So just yesterday, I was sitting having a chat with my good friend Tammy who is a nutritionist and she decided it would be fun to do a Periscope. Now for those who don’t know, Periscope is a “live video streaming platform”, which basically means you can transmit a live recording of yourself to your Periscope and Twitter followers. It’s like a Skype call except you are linked to a community and they can watch and ask you questions.
Anyway, I said “Sure, why not?” and we immediately got out her phone (it’s an app, by the way) and started. I was asked what my 3 top swaps would be, and one was MSG. I can’t believe I have left this swap for so long! MSG was one of the first things I got rid of when I started on my health journey and today I will NEVER knowingly eat any form of MSG, which, by the way, stands for Monosodium Glutamate. My friends will tell you I would rather go hungry than eat it. That’s because I know what it is and what it does to your body.
So what exactly is MSG?
MSG is a flavour enhancer put into our food to make it taste better. It is also neurotoxin, but more specifically an excitotoxin which means it causes the nerve cells in your brain to fire over and over again until they are either damaged or they die. Put bluntly MSG kills your brain cells. So imagine what it’s doing to the developing kid’s brain!
Some of the symptoms may include:
- Headaches (I personally get headaches from it)
- Sweating.
- Facial pressure or tightness
- Numbness, tingling or burning in the face, neck and other areas
- Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
- Nausea
Now, this can be a tricky little monkey because it’s not always labelled as MSG. Instead it is hidden in other ingredients. Even if the front of the packet says “No added MSG” always read the label on the back and look at the ingredients list. To eliminate MSG, you have to avoid these common ingredients:
- Yeast extract
- Hydrolysed vegetable Protein/soy protein
- Soy Protein isolate
- Textured vegetable Protein (TVP)
- E numbers 620-625, 627, 631 and 635
There are so many different forms and names for MSG to list here, so this link will give you a full detailed list.
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html
A great book is The Chemical Maze. This will help guide you through what additives are good for you and which ones are harmful. It also comes as an app, which is great when you out shopping.
These are some items you may find flavour enhancers and MSG in.
- Any type of salty flavoured snack, like potato chips/crisps, rice crackers.
- Soups & sauces.
- Australia’s favourite black spread (ya know the one?)
- Soy sauce, fish sauce, packets of seasoning, stock cubes… and the list goes on.
So in order to avoid MSG your main focus needs to be on a diet of whole unprocessed foods, including lots of fresh vegetables, grain, legumes, fruit, seeds, some nuts and good quality organic meat and dairy. Until you are at that point, try and cut down on as many processed foods as possible and make your own sauces.
- Swap soy sauce for Organic Tamari.
- Swap the Aussie spread for organic miso paste (found at health food stores).
- Swap flavoured snacks for plain salted.
- Instead of stock cubes, just use some dried herbs and salt.
Want to know more about how to gain more energy, lose weight or just feel better? Then come and join in the conversation in my private Facebook group. We are all about Food, Mindset, Connection and Support. We are waiting to welcome you!
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Until next time. Happy swapping!