MSG and Obesity

[rupert]

http://www.westonaprice.org/msg/msgobesity.html

Could this be the missing link?

[GTO]

Heard a lot of this stuff before. Doesn't surprise me one bit. I try to eat fresh food and stay away from the Diet Coke, myself. :P

[Brian Owens]

While it's possible that MSG and aspartame play some role in obesity, the proximal cause is clear, and the writer of that article seems to be stretching not to recognize it:

Too much food, and too little exercise.

Sure, MSG and artificial sweetners made their big leap into the American food scene in the '50s and '60s, but the changes in lifestyle during those periods -- and which have accellerated in the generations since -- are undeniable.

TV, video games, desk jobs, sugary and fatty snack foods; those are the main culprits.

Everyone seems to be looking for some magical formula. But it's simple math:

calories in - calories out = net weight gain.

Other factors, such as glycemic index, fat/protein ratio, etc. are factors, sure; but eating too much and moving too little is basic.

[Andy Watson]

As GTO said, seen this war on MSG going on for a long time.

I read an article in the Observer Food Monthly recently which looked into the long war on MSG. They mentioned the 1960's studies detailed in the attached link and recently have found no substance to the claims made.

MSG used to be perceived to cause something called CRS (Chinese Restaurant Syndrome) which would cause headaches, the shakes and nervous tension. It was labelled CRS because people suffered it frequently in the west when they ate at Chinese restaurants where - you got it - MSG was used quite liberally.

Anyway, the modern evaluation of the study asked why a) Chinese (and Japanese who also use loads of MSG) didn't suffer from CRS and b) why the Japanese don't suffer from the similar levels of obesity that America does.

There may well be some contributing factors around weight gain but Brian's formula must be the most significant factor to this. In this age people just want easy solutions i.e. they want to eat what they like, how much they like, not do exercisea and then have some magic cure for their weight problems. The world doesn't operate like that though I'm afraid.