You may have heard about the controversy circling around some ingredients found in prepared foods. Among the ingredients frequently highlighted by critics is MSG. Sounds familiar? Various reports have shined light on this particular ingredient for what has been cited as potentially dangerous to mankind.
MSG, monosodium glutamate, adds flavor to foods. It essentially makes foods taste fresher, though, quite ironically, MSG is just the opposite. It has been found in countless products, including (but not limited to), soups, frozen dinners, salad dressings, and at Chinese restaurants. The man-made ingredient contains the fifth (savory) taste that humans have: umami. Though the FDA has labeled it as generally safe, researchers have found strong correlations between consumption of MSG and dangerous side effects.
What could a glutamate chemical possibly do to the human body? Well..
– Headaches
– Eye damage
– Nausea
– Rapid heartbeat
– Extreme thirst
These are some of the potential side effects of consuming large amounts of MSG. So, if a lot of MSG at once does this, what danger does a small amount delivered into our bodies semi-consistently/consistently pose?
That is a very good question, and as it were, we do not yet know what exactly the long-term effects of consuming man-made chemicals are on our bodies.
Suffice it to say that those who have researched MSG have walked away shaking their heads yet again at something the FDA has deemed generally safe.
Every time news or research reports look into these food products that we eat, it gets us wondering, yet again, what exactly it is that we are doing to our bodies..
And so it seems that going natural may truly be the best way or, at least, avoiding well-researched chemicals such as MSG and those discussed in previous posts.
Really, lifestyle change should be not just about habits that lead to weight loss and habits that make us physically healthy. It should also be about those changes we make to avoid poisoning our bodies with what researchers have recently cautioned against, or what we still know nothing about.
Simply put: Eat your fruits, vegetables, unprocessed/minimally-processed grains, non-hormonal dairy products, short-ingredient list snacks, and homemade versions of all things packaged! (Well, as much as humanly possible).