Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
MSG (also known as glutamic acid) is flavour enhancer used in ready meals, fast food, sauces, crisps, snacks and some restaurant food. Its use in food is wide spread and it works by tricking the brain into thinking that the food tastes good, making you want to eat more. It is a synthetic white powder that has no smell or taste and is so heavily refined that it behaves like a drug when present in the body. When ingested, it acts as a neurotransmitter (a chemical that transmits information between nerve cells in the brain) and over-stimulates the receptors in the brain. This leads to serious health problems such as migraines, IBS, asthma attacks, heart palpitations, incurable pain and mental confusion. Prolonged use has been shown to destroy brain cells and high doses are toxic. Some researchers are even linking it to obesity. Monosodium Glutamate as a single ingredient must, by law, appear on food labels but there are no regulations for it being labelled when added to another ingredient. This means MSG is often found in the following ingredients – ‘yeast extract’, ‘autolyzed yeast’, ‘textured protein’, ‘glutamic acid’ ‘hydrolised protein’, ‘hydrolised soy protein’, ‘flavourings’, ‘seasonings’, ‘carrageenan’ and ‘whey protein’. It lasts forever, never going off and is also known as E621.

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