MSG and chemicals in food

My Journey and Discoveries of Illness and reactions to MSG and other chemicals in our diets.

About Me.

My name is Andy Probert. I am 40 years of age. I am married and have 2 children. I live just outside London, England.
I am finally putting into writing the discoveries I have made about the food we eat and its effects on my health. I am not a medical expert or involved in anyway with the food industry. In fact I am a plumber.
I am a christian and believe that God does not want us to be sick, but our food is contaminated in every conceivable way.

Why start a blog?

The changes to the way I eat have had such a major impact on my life and my families life that I wish to share as much of the information that I have learned with you, so that those who are also seeking to find an answer to the symptoms which are causing health problems can also start the journey to freedom. This blog is a conclusion of about three years re-educating myself with food.

My Symptoms and life before.

I read an interesting article recently about how poor people, mainly pre- war, generally would be very skinny. Now we associate poor people with being fat, why is this? We will come back to this statement later.
But I first want you to look at a photograph of me just before I started this journey. This photo was taken in June 2010.

You will see from this photo that although I wasn't particularly fat or obese, I have have a certain 'puffyness' around my face. I am quite active, sometimes swimming 2 or 3 times a week. I am not a big drinker and don't smoke. In this picture I was probably about 14.5 stone or 92kg.

Symptoms

I make no excuse for being quite graphic here of what my symptoms were at that time. I had three major symptoms.
1. Problems with continual mucus production. I was always blowing my noise, always had to carry a pack of tissues around with me, mucus would drip down to the back of my throat so I would be known for 'snorting' alot to clear build of mucus in my sinus and back nasal tracts leading to my throat. My wife found this generally quite disgusting! and I hated it too but had no choice,  didn't know I was doing it, and would be snorting out in public places without realising!
2. Chest tightness. This was probably the most noticeable symptom, I continually had a tight chest. Now this is quite hard to explain as I wasn't ever out of breath. This definitely was not an asthma problem. My chest would tighten and I would need to clear mucus off my chest regularly. More of a mild anaphalatic condition. This was an almost permanent condition and as I got older it got worse. This condition made my breath smell terrible! Sometimes people could smell my breath from the other side of the room! Yuck!
3. Bowls. Problems with very loose stools. Sometimes very messy! Sorry! But I would have to wipe and wipe and wipe! Which in turn made me sore, sometimes I had to wash after a movement as I was so sore. Also, I started to smell a very chemical smell, not just the usual smell of feces but  a distinctive chemical type of smell that just didn't seem right.

When I first realised food was the problem.

My symptoms had been steadily getting worse as I got older, I always seemed to be worse at different times, when I returned from my wife's parents house I seemed to be worse, they have pets so I thought my chest reaction was an allergy to animals.
Then one day I had a bowl of supper noodles, these are the quick noodles you cook in hot water and then pour a little sachet of flavoring on. I reacted so badly and so quickly to them, only 10minutes, that I knew that food had caused the problem. The ingredients of the package are below.

Noodles (Wheat Flour and Salt), Tomato, Water, Sugar, Salt, Wheat Flour, Flavour Enhancers (Monosodium Glutamate and Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides), Red Pepper, Flavourings (contains Mustard, Soya), Spices, Citric Acid, Vegetable Oil, Onion Extract and Garlic Extract.

At the Doctors.

I booked an appointment to see the Doctor and I took the packet with me. I told the Doctor that something in this packet had made me react really badly.
The Doctor, who was young and inexperienced said " No, sorry, food doesn't make people do that"
To which I was absolutely adamant that it did.
I was referred to a more senior Doctor,to which when I showed him the packet said " No, sorry, food doesn't do that, what you have is asthma!
I asked repeatedly for an allergy test but they wouldn't give me one, they said it wasn't conclusive that allergy tests work.
He diagnosed me with asthma, gave me an asthma pump and sent me on my way. Of course after using it for a few weeks it made no difference, although my chest felt tight I wasn't out of breath. I swim, cycle, and play the trumpet! I knew it wasn't asthma!. I went back to the doctors.
I asked for a full asthma test to be carried out. I knew the nurse personally who carried out the test, she even said "You don't have asthma!", I replied " I know!" I blew the instrument nearly to the end of the scale! Perfect lung capacity.
I went back to the same senior Doctor, who the asked if I had any other symptoms, I told him about my nose and stomach. So He prescribed me anti acid pills! WHAT! More chemicals! He told me that I had to take them for three months before he would make any conclusions. Basically go away!
I Knew I had to diagnose myself!.

Self Diagnosis Begins!

