate is also used as an ingredient in fertilizers, pyrotechnics, and as a solid rocket propellant, as well as in glass and pottery enamels; the compound has been mined extensively for those purposes. Sodium nitrite is also used in manufacturing diazo dyes, nitroso compounds, and other organic compounds; in dyeing and printing textile fabrics and bleaching fibers; in photography; as a laboratory reagent and a corrosion inhibitor; in metal coatings for phosphatizing and detinning; and in the manufacture of rubber chemicals. It may also be used as an electrolyte in electrochemical grinding manufacturing processes, typically diluted to about 10% concentration in water. Sodium nitrite also has been used in human and veterinary medicine as a vasodilator, a bronchodilator, and an antidote for cyanide poisoning. Both have been shown to prevent botulism (so stay away if you're getting Botox or it may reduce the effectiveness!). Overall, the substances do not appear to be that harmful until you consider that once they are combined with chemicals in the stomach or exposed to high temperatures they form compounds known as nitrosamines, which are highly carcinogenic.
As always, proceed with caution and try to avoid these substances as much as possible. Stick with fresh, unprocessed food for optimal health.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have a thing about monosodium glutamate and all of the other ingredients that contain the same toxic amino acid. It does more to cause obesity than stimulate appetite. To begin with, it kills brain cells in the very young if they get enough of it, and with the killing of those brain cells come endocrine disorders. That's right. Obesity. More than that, tho. When we eat it, it screws up the endocrin system, so it doesn't know when enough food has been eaten. Not a nice thing, MSG.
ReplyDelete