by some of the things we eat. I knew that I was "sensitive" to MSG but like many I thought that it was primarily Chinese food that contained MSG. The first time I encountered it was several years ago. I had eaten at a Chinese restaurant and about 15 minutes later my whole body felt heavy and lethargic. Whoops. Gee. It must be MSG.
Then last year Harry and I decided on Chinese at a restaurant I had been told did not use MSG. Again, by the time we walked to the car I could hardly move. Wrong. They did add it to their food. We returned a few months later and I asked. They had practically no dishes without it.
Then a few weeks ago I bought a large jar of snacks consisting of pretzels, small crackers, and orange curls, to eat while I drove home, about 100 miles. The following morning and again in the afternoon I munched on a handful. This continued for several days. I felt steadily more heavy, both in body and mind. My legs ached so badly I could hardly sleep. Finally I checked the ingredients and found to my dismay that every piece of the munchies in the jar contained MSG.
I went on the internet and started researching, what for me, was almost a lethal additive. I found to my horror that while companies had to list MSG as an ingredient, there are many forms of it they do not. What do I EAT?
Well, it's a very complicated subject. And I can't help but wonder if this and other approved additives have been the source of my fatigue for most of my life. It also is a problem which is seldom talked about. I discovered that another of my friends found eating MSG in anything was like eating poison.
I suggest if you have these or a myriad of other symptoms including those like arthritis, insomnia, tightness of the chest, etc start thinking about the possibility you are sensitive to MSG. Some internet sites to peruse are Health Maven.com, Battling the MSGmyth.com and MSGTruth.com.
It now takes me double the time to shop and I am finding only a few things to eat. Of course fresh vegetables are good but watch the salad dressings.
I'll try to add other snippets of information as I continue blogging. That is when I am not searching the grocery shelves for MSG free foods or cooking my meals from scratch! In the meantime let me know your experiences. I am continuing to feel better as I detox my poor cells. And don't forget the huge amounts of sugar, sodium, and sulfites in food and drink (such as wines) which can also have bad effects. Or there are simple (relatively) food allergies. A friend was being treated for arthritis. It was suggested that she might be allergic to milk. Her brother, a doctor, laughed. She tried not eating any milk products for a couple weeks. Surprise! She didn't have arthritis.
As I said this is not a simple subject. There is a long list of alternative names and a long list of symptoms. I'll try to include a note or two on my experiences and how avoidance of the bad additives is changing my life and certainly making romance a whole lot more fun for both Harry and me!
Don't forget that I have my book, "50 Ways to Find Romance after 50" on special for a limited time. Just click on the link to my website. From there you can order the book and use Pay Pal. You'll receive your book within one week.
2 comments:
Thursday, 28 October 2010No 'Added' Sugar or M.S.G. Misleading advertising.
It took me a long time before I discovered that the hangover was not caused by the glass of wine but from the M.S.G. in the food. I felt lethargic, foggy brained, achy and often ended up with a headache.
One night I noticed that my house-mate’s heart was beating so hard and fast that I could feel it by putting my hand on his chest. We realized it had something to do with the Chinese food and assumed it was the M.S.G. We also noticed that when we ate that food we would both come home so tired that we would fall asleep.
We specifically chose that restaurant because it had a big sign on the window saying “No M.S.G added”.
The following week we went back and queried the waitress. No, she insisted we do not add M.S.G.
I explained that my friend had a heart condition and that is was very important for him to avoid it. She said wait and left to speak with the owner. When she came back she said, “He can have steamed rice only.”
It turned out that the devil was in the detail. It’s the clever marketing, the word Added. Apparently Chinese food is usually cooked with MSG and then it is sprinkled over the food before being served; this is the added part and therefore they could advertise it as ‘no added MSG’.
I also came across this when I bought 100% fruit juice with a big bold caption reading No added sugar. This often means that they add “artificial sweetener”. I don’t know what your thought are on that, but really, I would much rather have real sugar than Aspartame or any of those artificial sweeteners by many names. It seems that many, or perhaps even most, sweet tasting foods now have artificial sweetening instead of sugar.
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Thank you for your comment. MSG is a far more complex subject than I ever imagined. I'll be writing more on this subject, on my other blog, theromancegame.blogspot.com as well. There's a link to it on this blog. I am distressed to think that it has caused me fatigue throughout my life and stopped me from doing many other things.
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