This is a question that can be answered one thousand different ways, but today I am only going to be talking about one of them.
How believable would it be if I said that food companies actually include a chemical in their foods that not only causes you to gain weight, but also has been proven to create illness by causing damage to your brain?

If you are a frequent reader of these blogs, you will know it is highly believable, and it is happening every day. The substance that I am going to talk about today is an excitotoxin called monosodium glutamate, or MSG. An excitotoxin is a substance added to foods and beverages that literally stimulates neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.

The chemical MSG was developed by a Japanese chemist in 1908, and it was used initially in military rations fed to the Japanese soldiers. It was added as a flavor enhancer and in World War II American soldiers were impressed with how tasty the rations were. This led to an investigation by the military and discussions ensued with most of the major food conglomerates at the time. It did not take long before this “flavor enhancer” was being added to prepared foods, and its use has doubled every decade since the 1940’s.[1]

Unfortunately the FDA allows MSG to be disguised as an ingredient on most products. It can be listed as “hydrolyzed vegetable protein”, “vegetable protein”, “natural flavorings”, or “spices”.

The chemical process of creating hydrolyzed vegetable protein consists of first boiling vegetables in sulfuric acid for several hours, then neutralizing the acid with a caustic soda, then drying the resulting brown sludge. When combining this with certain amino acids, it brings out a “beefy” and “creamy” taste and is added to many processed foods we get in the grocery store such as canned soups, salad dressings, sauces, and “instant” soups and products. And don’t forget, this is a staple of American fast foods to enhance the flavor of the poisons they are feeding us.

Analysis of MSG found that it contains three very powerful brain toxins – glutamate, aspirate, and cysteic acid. It also contains several known carcinogens. The FDA does not regulate the amount of carcinogens allowed in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or the amount that can be added to food products.[2]

The box on the left implies there might be some healthy ingredients, but click on above to expand the ingredient image.
Although many people seem to associate MSG with Chinese restaurants and all you can eat buffets, it is far from the case. If your diet is primarily one of processed food products, you may be ingesting far more of it than the people who only occasionally eat out at restaurants and fast food establishments.

When was the last time you saw this label on a food product?