Do you know how much MSG you consume?

[hennypenny9]

Quote:
That's an interesting field of study! I agree that there are other things to be more concerned about, but I still, people who are having reactions should consider everything they can to get rid of them.

Is anti-bacterial hand soap really not that good? My mom refuses to buy any, LOL. I thought she was nuts!

 

[mommathea]

Quote:
That's an interesting field of study! I agree that there are other things to be more concerned about, but I still, people who are having reactions should consider everything they can to get rid of them.

Is anti-bacterial hand soap really not that good? My mom refuses to buy any, LOL. I thought she was nuts!

Off topic, but it is said that it kills off the good bacteria as well as the nasty stuff, there has not been any complete study on how much of every day bacteria it kills off, and like all bacterias it they keep mutating to adapt to the anti-baterial cleaners.
I think that the quick wash stuff is great when you are out and about, but to use it on a daily basis it isn't necessary, and can be harmful in the long run.

 

[horsejody]

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavor enhancer commonly added to Chinese food, canned vegetables, soups and processed meats. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a food ingredient that is "generally recognized as safe," the use of MSG remains controversial.

MSG has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. But subsequent research found no definitive evidence of a link between MSG and the symptoms that some people described after eating food containing MSG. As a result, MSG is still added to some foods.

A comprehensive review of all available scientific data on glutamate safety sponsored by the FDA in 1995 reaffirmed the safety of MSG when consumed at levels typically used in cooking and food manufacturing. The report found no evidence to suggest that MSG contributes to any long-term health problems, such as Alzheimer's disease. But it did acknowledge that some people may have short-term reactions to MSG. These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — may include:

Headache, sometimes called MSG headache
Flushing
Sweating
Sense of facial pressure or tightness
Numbness, tingling or burning in or around the mouth
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Chest pain
Shortness of breath
Nausea
Weakness
Symptoms are usually mild and don't require treatment. However, some people report more severe reactions. The only way to prevent a reaction is to avoid foods containing MSG. When MSG is added to food, the FDA requires that "monosodium glutamate" be listed on the label — or on the menu, in restaurants

From Vanderbuilt University:

MSG Complex

A study was done to test the validity of the symptoms supposedly being caused by MSG. �Self-identified MSG-sensitive subjects� were tested to find the significance of the additive on their symptoms. These subjects were people who believe MSG to be the cause of their symptoms. The test was conducted in a double-blind manner with 5g of MSG or placebo given to the subjects. Subsequent tests were conducted according to the subjects� reactions to only a single test agent; doses of placebo and 1.25, 2.5, and 5g MSG were administered. There were also certain qualifications for the subjects being tested. They had to be:

18-60 years old
had, within 3 hours of a meal alleged to have contained MSG, two or more symptoms such as: sweating sensation, muscle tightness, burning sensation, headache/migraine, chest pain, palpitation/heart pounding, etc.
had to have at least on additional symptom attributed to MSG by the subject


The following estimations were made in regard to the likelihood of responses to MSG:

Estimated rates of reactions to placebo of 5% and 10%
Estimated rates of reactions to MSG of 30% and 40%


Sample sizes of 27-71 were required to show a difference between placebo and MSG at a significance level of 0.05 and power of 80%. A sample size of 60 was used.



The design of the study was as follows:

In an initial challenge, 5g of MSG or placebo were, in random order, ingested by subjects, on different days, on an empty stomach. This act would filter out negative and ambivalent responders. The other subjects to only one challenge doses underwent another challenge where more tests could identify a dose-response curve and decrease the likelihood of placebo responses. MSG was dissolved in 200mL of citrus beverage and the placebo was the same beverage without the additive. A positive reaction was defined as the occurrence of �2 index symptoms (those identified by subjects before the challenge). The subjects were unaware of the definition of response. If fewer than the required number of index symptoms occurred, it was considered a negative response. Subjects were questioned every 15 minutes regarding their symptoms. If no symptoms were present after 2 hours, the subject was released. If the subjects had the symptoms, they were challenged again at a later date. The interval between tests was at least 1 day. Subjects who didn�t respond to either test agent or both of them didn�t participate in further study. Subjects who only responded to one of them were rechallenged. To determine the severity of the symptoms, subjects used a scale of 1-3. (1=mild, noticeable but causing only slight discomfort, 2=moderate, definitely troublesome but not incapacitating, or 3=severe, having significant impact on the subject.)