After wasting some number of weeks, I again looked at the ingredients list on the packet of noodles.
Firstly, I noted mentally all the ingredients, I just didn't understand what some of them meant, so I decided to cut out the one ingredients I knew, so I cut wheat out of my diet.
I ate no bread or wheat products, no pasta etc. At first it seemed to be working, I thought I had a wheat intolerance.
I went to a school BBQ with my children and asked for a sausage without bread rolls, in fact I ate 3 sausages and two burgers without the bread. I later reacted so badly that I knew it wasn't bread.
This process went on but I had no consistency with what I was eating, sometimes I would feel better, then at others times it didn't seem to matter that I ate no bread. I was back to where I started.

The Breakthrough!

Some weeks later, I happened to be eating a packet of crisps, on the front there was a disclaimer that read " No Added MSG" It hit me right in the face! I quickly went to the internet for answers.
I found this website. http://www.truthinlabeling.org/
The website detailed the effects and conditions of all the symptoms of MSG. They matched what was wrong with me.
The creator of this website was a guy called Jack Samuels. I found a phone number for him. I forgot that he was in America and rang him in the middle of the night...Sorry Jack, but he spoke with me anyway and told me that my symptoms were conducive to MSG reactions.
Jack explained to me that he is hyper sensitive to MSG and so by trial and error worked out what he could and could not eat. Jacks reactions cause him to pass out!
Meet Jack Here.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KfO0AwSdmU
The list is here for you now.

The List! Taken from Truth in Labeling.org

Names of ingredients that always contain processed free glutamic acid: Glutamic acid (E 620)2, Glutamate (E 620) Monosodium glutamate (E 621) Monopotassium glutamate (E 622) Calcium glutamate (E 623) Monoammonium glutamate (E 624) Magnesium glutamate (E 625) Natrium glutamate Yeast extract Anything “hydrolyzed” Any “hydrolyzed protein” Calcium caseinate, Sodium caseinate Yeast food, Yeast nutrient Autolyzed yeast Gelatin Textured protein Soy protein, soy protein concentrate Soy protein isolate Whey protein, whey protein concentrate Whey protein isolate Anything “…protein” Vetsin Ajinomoto

Names of ingredients that often contain or produce processed free glutamic acid: Carrageenan (E 407) Bouillon and broth Stock Any “flavors” or “flavoring” Maltodextrin Citric acid, Citrate (E 330) Anything “ultra-pasteurized” Barley malt Pectin (E 440) Protease Anything “enzyme modified” Anything containing “enzymes” Malt extract Soy sauce Soy sauce extract Anything “protein fortified” Anything “fermented” Seasonings (1) Glutamic acid found in unadulterated protein does not cause adverse reactions. To cause adverse reactions, the glutamic acid must have been processed/manufactured or come from protein that has been fermented.

The following are ingredients suspected of containing or creating sufficient processed free glutamic acid to serve as MSG-reaction triggers in HIGHLY SENSITIVE people: Corn starch Corn syrup Modified food starch Lipolyzed butter fat Dextrose Rice syrup Brown rice syrup Milk powder Reduced fat milk (skim; 1%; 2%) most things low fat or no fat anything Enriched anything Vitamin enriched (2) E numbers are use in Europe in place of food additive names.

The following work synergistically with MSG to enhance flavor. If they are present for flavoring, so is MSG.

Disodium 5’-guanylate (E 627) Disodium 5’-inosinate (E-631) Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides (E 635)

 Thank you Truth in Labeling!

I want to say thank you to Jack and his work, for it has really set me free from illness.

The List.

I scrutinised the list, printed it out and set to work looking for ingredients that I had eaten that made me ill. Firstly I checked again the ingredients list of the noodles. It matched (Monosodium Glutamate and Disodium 5'-ribonucleotides).
It was an ingredient on the list. I thought back to sausages and hamburgers I had eaten, checked the ingredients, they contained 'Yeast extract' That's what made me ill.
I began working through all the products in my cupboard, so many contained chemicals, I realised that I had been eating so many different types of chemicals.
I found out that so many of our common illnesses are probably caused by what we are eating.

