Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – Does this name ring a bell?
MSG was in news recently due to the ban on Maggi – one of the most popular brands in India! Apparently, Maggi contained more than permissible levels of MSG & lead which led to it getting banned at several places in India. (It has subsequently been relaunched after it passed the requisite lab tests)
Several scientific studies on obesity use rat models before testing on humans. Rats or mice strains are not naturally obese, so the scientists have to create them. For this, they make use of MSG and inject it into them at birth to create these morbidly obese creatures called the “MSG-Treated Rats“. MSG triples the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas causing rats (and humans?) to become obese. Excess circulating insulin promotes fat storage in the body and also leads to insulin resistance. This insulin resistance is the leading cause for obesity and diabetes. No wonder these problems are manifesting at such an early age. Children are exposed to more and more processed foods these days which contain MSG in turn pushing them towards obesity and diabetes.
MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees, and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities.
Be Aware!
Monosodium Glutamate or MSG is an addictive substance leading to dependence similar to that of caffeine or nicotine. It is the MSG in foods that creates cravings for pizzas, flavoured potato chips, sauces and salad dressings due to the smell and flavour it imparts to them. In general, if a food is processed you can assume it contains MSG (or one of its pseudo-ingredients). Eating a whole, fresh food diet is your best, if not the only, guaranteed way to avoid this toxin.
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