The following are statistics of the group tested:

n = 634 subjects

122 could not be contacted for an interview
397 were not eligible
5 were excluded because their described symptoms were not considered to be part of the Chinese restaurant syndrome
out of 110 eligible subjects, the first 61 who agreed to be tested were the people who participated in the study
25% of the subjects were male
59 were white, 1 black, 1 oriental
mean age=38 with a standard deviation of 9 years
mean weight=75kg, standard deviation=17kg
mean height=170cm, standard deviation=9cm
58% of subjects had history of atopy (hereditary allergy characterized by symptoms produced upon exposure to the exciting antigen without immunization)
(Yang, Drouin, Herbert, Mao, Karsh-1997)



Overall Conclusions to Study


MSG is such a common additive in so many foods. It is generally know to be a safe additive. There is evidence, however, that some people may be MSG sensitive and they have the potential to have more severe reactions than those not sensitive to MSG. The average daily intake of MSG is 0.3-1g, but some restaurant meals may contain up to 5g. MSG has been blamed for many ills � in this study, it is shown that among the people who identified themselves as MSG-sensitive, many of their symptoms occurred while being tested. These symptoms were specific ones that they previously identified by the subjects.



It�s quite obvious by looking at the charts and graphs, that the rechallenge given to the 36 subjects showed MSG to play a significant role in instigating certain symptoms, despite the fact that they are somewhat skewed to what we may have thought the results to be. My whole intent in investigating this topic was to find the role, if any, that MSG played in the instigation of migraine headaches. In researching, however, I was presented with more information, finding out that MSG is known to cause more than just headaches, as shown in this study. Before looking into studies done on the topic of MSG�s effects on migraines, I deduced that there could possibly be a link between the two, however, this study gives much stronger evidence that MSG is troublesome more to some people than to others.



Bibliography
Diamond, S., Prager, J., & Freitag, F.G. (1986). Diet and headache. Is there a link? Postgrad Med, 279-86
Drouin, M.A., Herbert, M., Karsh, J., Mao, Y., & Yang, W.H. (1997). The monosodium glutamate complex: assessment in a double blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study Journal of Allergy Clinical Immunology, 757-62



I would rather trust these sources and my neurologist that treated me for migraines than studies sponsored by the food industry or panels that the government put together that were made mostly of people from the food industry. After all, it is in the food industrie's best interest to keep selling garbage.

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

As I said before, you can find research papers supporting almost and theory, this does not mean that for all people MSG is bad. Some people may have bad reaction, so for them it is prudent to avoid the product. But as lisahaschickens pointed out, there are many thing we do that are potentially harmful, we just do what seems right for ourselves.
All the studies quote here are just that, studies. And I am sure there will continue to be studies both for and against the safety of this as well as other potentially harmful products. This does not mean anyone who avoids MSG is wrong in doing so, and it also does not mean those of us that chose to use MSG are wrong either. Since it is available on the market legally, it should be a personal choice.

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Absolutely right because it is bad for some people.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
Absolutely right because it is bad for some people.

And some people are allergic to peanuts/shellfish/strawberries. That doesn't mean that I can't eat those things...

 

[HarlansHollowFarms]

Quote:
Absolutely right because it is bad for some people.

And some people are allergic to peanuts/shellfish/strawberries. That doesn't mean that I can't eat those things...

