Your Food May Be Causing You Brain Damage - Simple Truth About Excitotoxins
Excite your Brain Cells to Death
What would you do?
If you found out that your daily meals contain a chemical additive that could cause brain damage in your children?
If evidence indicates that this chemical could affect how your child's brain forms and develops.
If the damage caused by this chemical might not show itself until your child was older, manifesting as learning or emotional difficulties.
If this chemical damaged the part of the brain that controls hormones, resulting in hormonal imbalances later in life.
If this chemical might aggravate or even precipitate degenerative diseases of the nervous system and brain such as Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's disease, ALS, and Alzheimer's disease.
So begins the book Excitotoxins, the Taste That Kills, by Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, MD, a practicing board-certified neurosurgeon with a profound understanding of the structure and function of the brain and nervous system.
In his introduction here's what Dr. Blaylock says about the excitotoxins, MSG and aspartate (brand name NutraSweet or Equal), "Despite what the defenders of MSG and NutraSweet will scream, this book is not unduly alarmist...It was only after a year of careful examination and debate that I decided to write this book. I felt that the information concerning the dangers to small children and older persons was too important to withhold. Each person must decide for themself if they choose to believe that the danger is real."
He dug through and reviewed a host of information on excitotoxins that is buried in technical and scientific journals. He sites 493 references at the end of this book.
What Dr. Blaylock discovered is too important to your health and the health of future generations for it to lie hidden. That's why I feel you must know about it. Why do food manufacturers add MSG to our processed food?
For the taste of it!
You see, Japanese cooks discovered a sea weed, "sea tangle" or kombu that made their dishes of food taste delectable.
Eventually the Japanese isolated this flavor enhancing ingredient as MSG - Mono Sodium Glutamate - and turned it into a worldwide multimillion dollar empire.
After World War II American food manufacturers discovered MSG and started adding it to processed food (which is often rather bland tasting without additives). Now it's a huge lucrative industry in the United States. In 1972 262,000 metric tons of MSG was produced in America.
Until the 1960's few people suspected that MSG could be harmful to our health. Most scientists assumed that glutamate supplied energy to the brain.
With that in mind in 1957 - 2 ophthalmologists fed MSG to infant mice to see if it would have a beneficial effect on a hereditary eye disease. To their surprise instead they found that MSG had destroyed all the nerve cells of the baby mice retina which would cause them to be blind.
But MSG continued to be added to food in huge amounts and also to baby food.
Then Dr. Olney, MD a neuroscientist at The Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis repeated the MSG experiment in 1967 on infant mice. He examined the brain as well as the retina of these animals and discovered that specialized cells in a very critical area of the brain, the hypothalamus, were destroyed after a single dose of MSG.
Despite a long fight with the FDA and food manufacturers Dr. Olney and others finally succeeded in banning MSG from infant food.
However, other food additives can have similar effects as MSG and still be found in infant and toddler's food. These foods have been called excitotoxins by neuroscientists. Neurons (nerve cells) in the brain exposed to these substances initially become very excited, firing rapidly until they become completely exhausted. "Several hours later these neurons suddenly die, as if the cells were excited to death." The name excitotoxins seems appropriate.
Excitotoxins found in nature are all amino acids including glutamate, aspartate and cysteine. Add a sodium molecule to the glutamate and you have monosodium glutamate. But the toxic part is the glutamate, not the sodium.
You also ingest these amino acids when you eat a natural whole food protein source. However, in natural whole food these amino acids come in balanced proportions, so that none of them induce high blood levels of any individual amino acid. When MSG is added to processed food, glutamate is concentrated and induces high blood levels which can allow higher levels of glutamate to enter the brain.
Turns out the original assumption that glutamate supplied energy to the brain was almost right. But rather than supplying energy to the brain glutamate, aspartate and several other amino acids carry nerve messages from one nerve to another and are thus known as neurotransmitters. With proper regulation and in the right concentration and balance these amino acids function as vital transmitters of information that regulates bodily functions.
To protect the brain from toxins or toxic levels of nutrients the blood brain barrier keeps some substances from entering the brain and allows others to pass through.
However, the blood brain barrier may malfunction in persons with a stroke, brain tumor, head injury, infection or degenerative disease. Some areas of the brain never develop a barrier system including the hypothalamus, pineal and a few other areas. Thus they are more vulnerable to the effects of excitotoxins. Damage to the hypothalamus causes malfunctioning in the hormonal system.
Since the developing brain of an infant or child gradually develops an effective blood brain barrier, the baby's brain is more vulnerable to damage caused by ingested toxins. Also, excitotoxins may pass through the placenta to the fetus affecting the brain of this precious baby.
