MSG

[spring]

I have followed Wai's diet for a few years now and I think this is the healthiest diet on the planet.

(Thank you Wai and RRM. You have done so much to improve the health and lives of people and you have done it in your own time and with your own money. You have made a real difference.)

I was reading about MSG; some links:

http://health.benabraham.com/html/obesi ... itive.html

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Obesity.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/msg/msgobes ... 09379.html

http://www.rense.com/general52/msg.htm

http://www.rense.com/general53/ob.htm

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/foodmont ... 68,00.html

How does MSG fit into Wai's discussion of bad substances? I mean many of the foods that one should avoid in Wai's diet are the same foods one should avoid if trying to minimize MSG intake.

Is that a coincidence?

Or do people feel better when avoiding MSG as much as possible because many are actually following a diet close to the Wai diet without knowing it?

Or is MSG considered to be the common major culprit in both types of diet (MSG-free and Wai's diet) but in Wai's diet it just has a different name - such as altered protein? It's interesting how both the Wai and the anti-MSG group talk about the mind-altering effect of certain substances in food (acting as harmful neurotransmitters) - in Wai's case - cooked foods originating new substances and in the other case - MSG and the many other food additives that contain MSG or are similar to it (such as aspartame).

I would be interested in hearing RRM's opinion of this - that is if he has read this post and has time to reply to this.

(I seem to be very susceptible to munch foods causing me to overeat - could it be the MSG in these munchfoods as well as everything else in it - glycoproteins etc.?)

[RRM]

MSG is just one of the food additives (culprits) that increase appetite and influence neurotransmitter metabolism.

There are 3 types of appetite increasing compounds in our foods:

- compounds naturally present in foods (opioid peptides)
- compounds that originate due to the heating process (beta-carbolines)
- specific compounds that are added to foods by food manufacturers (MSG, beta-carbolines)

And there are 'in betweens'; food-ingredients (milk proteins, wheat proteins, sugar) added to foods so that more addictive compounds originate during to the processing.

I seem to be very susceptible to munch foods causing me to overeat - could it be the MSG in these munchfoods as well as everything else in it - glycoproteins etc.?

It could be any of the above compounds.

[spring]

Thank you for your reply, RRM. Your answer is very clear and logical and I can see now where I was confusing things. Cutting down on MSG is a big step (for people eating the Standard American Diet) but then there are also the two other main categories of addictive substances plus the 'in-betweens' to contend with so I can see where the 'no MSG' group, although they are making a big advance, are not seeing the whole picture, and once again, just removing MSG from the diet, even though that means cutting out many unhealthy and addicting foods, is not enough.

BTW, I heard they spray Auxigro (a chemical growth enhancer containing glutamates) on many fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, and this compound is really damaging because it resists removal by simple washing of the produce because it becomes incorporated into the flesh or peel of the produce - more reason to peel produce, and another thing to watch out for.

http://www.msgfacts.net/AuxiGro.htm

Manufactured glutamates are also found in baby formula and babyfood, though thr following study doesn't think the presence of this is not a major problem unless it exceeds a certain level.

http://www.inchem.org/documents/jecfa/j ... 8aje09.htm