MMMMM.........LOBSTER! (dipped in bad for you REAL BUTTER)

 

[lisahaschickens]

to answer the questions about antibacterial handsoap -

YES, it is bad. I feel very strongly about this. We studied the chemical Triclosan in multiple classes in college. The FDA has it in the highest category of known carcinogens., and therefore it's the law that if you put it in your product to sell, it MUST be noted on the label that it contains triclosan. Check out your soaps, baby toys, and toothpastes - it will be in some of them and I recommend getting rid of those immediately. It's terrible stuff. It is a DDT derivative and is very nasty and builds up in our fats and never leaves and causes health problems in years to come.

We also studied microbiology and it is true that regular old soap - bar soap, hand soap, dish soap, etc kills more than all the bad bacteria that you need gone.... and it doesn't kill off nearly as much of the good bacteria that we need. Also, as someone mentioned, as we keep trying to disinfect our world, bacteria and viruses adapt very quickly and are becoming more and more resistant to our chemicals. We are creating superbugs. Anyway... point is, our immune systems need to process things like bacteria and viruses in order to develop proper immunities and so while we should be clean (things like salmonella and e. coli really can make us sick and we should limit our exposure by washing our hands thoroughly and cooking chicken meat all the way, etc.) and we should get vaccinated against devastating diseases like polio, we should also be careful in what we're trying to avoid. It's great to let your kids play in the mud. Kids are dirty and that's a good thing - it builds up their immune systems from a young age!

So, to the mom who refuses to buy antibacterial soap - kudos!

 

[lisahaschickens]

and, yes, biogeochemistry is a great field of study and I loved my major. However, it also left me a bit scared and concerned for our future on this planet. Learning about where various chemical substances go (from air to soil to plant to insect to animal to bigger animal back to soil/water/air, etc) and what they do in the process and where they change and where they stop and stay is pretty alarming. We have been doing serious harm to ourselves and our planet for a long time now... and we honestly don't know enough about most of the chemicals and processes to really know the full effect. The FDA and EPA only have so much time - very high percentages of substances in things that we use daily have not even been tested yet. It is true that no one has studied the long term effects of probably half of what is in your shampoo, for example... so we simply don't know. Scary but true. Science moves so quickly these days that there is no time for thorough, truly long-term studies so we tend to go into things blindly.

We are just now learning about the long-term dangers of eating and drinking our of plastic containers. Plastics (especially soft plastics like disposable water bottles and tupperware, etc.) leach dioxins and other dangerous compounds into the water and food and then we eat/drink it. Same stuff as from the anti-bacterial soap/toothpaste/etc. There are many ways for us to ingest potentially harmful substances.

Some of it is just plain sad. For instance, there are fewer dangerous chemical residues in a conventionally-grown tomato that has been doused with pesticides and fertilizers on a rural farm than there is in an organically-grown tomato that was grown on a rooftop garden in New York City or London. This is because of atmospheric fallout... the air is so loaded with pollutants in large cities that large amounts of it rain down onto the ground and soils. These are then taken up by the tomato (all fruits/veggies can be inserted here) plant and they end up in the fruit. Then you eat it and they end up in you - often permanently because of the aforementioned lipophyllic compounds present.

We are what we eat... and it's harder and harder to live and eat cleanly in today's world. So, I do my best to live a balanced life - as green and healthily as I possibly can without driving myself crazy and moving to the Alaskan bush to live off the pristine land (which does have its appeal, I have to say). There is no use in running around scared and paranoid... but we can all do our best to improve things for ourselves and future generations one step at a time.

 

[ksacres]

Quote:
+10,000

We use regular Ivory soap for about everything.

God made dirt and dirt don't hurt. Too much cleanliness is worse than too little (unless you plan to live in a bubble for the rest of your life).

I give thanks to the people that had a hand in my raising that allowed me to play in the hay barn, the horse shed, and the mud puddles. I have no allergies and a healthy immune system. I feel sorry for the coddled kids that can't go oustide in the springtime and enjoy the sun, or pet the cat without wheezing.

Exposure is a better preventative measure than complete isolation.

(Isn't it nice when people can share the same soapbox?)