Throughout our lives, but especially in the developmental years our amazing brains are always changing and repairing themselves, wiring and rewiring through trillions of nerve fiber pathways. This process, called plasticity, makes the brain infinitely more complex than a computer. What an amazing organ.
Of all the neurotransmitters glutamate plays the most important part in the brain development of the fetus and the plasticity in the adult. In experiments on animals too much glutamate can cause the brain to be miswired. If MSG and aspartate (NutraSweet) pass from what mama has eaten into the fetus in the womb, baby's brain may be miswired.
Because the brain at birth is still going through an extensive rewiring process, newborns and toddlers who are fed these excitotoxins are at very high risk for abnormal brain wiring. Also, the brain develops in a certain sequence of events with critical timing of each sequence. Over stimulation with excitotoxins "may severely interfere with this delicate process and possibly lead to learning disorders, emotional illness, or even major psychological disease later in life."
The critical period of brain development occurs from the first week of conception to six or seven years old. Dr. Blaylock suggests that the effects of excitotoxin damage during this critical period may be subtle, manifesting as a slight dyslexia, or more obvious as outbursts of uncontrollable anger.
More severe cases may result in autism, schizophrenia, seizures, and cerebral palsy or episodes of violence and criminal behavior in later years. There's no proof that excitotoxins cause these conditions in humans, but these behavioral changes have been observed in animals exposed to excitotoxins.
In animal experiments the dose of MSG needed to damage the developing nervous system in baby animals is only one-fourth of the dose needed to damage the adult animal nervous system.
Pregnant women frequently eat large doses of MSG and other excitotoxins in their food. According to one study restaurants add as much as 9.9 grams of MSG to a single dish, enough to cause brain damage in experimental animals. In soups or other liquids, MSG is absorbed much faster and more completely, causing higher blood levels of MSG and greater toxicity to the brain. Maybe that's why I stopped eating restaurant or canned soup. I just do not feel good after eating it.
The MSG may not be able to cross the placental barrier to reach the fetus unless the placenta is faulty or the dose of MSG eaten is quite high. Never the less, why would you want to risk exposing your baby to these brain toxins?
Although excitotoxins may not be immediately deposited in the brain, when mice and rats ate excitotoxins over a period of several hours to days, they accumulated these toxins in their brains. They cannot be taken up by the brain rapidly but, over a longer period of time enter the brain in increasing concentrations.
In "test tube" experiments, neurons (nerve cells) exposed to massive doses of MSG die within one hour. With a lower dose they die suddenly in two hours. Some evidence indicates that at subtoxic doses they alter the cell's physiology. Is that why we're all just a little dingy?
How much processed food and diet drinks or candies or mints are you eating on a daily basis?
If that's your main diet, you are ingesting a heavy load of excitotoxins. You will have trouble finding prepared foods without MSG. It may not say MSG on the package label because there are a lot of other tricky names for MSG or substances containing MSG. So beware, check out the list at the bottom of this page for the other names for MSG.
Those diet drinks contain aspartame - known as NutraSweet or Equal. Those liquid forms zap that excitotoxin to your brain. How many brain cells have you killed today? But you may think that animals react differently to excitotoxins than humans, so how does this research apply to us?
That's a good question. We are unique. Unfortunately in the case of excitotoxins, humans absorb glutamate much better than rhesus monkeys. Also we concentrate "glutamate in our blood following a dose of MSG in higher concentrations than any other species of animal and are more sensitive to the toxic effects of this glutamate than are experimental animals." So the results that occur from animal exposure to excitotoxins may be multiplied in humans.
Also, some of us are more sensitive to the effects of ingested toxins than others. I call us the "canaries", since we exhibit the adverse effects of these toxins more quickly than others do. So we can warn the rest of society to avoid these poisons. Miners took canaries into the mines to warn them of toxic fumes because canaries succumbed to the toxins before the miners could detect them. But if the miners stayed too long they would also die from the fumes. Take your lessons from the miners. Avoid excitotoxins like the plague even if you do not feel the adverse effects immediately after ingestion.
Dr. Blaylock presents evidence that some individuals may be more susceptible to the brain cell damaging effects of excitotoxins than others. Some may not have as much capacity to pump the excess glutamate out of the brain cell. Others may have some defect in part of the blood brain barrier.
The damage to neurons progresses over many years before people start to show the signs of Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Parkinson's. etc. The problem lies in how to know if you are susceptible to brain damage from excitotoxins. At this point there is no way to know, so why expose yourself to unnecessary substances that could cause such devastating consequences?
In summary,
Excitotoxins over stimulate the brain cells neurons, causing them to die. (They are stimulated to death.)
The most common excitotoxins in our diet are MSG (mono sodium glutamate) and aspartate (aspartame, Brand name NutraSweet or Equal).
