Compilation of Essays Concerning MSG and Aspartame from the Dorway Website

[Sassafras]

You can find this essay at http://www.dorway.com/samasp.txt


The story behind the use of aspartame in placebos that were used in
double blind studies conducted to determine if people react to MSG is as
follows:

In the late 1980s or possibly in 1990, a number of people suffered
severe adverse reactions to the dietary supplement, L-tryptophan.  There
were a number of deaths and a number of people who were permanently
disabled.

One of FDA's responses to this disaster was to request proposals from
outside agencies to conduct a study on the safety of amino acids in
dietary supplements.  In September, 1990, an FDA funded study entitled
"Safety of Amino Acids Used As Dietary Supplements" was initiated by the
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).  The
final report was published in July, 1992.

FASEB held an Open Meeting in Bethesda, Maryland on February 4, 1991, to
provide an opportunity for comment on their task.  I appeared at that
meeting to express my concerns over the use of free glutamic acid in
dietary supplements.  Andrew Ebert, Ph.D., Chairman, International
Glutamate Technical Committee, a glutamate industry organization that
has directly or indirectly funded most, if not all of the studies that
have attempted to conclude that MSG is safe for humans, was in the
audience.

Although Dr. Ebert was not scheduled to speak at the FASEB Open Meeting,
he asked for and received permission to speak after hearing my
presentation. Ebert was furious.  He believed that I had accused his
organization of using reactive placebos.  Apparently, Ebert made such an
issue over my remarks that Sue Ann Anderson, R.D., Ph.D., a FASEB senior
staff scientist who sat on the FASEB panel, felt obligated to write
Ebert and request that he disclose the contents of the placebos that had
been used in MSG related studies.  At the time, I was not aware of
Anderson's request.

In 1993, my wife and I were at the FDA Dockets Management Branch in
Rockville, Maryland reviewing FDA Docket No. 90N-0379, the docket
relating to this FASEB study.  I accidentally came across Dr. Ebert's
response to Dr. Anderson's request in that docket.  It was dated March
22, 1991.  Apparently, since Ebert did not know what data I had in my
hand, he admitted, in writing, that the International Glutamate
Technical Committee provided researchers with test material AND placebos
that contained aspartame.  He indicated that introduction of aspartame
into test material began with a study done by Dr. Kenney, published in
1978.  In Dr. Ebert's letter to FASEB, he attempted to justify the use
of aspartame in the studies his organization had been involved in and,
of course, provided no clue to its possible effect on results of the
studies.

The undisclosed use of aspartame is troublesome.  For example:

        1. Beginning as early as 1978, and continuing until 1994, the
International Glutamate Technical Committee was responsible for the
UNDISCLOSED use of aspartame in scientific studies in which they were
involved.  Since aspartame was first approved by the FDA in 1981,
aspartame should not have been used.  Since there may is danger to
unborn fetuses from aspartame, undisclosed aspartame should not have
been used.

        2. The FDA knew of Dr. Ebert's admission in 1991, but took no
action regarding the use of aspartame in test material used in research
on humans until my repeated questioning forced them to take action in
1994.  Even then, what the FDA did was to refer my concerns to FASEB, an
organization that can only recommend, but can take no action.

        3.  The FDA has refused to reevaluate its position that "MSG" is
"safe."  They ignore the fact that it is the responsibility of the
producer of a product to demonstrate that a product is safe.  Rather,
the FDA claims that there is no evidence to show that MSG is not safe.
They simply ignore the fact that the many studies that the International
Glutamate Technical Committee presented to them to "prove" that MSG is
safe for humans are badly flawed.  In most, if not all of these studies,
subjects did react to MSG, but a high number of people also reacted to
the placebos.  The researchers concluded that since subjects reacted to
MSG and the placebo, the subjects were not reacting to the MSG.  The
inference is that subjects were suffering from psychosomatic responses.
Since it is generally known that MSG-sensitive individuals will react
similarly to MSG and aspartame, the studies actually proved that some
people do, indeed, react to MSG and aspartame.

I first advised the FDA of the Ebert admission in 1993.  They refused to
comment.  After continuing pressure from me, including questions from
members of Congress, the FDA asked FASEB to comment on the use of
aspartame in studies regarding MSG safety as part of their then ongoing
study.  In FASEB's final report entitled "Analysis of Adverse Reactions
to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)," dated July, 1995 FASEB suggested that:

    "Although there is no evidence to support the contention that either
aspartame or the aspartic acid contained therein, at doses currently
used in placebo vehicles is associated with adverse reactions, the
Expert Panel concluded that in future studies the placebo should avoid,
to the extent possible, sources of aspartate (and glutamate), e.g.,
gelatin, or other substances such as aspartame that could potentially
affect the nervous system or create the perception of possible
responses."

Presumably, in 1994, the glutamate industry stopped using aspartame in
scientific studies in which they were involved.  In fact, a study in
process in 1994 at Harvard University, Northwestern University, and UCLA
was restructured to remove aspartame from the test material and placebo
material. To date, the results from that studies has not been published.

You might ask if my presentation to the FASEB Expert panel in 1991 on
the toxicity of free glutamic acid had any effect on the conclusions
reached in their study.  We will never know.  However, FASEB's final
report stated the following, in part, in regard to free glutamic acid:

    "The continuing controversy over the potential effects of glutamate
on growth and development of neonatal animal models suggests that it is
prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by
pregnant women, infants, and children.  The existence of evidence of
potential endocrine responses, i.e., elevated cortisol and prolactin,
and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest
a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be
avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective
disorders."

