The link between monosodium glutamate (MSG) and obesity

[Guest guest]

http://www.newstarget.com/009379.html

 

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

 

The link between monosodium glutamate (MSG) and obesity

 

 

If fried snack chips had a warning printed right on the bag that said,

" Warning: these chips will make you obese, " would you still buy them?

Would you still eat them? Well, in a sense, you do see that warning on

chips; just read the ingredient list. Research suggests that

monosodium glutamate causes obesity, making unhealthy snacks even

unhealthier than you may have suspected.

 

I'm sure you already know that tortilla and potato chips aren't health

foods, right? They're made with fried fats, they almost always harbor

hidden toxic chemicals (acrylamides), and if they're flavored, they

usually contain monosodium glutamate (MSG). This is basically a recipe

for obesity.

 

But how does MSG cause obesity? Like aspartame, MSG is an excitotoxin,

a substance that overexcites neurons to the point of cell damage and,

eventually, cell death. Humans lack a blood-brain barrier in the

hypothalamus, which allows excitotoxins to enter the brain and cause

damage, according to Dr. Russell L. Blaylock in his book Excitotoxins.

According to animal studies, MSG creates a lesion in the hypothalamus

that correlates with abnormal development, including obesity, short

stature and sexual reproduction problems.

 

Based on this evidence, Dr. Blaylock makes an interesting point about

the American obesity epidemic, especially among young people: " One can

only wonder if the large number of people having difficulty with

obesity in the United States is related to early exposure to food

additive excitotoxins, since this obesity is one of the most

consistent features of the syndrome. One characteristic of the obesity

induced by excitotoxins is that it doesn't appear to depend on food

intake. This could explain why some people cannot diet away their

obesity. " As an increasing number of elementary school students bring

snack-size bags of chips to school in their lunch boxes, the

MSG-obesity link demands parental caution.

 

Instead of passively watching modern society become obese and then

commenting on it, we need to change it at the start. That begins with

you, the consumer. By avoiding foods with MSG, you are not only

protecting your health and your family's health, you are also

protecting society's health by not supporting companies that use MSG.

Use your buying power to show that you don't accept manufactured foods

that use MSG or any of the other hidden forms of MSG such as yeast

extract, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins and autolyzed proteins.

 

The experts speak on MSG and obesity:

Olney, J.W. " Brain Lesions, Obesity, and Other Disturbances in Mice

Treated with Monosodium glutamate. " Sci. 165(1969): 719-271. Humans

also lack a blood-brain barrier in the hypothalamus, even as adults.

It is for this reason that Dr. Olney and other neuroscientists are so

concerned about the widespread and heavy use of excitotoxins, such as

MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and cysteine, as food additives. In

his experiments Dr. Olney found that high-dose exposure to MSG caused

hypoplasia of the adenohypophysis of the pituitary and of the gonads,

in conjunction with low hypothalamic, pituitary, and plasma levels of

LH, growth hormone, and prolactin. When doses below toxic levels for

hypothalamic cells were used, he found a rapid elevation of LH and a

depression of the pulsatile output of growth hormone. In essence,

these excitotoxins can cause severe pathophysiological changes in the

central endocrine control system. Many of these dysfunctional changes

can occur with subtoxic doses of MSG. One can speculate that chronic

exposure to these neurotoxins could cause significant alterations in

the function of the hypothalamus, including its non-endocrine portions.

Excitotoxins by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 263

 

" Consuming MSG leads to obesity "

 

Early exposure in life to high doses of glutamate, or the other

excitotoxins, could theoretically produce a whole array of disorders

much later in life, such as obesity, impaired growth, endocrine

problems, sleep difficulties, emotional problems including episodic

anger, and sexual psycho-pathology.

Excitotoxins by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 89

 

The stress-induced abnormalities in blood-brain barrier permeability

suggest differing MSG effects dependent on existing states of

relaxation or stresses. The suggestive evidence for MSG-induced

neuroendocrine effects is substantial, coupled with the observation of

increased obesity in children.

In Bad Taste by George R Schwartz MD, page 39

 

With this enormous consumption of foods laced with MSG additives, it

is no wonder that we have an obesity problem in this country,

especially when you combine the hypothalamic lesion caused by MSG to

the high-fat and -carbohydrate diets of young people. Of particular

concern is the suggestion that MSG ingested by pregnant women may

actually cause this lesion in children while they are still in the womb.

Health And Nutrition (see related ebook on nutrition) Secrets by

Russell L Blaylock MD, page 180

 

This also means that, while pregnant, mothers of diabetic children

also consumed very large amounts of these excitotoxin-containing

foods. Also, many parents feed their babies table food from an early

age—food often laced with large amounts of MSG. In addition, large

numbers of babies are also fed formula, and many formulas are known to

be high in excitotoxins such as caseinate. I have already cited

studies showing that gross obesity is frequently linked to excessive

MSG consumption in test animals.

Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 182

 

Particularly disturbing is the later obesity after MSG exposure during

the neonatal and infant period even after only a short or limited

exposure.

In Bad Taste by George R Schwartz MD, page 22

 

With all of these endocrine malfunctions you would expect these mice

to develop abnormally, and they do. Consistently, the animals exposed

to MSG were found to be short, grossly obese, and had difficulty with

sexual reproduction. One can only wonder if the large number of people

having difficulty with obesity in the United States is related to

early exposure to food additive excitotoxins since this obesity is one

of the most consistent features of the syndrome. One characteristic of

the obesity induced by excitotoxins is that it doesn't appear to

depend on food intake. This could explain why some people cannot diet

away their obesity. It is ironic that so many people drink soft drinks

sweetened with NutraSweet® when aspartate can produce the exact same

lesions as glutamate, resulting in gross obesity. The actual extent of

MSG induced obesity in the human population is unknown.

Excitotoxins by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 81

 

" Animal studies demonstrate link between MSG and obesity "

 

The obesity effect of MSG in animals requires evaluation since

unexplained obesity is increasing in our population, along with

hypertension and diabetes. MSG-induced obesity in animals may carry

long-term significance for humans.

In Bad Taste by George R Schwartz MD, page 22

 

Since his early observation, other studies have confirmed that MSG

causes gross obesity in animals. At an international neuroscience

meeting, Dr. Olney was asked if he thought the reason Americans were

so obese was, in fact, due to their high consumption of MSG additives.

The question was never answered, but since that conference in the

1970s, America has undergone this virtual epidemic of gross obesity,

especially among its youth.

Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 180

 

This MSG-induced obesity was characterized by a preference for

carbohydrates and an aversion for more nutritious foods, just as we

are now witnessing in our youth. Also, excess weight was extremely

difficult to exercise off or diet off in these experimental animals.

Health And Nutrition Secrets by Russell L Blaylock MD, page 182

 

Overview:

 

* The link between monosodium glutamate (MSG) and obesity

 

Source: http://www.newstarget.com/009379.html