Nutrasweet and MSG

01/18/06

Commonsense Chiropractic Care

The Glutamate/Aspartame - connection with many physical problems, pain and your brain is well documented, but most of this documentation never reaches the public who needs to see it most. Just recently an excellent article appeared in The American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic written by Dr. Daniel J. Murphy. From time to time I summarize some of these important articles and pass them on to my patients and the readers of these weekly articles. So what follows here is the abridged version of the original article that appeared in the April 2005 publication.
Glutamate which most people would know as MSG ( monosodium glutamate ) appears in many foods other than Chinese food and in many other forms and names unfamiliar to the public. Glutamate (an amino acid) is the brain’s primary excitatory neurotransmitter. However excess glutamate kills brain neurons and is therefore called an “excitotoxin”. Too much glutamate literally excites brain neurons to death. Glutamate is commonly added to foods because it makes them “exciting” or taste better.
Aspartic acid, aspartate (another amino acid) is the brain’s second most excitatory  neurotransmitter. Aspartate poses the same damaging toxicity to brain neurons as does glutamate, and is therefore labeled as an excitotoxin. Most exposure to people by aspartate is in the form of the artificial sweetener aspartame.
In Dr. Russel Blylock’s book “Health and Nutrition Secrets that Can Save Your Life”, He talks about the chemical makeup of aspartame and that when we eat aspartame it can break down in our bodies into aspartate and methyl alcohol ( a deadly toxin itself ).
In 1994 The New England Journal of Medicine published an article that said that glutamate and aspartate excess may be related to all neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. George Schwartz noted in his book published in 1999 that many over the counter and prescriptive drugs sold in America are used to counteract problems caused by glutamate, such as migraines, arthritis, dizziness, diarrhea, mood swings, rashes, depression, headaches, ADHD, asthma, gastric reflux, etc.
Dr. William Walsh notes in his 2000 book, the most frequent causes of allergy are glutamate, Acid foods, Aspartame, Refined carbohydrates and certain proteins.
In 2002 the British Journal of Anaesthesia notes that Glutamate is related to chronic pain sensitization. There are dozens of names for glutamate as it is added to food. One can go to the website  www.truthinlabeling.org to find them. Some hidden sources of  (MSG) come under the names of  “autolyzed, hydrolysed, glutamic acid, glutamate, gelatin, calcium caseinate, sodium caseinate, textured protein, yeast nutrient, yeast extract, yeast food, autolyzed yeast, monopotassium glutamate, hydrolyzed corn gluten, any protein that is hydrolyzed.
This next list of products often contain MSG or create MSG during processing, carrageenan, maltodextrin, malt extract, natural pork flavoring, citric acid, malt flavoring, bouillon and broth, natural chicken flavoring, soy protein isolate, natural beef flavoring, ultra-pasteurized soy sauce, stock barley malt, soy sauce extract, whey protein concentrate, pectin, soy protein, whey protein, protease, soy protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, protease enzymes, anything protein fortified, flavors, anything fermented, anything enzyme modified, enzyme anything, anything with the word “seasonings”, and Natural flavoring or flavor.
MSG reactions have been reported with soaps, shampoos, hair conditioners and cosmetics, where MSG is hidden in the words protein, amino acids and hydrolyzed.
Low fat and No fat milk products often contain MSG. Drinks, candy and chewing gum are also potential sources of hidden MSG, aspartame and neotame.
Chiropractors today have to deal with patients whose suffering and symptoms are related to the consumption of glutamate and aspartame products and all their hidden names. These products hinder and can stop any improvement that could be achieved through Chiropractic Care. So patients who are informed can finally see symptoms improve by removing these products from their diets and seeking Chiropractic Care.
Because of the amount of information to pass on, this article will have to be broken up into two parts. If there are any questions or if anyone would like a copy of the entire original article, one can call 253-0904 or send a self addressed stamped envelope to
Dr. Lee DeBlon  231 Sunrise Ave, Honesdale, Pa. 18431

The Glutamate/Aspartame - connection part 2

The truth in labeling website further notes that “The new game is to label hydrolyzed proteins as pea protein, whey protein, corn protein, etc. If pea were whole, it would be identified as a pea. Calling it pea protein indicates that it has been hydrolyzed, at least in part, and that free glutamic acid (MSG) is present “ Also noted from the website is the addition of bladder pain brought on by MSG (glutamate).

“Aspartic acid found in neotame and aspartame (NutraSweet), originally causes MSG type reactions in MSG sensitive people. Aspartame is also found in some medications, including children’s medications”
“According to the manufacturer, Varivax-Merck chicken pox vaccine (Varicella Virus live) contains L-monosodium glutamate and hydrolyzed gelatin, both of which contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG) which causes brain lesions in young lab animals, causes endocrine disturbances like obesity and reproductive disorders later in life. It would appear that most, if not all, live virus vaccines contain MSG.” Just off the website is the information that Aspartame is involved with insulin resistant diabetes.

Research has also shown that individuals using these products to reduce weight may experience weight gain. The reason for this, damage to the hypothalamus from these products might cause fluid retention and reduce the ability to control appetite, both of which are related to weight gain.

In 2001, JD Smith and coauthors eliminated nearly all the symptoms of a small group of chronic fibromyalgia sufferers by eliminating all glutamate and aspartame from their diets for a period of 4 months. The authors noted that all patients had recurrence of symptoms whenever MSG is re-ingested. “Glutamate acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, and abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked to neurologic disorders such as ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE and HUNTINGTON’S CHOREA.”

Aspartame was first marketed in 1981. It is a dipeptide of aspartate and phenylalanine used in beverages, drugs and food. Aspartame has been associated with an increased incidence of brain tumors in animals. In humans, aspartame has been linked with head aches, seizures, dizziness, movement disorders, urticaria, angioedema, and anaphylaxis.
“Aspartame is equipotent to glutamate in destroying hypothalamic neurons and has an additive effect when the two are combined”

A newer article from the journal Cephalagia couples increased levels of glutamate in the cerebral spinal fluid to chronic migraine head aches. The authors note that migraine head ache and fibromyalgia sufferers  have substantially higher plasma glutamate and aspartate levels than control patients. An acute increase in glutamate and aspartate levels can trigger a migraine attack and that daily headache sufferers have increased levels of glutamate.
Chiropractors today have to deal with patients whose suffering and symptoms are related to the consumption of glutamate and aspartame products and all their hidden names. These products hinder and can stop any improvement that could be achieved through Chiropractic Care. So patients who are informed can finally see symptoms improve by removing these products from their diets and seeking Chiropractic Care.
If there are any questions or if anyone would like a copy of the entire original article, one can call 253-0904 or send a self addressed stamped envelope to
Dr. Lee DeBlon  231 Sunrise Ave, Honesdale, Pa. 18431