Excitiotoxins: Too Much Excitement

Too Much Excitement: An overview of the Toxic Additives Infiltrating Our Food

You try really hard to eat healthy - keeping your snacks low-fat and sugar-free when possible, and keeping an eye on those calories on the label. But within these very “health foods” are ingredients that might be making you sick.

the tax of taste

Excitotoxins are “a group of neurologically active compounds, including glutamate and aspartame, that in high concentrations have detrimental excitatory effects on the central nervous system and may cause injury to nerve cells.” In easier-to-digest terms, they are chemicals added to food -- generally amino acids -- that make food taste great. They are common food additives, and their sole reason for existence is to spark your tastebuds and screw with your appetite and hunger signals. What’s worse, they are fully legal and supported by the FDA, and they are in everything.

delicious but deadly

The way in which excitotoxins react with neurons in our brain is what makes them so hazardous. Neuron receptors are constantly in action, communicating information between brain cells, but excitotoxins send this action into overdrive. They excite the brain cells, causing them to go into rapid-fire mode until the neurons burn out. A few hours after this happens, the exhausted neurons die. That’s a pretty intense result of ingesting something that the FDA has deemed safe. 

setting us up for failure

Scientists have noticed this effect particularly in the hypothalamus and temporal lobes, which are the parts of our brain that control behavior, emotions, puberty, sleep cycles, and immunity. And when such a large amount of the food on the market is full of these toxins, you can imagine that the process hardly gets a break. 

fake sugar -- fake flavor, please

The most common forms of these additives are aspartame and MSG. I thought that MSG was an old problem that had been shamed away and was no longer something the average consumer needed to worry about. And with all the criticism aspartame has received over the past two decades, I am surprised that it is still steadily in circulation, but I guess it is seen as the lesser of evils for those deciding between sugar and calories versus the controversial pink packet. You will almost always find aspartame in sugar-free candy and gum and in diet sodas.

sneaky names

Since many consumers have started avoiding products with these chemicals in them, food marketers have gotten savvy: anything that contains 99% pure MSG must be labeled as such, according to FDA standards, but anything with less than 99% pure MSG can be labeled in a multitude of ways with sneaky names such as malt extract, hydrolyzed oat flour, and spices, of all things. And natural flavors. This is bad news for me, as I piously guzzle carbonated water throughout that day, turning a blind eye at the “natural flavors” on the two-ingredient list.

brain doctor speaks up

The topic of excitotoxins was the focus of a book written in 1995 by neurosurgeon and author, Dr. Russell Blaylock, titled Excitotoxicity: The Taste that Kills. He has linked the consumption of these substances with such health problems as strokes, brain tumors, degenerative brain disease, meningitis, neurological lyme disease, and schizophrenia as well as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease - and the list goes on. 

well, if a little is good...

Though MSG occurs naturally in many of the (whole) healthy foods that we eat, such as nuts, cheese, meat, vegetables, and seaweed, it is in much smaller concentrations and absorbs much more slowly than the additives. MSG added to food, however, delivers a very large concentration all at once, and overloads both our senses and our cells. Food companies add MSG to food where it has no business being, and it is this constant intake at a highly-concentrated megadose that wreaks havoc.

don’t mess with my food

If you eat processed or pre-packaged food, I can almost guarantee that you are consuming excitotoxins, and large amounts of them. Diet foods such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Healthy Choice are not a bargain any way you slice it, but neither are snacks such as candy, chips or crackers. Anything pre-flavored, such as frozen vegetables, rice entrees, canned soup, and even certain spice blends in the baking aisle should be under your scrutiny. Less-considered sources might be canned meats, salad dressings, cured meats and poultry injected with broth. And even restaurants that proudly claim they add no MSG cannot be considered MSG-free, as much of their food from suppliers will already contain the additive.

beyond disease - ongoing symptoms

The symptoms and side effects of regular, long-term exposure to excitotoxins can range from annoying and uncomfortable to truly affecting your health. Dr. George R. Schwartz, author of In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome, has identified three kinds of symptoms that an MSG reaction can produce: allergic, peripheral, and central. 

allergic - peripheral - central

The allergic symptoms can present as a rash, hives, sneezing, runny nose, and shortness of breath, for example; peripheral symptoms may include flushing, jaw tightness, headache, rapid heartbeat, chest tightening, diarrhea, and arthritis; central symptoms can range from insomnia and confusion to paranoia and depression.

a flat argument *crickets*

It should be noted that the food industry has heavily defended its decision to consider excitotoxins to be safe. They counter that any potential dangers of excitotoxins would be blunted by the blood-brain barrier. This is an argument that, aside from its very need to exist serving as a strike against excitotoxins, is challenged by Blaylock’s research which has found that “measurable levels of excitotoxins have been found inside the brain following ingestion of both aspartame and MSG.” And there are numerous ways that the efficacy of this barrier can be compromised in an otherwise healthy individual. 

so what can we do?

According to Blaylock, taking a bilateral approach is the best repair and defense. Cutting down on exposure to these excitotoxins with vigilant label-reading (along with learning the sneaky names) and ideally preparing your own food (without the help of processed foods, broths, seasoning, etc.) can help with both healing and prevention. The argument is strong for eating clean and as close to a food’s natural state as possible. Additionally, arming your system with minerals and antioxidants sets you up for optimal health and can help supply the brain with what it needs to repair brain-cell connections.

where to start? 

Sources from whole foods are always the best place to start. Berries are notoriously rich in antioxidants, especially blackberries, raspberries and blueberries. Green, leafy vegetables are an excellent source of antioxidants and nutrients, as well as green tea and black tea. Beyond whole foods, Blaylock recommends supplements such as vitamin E, vitamin C, and Coenzyme Q10.

take the reins

There is no denying that diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s are drastically on the rise and showing up at a younger age. Knowing that we cannot count on the food industry to look out for our best interests, our first line of defense lies in personal responsibility. Read your food labels, build nutritious food into your diet and keep yourself educated and savvy.  Food should be used to heal us, not hurt us.

SOURCES

"Excitotoxin." TheFreeDictionary.com. Accessed June 28, 2018. https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/excitotoxin.

"Excitotoxins: The FDA-Approved Way To Damage Your Brain." HoneyColony. Last modified August 28, 2017. https://www.honeycolony.com/article/excitotoxins-fda-approved-damage-brain/.

"Excitotoxins." Experience Life. Accessed June 28, 2018. https://experiencelife.com/article/excitotoxins/.