Thursday, January 19, 2012

How MSG Can Sabotage Your Weight Loss and Cause Numerous Other Health Problems

What is MSG?  Monosodium glutamate  is a salt made from glutamic acid.  It's used to bring out the taste in salty and sweet foods.  So, most restaurants put it in just about everything as well as many prepackaged and processed foods.  Side effects from consuming MSG include:  headache, diarrhea, chest pain, dizziness, palpitations, weakness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, chills, heartburn, unusual thirst, depression, anxiety/panic attacks, hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children, joint pain, hives, rashes, etc.  MSG is an excitotoxin that crosses the blood- brain barrier which means it can cause neurological problems.  So, as you can see MSG should not be consumed if you are trying to be healthy.  When it comes to weight loss, MSG can cause hypothyroidism, which causes your thyroid gland to not produce enough of the thyroid hormone, which in turn affects your rate of metabolism.  People with hypothyroidism do not burn as many calories and then they gain weight.  Another problem with MSG and weight loss is that it actually acts as a non appetite suppressant meaning it makes you crave the food that you are eating that contains the MSG.  This is why so many people "crave" certain foods, especially fast food.  Think about those fast food french fries that you love or certain other dishes from restaurants.  More than likely they contain MSG.

Now, here's the tricky part.  There are ingredients that contain MSG, so food companies don't have to actually list MSG on the label, only the ingredient that contains it.  So, when you see the following ingredients on a label, it more than likely contains MSG:  autolyzed plant protein, autolyzed yeast, calcium caseinate, gelatin, glutamate, glutamic acid, hydrolyzed plant protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, monopotassium glutamate, senomyx, sodium caseinate, textured protein, vegetable protein extract, yeast extract, yeast food or nutrient, flavor, bouillon, cornstarch fructose.

So, the bottom line is, whether or not you are trying to lose weight, get rid of the MSG.  There are studies that have been conducted and are still being conducted to show a relation between consumption of MSG and diseases such as Alzheimer's.  Just remember that whenever you consume it, it is affecting your central nervous system in a negative manner.  If you have any questions let me know!!

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