ADandJACK@aol.com
Sat, 12 Feb 2000

[Sassafras]

You can find this essay at http://www.dorway.com/samasp.txt



******************** MSG and aspartame

MSG is a common trigger for migraine headache, as is aspartame.  The
most common reaction to MSG and to aspartame is migraine headache.

MSG-sensitive people react to glutamic acid that has been freed from
protein through a manufacturing process.  It makes up approximately 78%
of the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate" and up to 40% of over 40
other food ingredients that are identified with names that give no clue
of its presence. (See http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.htm)

Neuroscientists have found that glutamic acid and aspartic acid
(approximately 40% of aspartame) load on the same receptors in the
brain, cause identical brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders, and
act in an additive fashion.  Typically, MSG-sensitive people react
similarly to aspartame and aspartame-sensitive people react similarly to
MSG, providing that they ingest amounts that exceed their tolerances
for
the substances.

Jack Samuels
Thu, 9 Mar 2000

[Sassafras]

You can find this essay at http://www.dorway.com/samasp.txt



******************** Celiac Sprue

We are well aware of celiac sprue.  Gluten is not MSG, but many
individuals with celiac sprue have suffered reactions from processed
food that they thought was free of gluten.  They did not realize that
the product that they ate contained "flavorings" or "flavors," often
proceeded by the word "natural," which included a hydrolyzed grain.

Congress has passed legislation that has allowed food processors to
treat the ingredients of flavorings as proprietary information, and FDA
regulations allows hydrolyzed proteins, including hydrolyzed grains, to
be included in flavorings.

The food industry wants the option to include hydrolyzed proteins in
flavorings because all hydrolyzed proteins introduce some processed free
glutamic acid (MSG) into the product, enhancing flavor.  Grains are high
in glutamic acid.

One final point.  People afflicted with celiac sprue vary in their
tolerance for grains.  Therefore, not all people with celiac sprue react
to all flavorings that include grain.

[Sassafras]

You can find this essay at http://www.dorway.com/samasp.txt



******************** 50 SIGNS OF FIBROMYALGIA

   Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 16:20:47 EDT
   From: ADandJACK@aol.com
Subject: Re: Re: 50 SIGNS OF FIBRO

Rich:

I did not respond to the Fibromyalgia Message Board because I am not
registered at the site.  I totally concur with Rich Murray's comments
regarding aspartame and MSG.

The symptoms of fibromyalgia, as Rich stated, are the symptoms associated
with aspartame ingestion, but are also the symptoms associated with MSG
ingestion.

Last week, I spoke with a retired physician in Ohio who told me that he
cured his fibromyalgia by elimination of MSG, and cured 57 patients in his
practice who had been diagnosed as suffering from fibromyalgia with the same
approach. I would assume that the doctor and his patients also avoided
aspartame, or by eliminating only MSG dropped their combined intake of both
MSG and aspartame to a point below their tolerances for the substances.

Neuroscientists, in studies on experimental animals, have found that
glutamic acid (the reactive component of the food ingredient "monosodium
glutamate" and over 40 other food ingredients) and aspartic acid
(approximately 40% of aspartame) load on the same receptors in the brain,
cause identical brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders, and act in an
additive fashion.  People sensitive to MSG typically react similarly to
aspartame and vice versa, providing that they ingest amounts that exceed
their tolereances for the substances.

Jack Samuels
President
Truth in Labeling Camp[aiogn
www.truthinlabeling.org
adandjack@aol.com

[Sassafras]

You can find this essay at http://www.dorway.com/samasp.txt



****************

Subject:  MSG
   Date:   Fri, 22 Sep 2000 12:08:40 EDT
  From:   ADandJACK@aol.com
    To:     rmforall@earthlink.net

Rich:

In your e-mail of 9/21/00, under the heading "Food Additives to Avoid,"
there is a reference to "monosodium glutamate" which, I believe,
came from CSPI. It stated in part:

"Unfortunately, too much MSG can lead to  headaches, tightness
in the chest, and a burning sensation in the forearms and the
back of the neck."

The reference to "monosodium glutamate" is the type of language that I
expect to hear from the glutamate industry or from the FDA.
It is not what one should expect to come from CSPI.
The reference to "too much" is ridiculous.
I would like to think that someone at CSPI would know
enough about science to realize that people vary
in their tolerance to allergens and/or substances
to which they are sensitive.  MSG-sensitive people vary
greatly in their tolerance to MSG and, I for one, react to
MINUTE amounts of the substance.

If reactions to MSG were limited to the mild and transitory reactions
listed in the statement, the MSG issue would not be as serious
a health issue as it is.  MSG reactions can be debilitating
and/or life threatening.  Serious reactions include, but are not
limited to migraine headache (not just "headache" as listed in the
CSPI caution), asthma, heart irregularities, and seizures.
MSG is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, and, based on
research findings, should be avoided by people on MAO inhibitor
drugs and people predisposed to or suffering from amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS) or multiple sclerosis (MS).

Jack Samuels

[Sassafras]

These links are provided by Dorway at  http://www.dorway.com/samasp.txt



  http://www.dorway.com/msginfo.txt
  http://www.dorway.com/fms50.txt

[misfitguy]

Great post.  I just was involved with two morons that claim to be skeptics, but I would call ignorant, lazy and comfortable in their ignorance.  They both asked for supporting url's and questioned my credentials as their response to anything I posted.  I believe that even with these essays they would have discounted everything we have stated about msg.  There is no overcoming ignorance or laziness if the individual likes them, I guess.  I hope these essays will help others in their search for the truth about excitotoxins.