MSG is one of the worst food additives on the market. It is found in canned soups, crackers, meats, salad dressings, frozen dinners, chips and much more. In addition to being in many packaged and processed foods, MSG is often found in restaurants.

Even if you ask your server which menu items are MSG-free, if they use bottled sauces and liquids you can bet it has MSG in it. They didn’t knowingly “add” any MSG. Feel safe eating soup? Soup is usually made from chicken stock and that is notorious for having a form of MSG. This is one of the worst offenders.

Did you know that there are many different names for MSG? It’s a sneaky way for the food companies to include it in your food without your knowledge.

Manufacturers often hide the fact that MSG is actually an ingredient by using names that you would never associate with MSG. Food manufacturers often claim on their labels “no MSG”. But if you really read the ingriedents, it may have “natural flavorings” for example, which is suspect as a form of MSG.

Why is MSG so bad for you? It is an excitotoxin, meaning it interferes with your nervous system by overstimulating it. Some people are highly sensitive, others don’t appear to have severe reactions.

Even the FDA admits that short-term reactions known as “MSG Symptom Complex” can occur in certain groups of people, namely those who have eaten “large doses” of MSG or those who have asthma.

What’s the best way to avoid consuming MSG or other food additives? Be a compulsive label-reader. Eat fresh foods. Choosing whole foods will ultimately give you better flavor and more health value than any MSG-laden processed food you could buy at your supermarket.

Food ingredients that ALWAYS Contain MSG:
• Ajinomoto
• Autolyzed yeast
• Calcium glutamate
• Calcium caseinate
• Gelatin
• Glutamate
• Glutamic acid
• Hydrolyzed Protein
(anything “hydrolyzed”)
• Magnesium glutamate
• Monosodium glutamate
• Monoammonium glutamate
• Monopotassium glutamate
• Sodium caseinate
• Textured protein
• Yeast nutrient, extract, food

Food ingredients OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing:
• Carrageenan
• Flavors and Flavorings
• Malt Extract and Flavoring
• Natural Flavors
• Natural Chicken, Beef or
Pork Flavorings
• Seasonings
• Soy Sauce
• Soy Protein Isolate
• Soy Protein
• Stock/Broth

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