Almost all processed (canned, packaged) food contains some form of MSG even if MSG is not mentioned in the list of ingredients. MSG goes by many other names. See bottom of this page for that list of names.
MSG adds flavor to dead, lifeless packaged food.
Even food in health food stores contain MSG or its equivalent. I have yet to find a bouillon cube that does not contain it. Read labels carefully and beware of other names for MSG.
Aspartate mixed with another amino acid, phenylalanine gives a sweet taste to food or drink without adding calories. Thus it's found in almost all "diet" drinks and "diet" food. Our precious babies' and toddlers' (future leaders, scientists, creators, artists, inventors, etc.) brains are much more susceptible to the toxic effects of excitotoxins than are adults.
Excitotoxin damage to a child's brain may not show up until years later when they begin to talk or read exhibiting difficulty with speech or dyslexia or even behavior disorders.
In late adulthood degenerative disease like ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Disease or other degenerative neurological disease may manifest from excitotoxin damage done to neurons over a life time, beginning in childhood.
Pregnant women - Dr. Blaylock (and I agree) recommend totally avoiding aspartate, aspartame, NutraSweet, Equal during pregnancy. It's a good idea to avoid all forms of MSG too.
In interpreting how MSG studies done on animals might apply to humans, remember that:
Humans absorb MSG better than some experimental animals.
Humans concentrate MSG in their blood so that our blood levels are four times greater than that of an experimental animal given a comparable dose of MSG.
Therefore, the damage done to the human brain may be much greater than that observed in experimental animals.
Is it worth it to ingest these excitotoxins?
Hardly!
Now that you know, will you keep feeding processed food and diet drinks to your children?
Will you keep eating it yourself?
Remember if you eat any kind of packaged, processed food or eat out at restaurants, you will be eating MSG. That's another reason that I advocate eating whole foods, meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds and whole grains. Especially if you prepare it yourself, you will avoid eating toxins, brain killers.
Even if you ask the restaurant personnel if there is MSG in their food and they say no, you probably will still be eating it. They are not lying to you, they just do not know about all of the hidden sources of MSG in food. See list at the bottom of this page for other names or sources of MSG in food.
Diet drinks contain aspartate. In the liquid form this excitotoxin enters the blood stream more rapidly. "Sugar-free" mints usually contain aspartate.
Try substituting stevia, an herb, as a sweetener in tea or other drink. Mix fruit juice and sparkling water for a drink refreshment occasionally, maybe for special holidays or celebrations. Fruit juice is still a concentrated sweet that is hard on the body's metabolism and sparkling water like any carbonated beverage upsets mineral balance in the body. Mostly drink pure water.
Hidden Sources of MSG
From Excitotoxins, the Taste that Kills:
"As discussed previously, the glutamate manufacturers and the processed food industries are always on a quest to disguise MSG added to food. Below is a partial list of the most common names for disguised MSG. Remember also that the powerful excitotoxins aspartate and L-cysteine are frequently added to foods and according to FDA rules require no labeling at all.
Additives that always contain MSG: (from reference 492 in Excitotoxins, the Taste that Kills)
Monosodium Glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Additives that frequently contain MSG:
Malt extract
Malt Flavoring
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavoring
Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices
Additives that may contain MSG or excitotoxins:
Carrageenaan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Protease enzymes of various sources can release excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins. (Reference 493 in Excitotoxins)"
Reading through that list frustrates me. How can we ever really know what's in that processed food. As for me, I choose to avoid all processed food, especially if it has any of those ingredients in the label. I have often wondered why an ingredient list specifically delineates certain spices (like garlic, oregano, etc.) and then generically lists "spices". Now we know that may be a way to hide MSG in the food.
I thought you might like to know how hydrolyzed vegetable protein is made.
From Excitotoxins: Hydrolyzed vegetable protein - made from vegetables high in glutamate. "Extraction (Hydrolysis) involves boiling them in a vat of acid, neutralizing with caustic soda and then collecting the brown sludge which is dried. This processes produces a brown powder high in three know excitotoxins - glutamate, aspartate and cysteic acid which the body converts to cysteine. Additional MSG may be added to this brown powder. Also adding particular amino acids will give it a beefy taste useful in barbeque sauces and fast foods. Other amino acids give it a creamy taste that enhances the flavor of soups, salad dressings and sauces. Besides containing excitotoxins this hydrolyzed vegetable protein contains several known carcinogens (cancer causing substances), unregulated by the FDA." Doesn't that make you want a big glop of it in your food?
For more in depth information about Excitotoxins, read Dr. Blaylock's book, Excitotoxins, the Taste that Kills, copyright 1997 with an update at the end. Although fairly technical writing in parts of the book, the information on the normal functioning and development of the nervous system is fascinating. And the research and information about excitotoxins is eye opening.
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