Again please see below for a full list of possible symptoms and reactions to MSG and its variants.
This is taken from http://www.truthinlabeling.org/adversereactions.html

Cardiac

Arrhythmia
Atrial fibrillation
Tachycardia
Rapid heartbeat
Palpitations
Slow heartbeat
Angina
Extreme rise or drop in blood pressure

Circulatory

Swelling

Gastrointestinal

Diarrhea
Nausea/vomiting
Stomach cramps
Irritable bowel
Swelling of hemorrhoids and/or anus area
Rectal bleeding
Bloating

Muscular

Flu-like achiness
Joint pain
Stiffness

Firing/twitching/fatigue

Neurological

Depression
Mood swings
Rage reactions
Migraine headache
Dizziness
Light-headedness
Loss of balance
Disorientation
Mental confusion
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Hyperactivity
Behavioral problems in children
Attention deficit disorders
Lethargy
Sleepiness
Insomnia
Numbness or paralysis

Seizures
Sciatica
Slurred speech
Chills and shakes
Shuddering

Visual

Blurred vision
Difficulty focusing
Pressure around eyes

Respiratory

Asthma
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Tightness in the chest
Runny nose
Sneezing

Urological / Genital

Bladder pain (with frequency)
Swelling of the prostate
Swelling of the vagina
Vaginal spotting
Frequent urination
Nocturia

Skin

Hives-may be both internal and external
Rash
Mouth lesions
Temporary tightness or partial paralysis
..(numbness or tingling) of the skin
Flushing
Extreme dryness of the mouth / thirst
Face swelling
Tongue swelling
Bags under eyes

My symptoms are listed here in red. Jack explained to me that MSG is a nurotoxin and the most common symptom is Migraine. My wife had suffered epilepsy and previous to my symptoms had cut aspartame from our diets, which also is linked with MSG.

Eating Healthily!

We immediately began looking through our cupboards and foods that we buy. We were shocked at what we were eating. Overnight our food habits changed.
We went back to whole foods, I had to start learning how to cook everything from scratch.
The first thing I did was buy a bread maker and we began making our own bread.
I bought an ice cream maker.
I had to learn everything. I want to thank Jamie Oliver, and his range of cook books that helped me.
I bought a pizza stone and began making fresh pizza.
We stopped buying low fat food.
We stopped buying processed and packet meals.

I was eating FULL FAT FOOD AND LOSING WEIGHT!
At first my family thought I was nuts, but when they started to see the weight drop they started asking the questions.

I now weigh just over 12 stone 77kg. By eating full fat food.
I no longer have any of the symptoms listed above.

Other foods that now also effect me.

Once I cut most of the foods out that were on the list above, other foods started to effect me.
I had to cut out Cold meats because of the Phosphates in the preservatives.
Also many manufactures are using cheap vegetable oils which are highly processed like rapeseed oil and palm oil.
Cheese biscuits really effect me and they don't contain anything on the lists above, but they contain palm oil which is highly processed.
Pectin also effects me, even when making my own jam.

It has now been about 3 years since cutting out Msg and being chemical free. I can honestly say that as a family we are healthier, fitter and no longer suffer with half as many illnesses as we used to.
I no longer suffer from fatigue like I used to either.

If you are reading this, please understand that we are being poisoned! Manufactures are creating food for profit!

 

 You can see the vast difference in my face. MSG retains fat and stores it. I made a statement earlier that poor people are normally fat, well you can see that from this picture that I no longer look puffy.
This is because most cheap foods contain MSG or preservatives. The liver which is the organ responsible for detoxification is so busy dealing with chemicals it doesn't get a chance to breakdown the fat.

Look at this article.http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/in_depth/liver/liver_facts_functions.shtml
The liver is responsible for many functions including fighting off infections and producing stored glucose for energy.

 Foods that I have found to have given me the worst reactions.

Here I have complied a list of foods that have caused the most problems for me.Your reactions may be different, but these are the products that I have found to contain the worst chemicals.

Most quick instant noodles or packets that have a sachet of flavorings that you add.
Meat Products; Most burgers, sausages, meatballs, or any other flavoured meat products
Stock cubes, eg. oxo, or any flavoured stock cubes.
Pretty much all crisps, snacks, etc eg pringles.
Chocolates that contain flavoured centres.
Bread, especially white bread, they contain flour enhancers and preservatives.
Later on, I started reacting to bacon, hams and cold meat products.
Most fast food outlets, eg MacDonald's pizza hut etc.
Pretty much all low fat products.

More recently frozen potato products, although none of the ingredients are listed as above, but they use cheap vegetable oils, like palm oil.

Eating out!

Yes eating out is a real problem. If you ask a restaurant does their food contain MSG, they will say " oh no all our food here is cooked fresh" but they don't understand that there are many hidden chemicals used in the food industry. The only way for me is to try them. I once had a very adverse effect at an Indian restaurant which lasted for 4 days.

Learn to cook!

We must get back to basics, we must teach our children to cook. This is a life skill that should be part of children's lives at home and at school. I have had so much enjoyment cooking, and because I am no longer physically fatigued, I have the energy to cook!