Kombu, a seaweed, was first used in Japan as a flavor enhancer. A Japanese doctor isolated the main ingredient -- MSG, or monosodium glutamate -- and started what has become a million-dollar industry. There are also other names names for MSG - the type made during processing: free glutamic acid, hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, and more referenced below...
While some people can use MSG with no adverse effects, many others have severe reactions to it, some of them life-threatening. MSG has been linked to asthma, headaches, and heart irregularities. Behavioral and physical problems of children, such as incontinence and seizures, as well as attention deficit disorder (ADD), have been diagnosed and successfully treated as MSG disorders.
But, who has heard the hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) comparison?
What is HVP? Well. this stuff is basically a second cousin to MSG-- the salty flavor enhancer that has been linked with certain health conditions, including headaches and severe allergic reactions.
According to AOL Health: "You may think you've sworn off monosodium glutamate, or MSG, but you may be eating its equivalent. ...That's because MSG--that demonized flavor enhancer--comes in many forms, and one of them is hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)."
HVP is a brown dirty-looking powder that is produced in a lab when corn, wheat or soy are boiled in hydrochloric acid and then neutralized with sodium hydroxide. The powder that's left contains a form of MSG which food producers use liberally as an additive to make things taste savory. And, it has the benefit of sounding much healthier (with the words "vegetable" and "protein" in it) than MSG.
If you want to find out if there is processed free glutamic acid (MSG) in a product, you must ask the manufacturer for information about "free glutamic acid." Don't ask about "MSG." Manufacturers find it convenient, when speaking to consumers, to tell them that there is no "MSG" in their product, meaning that there is no ingredient called "monosodium glutamate." Even if a manufacturer tells you there is no MSG in a product, there may be autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed pea protein, carrageenan, sodium caseinate, enzymes, and a whole slew of other ingredients that contain or create processed free glutamic acid (MSG) during manufacture.
If you are told that all of the MSG in a product is "naturally occurring," thank the manufacturer for that meaningless information, but explain that all processed free glutamic acid (MSG) is referred to as "natural" by the FDA -- so "natural" tells you nothing. In fact, as the word "natural" is defined by the FDA, the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate" is "natural."
It is the amount of processed free glutamic acid in the product that will determine whether or not you might suffer an MSG reaction. (Everyone has a different tolerance for MSG.) If the manufacturer claims not to know whether or not there is processed free glutamic acid (MSG) in his or her product, ask that the product be analyzed for free amino acids, including free glutamic acid. There are tests for measuring free glutamic acid. The AOAC Official Methods of Analysis (1984) gives one method. There are others. The cost of testing should be no more than $150.
We have been advised by the FDA that if any such misbranded products are brought to their attention, they will act to correct the situation. To report misbranded products to the FDA, please call the FDA at 888-723-3366 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., eastern time - and keep a record of your call.
Varying reports say that if you aren't sensitive to it already, you're probably fine. But, some health experts worry about what lab-created ingredients like this may do to our bodies in the long run. In order to be free of ANY type of MSG, learn the different names of MSG. Safest way to go? Avoid it at all costs. And, to do that, avoid & be on the lookout for:
Additives that always contain MSG
Monosodium Glutamate
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Protein
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein
Plant Protein Extract
Sodium Caseinate
Calcium Caseinate
Yeast Extract
Textured Protein
Autolyzed Yeast
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Terms that frequently indicate hidden MSG additives
Malt extract
Bouillon
Broth
Stock
Flavoring
Natural Flavoring
Natural Beef or Chicken Flavoring
Seasoning
Spices
Additives that generally contain MSG or excitotoxins
Carrageenan
Enzymes
Soy Protein Concentrate
Soy Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Protease enzymes of various sources can release excitotoxin amino acids from food proteins.
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