Why Dont We Ban MSG?

[JimBowie1958]

It has only been in the last 30 years or so that MSG became such a widely used additive on our foods and we have a corresponding sky-rocketing rate of Type 2 Diabetes and obesity.

So why dont we just ban MSG from foods?

Proof MSG Causes Obesity In Experimental Studies

The data is in and it is staggering: Scientists have been using the common food additive Monosodium Glutamate to create fat rats and mice to experiment on. In hundreds of studies produced worldwide over the last thirty years, Monosodium Glutamate has been injected under the skin of day old mice and rats to produce obese rats and mice with a predisposition for diabetes.

Just as the occurrence of obesity and diabetes has risen to record levels, so too has the public's ingestion of MSG. MSG, also found in ingredients such as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and Autolyzed Yeast Extract, is being added to a huge selection of restaurant food and processed food found in supermarkets.
According to the Glutamate Association, a government Lobby group sponsored by many of the companies that use or produce MSG in its various forms, the reason that it is added to food is simple:

"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations.

John Erb, author of the book The Slow Poisoning of America believes that MSG is the food industry's equivalent to Nicotine. "Studies have shown that people who eat food laced with MSG eat more of it, and faster than food that does not have this additive. If it makes the elderly eat more, what is it doing to our nation's children?

Glutamate is an amino acid that can excite almost every major organ in the body, especially the brain. It occurs naturally in milligram amounts in some harvested foods. Now, however, a person can get as much as a teaspoonful a day. John Erb finds this especially disparaging considering in some countries of the world one tablespoon of MSG is given to dogs to make them go into epileptic convulsions until they die.

"When ingested by human test subjects MSG directly affects the Pancreas stimulating it to triple its standard output of insulin output. This unnatural amount of insulin finds the sugar in the blood and converts it to fat. A few hours after you eat MSG the excess insulin the MSG triggers reduces your blood sugar level so much that you become tired and even hungry again. In animal test subjects this excess insulin leads to hyperinsulinemia: the chronic overproduction of insulin. The pancreas becomes so out of control that the body starts producing killer T cells to shut it down. Is it any wonder why diabetes, obesity and lethargy in our youths are at an all time high? Junk foods, processed foods, even cafeteria foods are now laced with large amounts of exitotoxic glutamates.

so there were no obese people before msg?

Where does it say that?

Thats just daws being daws...eternally ignorant stupid and partisan.

 

[JimBowie1958]

I don't see where he makes that case --- he says we have a corresponding sky-rocketing [sic] rate of diabetes and obesity.

I make the same case (on obesity) about wheat. It doesn't mean any one of them are a sole source.

Obviously even with MSG in our foods, through dieting and exercise one can keep ones weight low, but some cannot due to physical or mental weakness.

But MSG is one factor among many, including the lifestyles and eating habits many families developed prior to WW2 when calories were more difficult to get, but these being maintained in a post WW2 economy where calories are way more abundant.

 

[Alystyr]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

 

[daws101]

It has only been in the last 30 years or so that MSG became such a widely used additive on our foods and we have a corresponding sky-rocketing rate of Type 2 Diabetes and obesity.

So why dont we just ban MSG from foods?

Proof MSG Causes Obesity In Experimental Studies

The data is in and it is staggering: Scientists have been using the common food additive Monosodium Glutamate to create fat rats and mice to experiment on. In hundreds of studies produced worldwide over the last thirty years, Monosodium Glutamate has been injected under the skin of day old mice and rats to produce obese rats and mice with a predisposition for diabetes.

Just as the occurrence of obesity and diabetes has risen to record levels, so too has the public's ingestion of MSG. MSG, also found in ingredients such as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and Autolyzed Yeast Extract, is being added to a huge selection of restaurant food and processed food found in supermarkets.
According to the Glutamate Association, a government Lobby group sponsored by many of the companies that use or produce MSG in its various forms, the reason that it is added to food is simple:

"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations.

John Erb, author of the book The Slow Poisoning of America believes that MSG is the food industry's equivalent to Nicotine. "Studies have shown that people who eat food laced with MSG eat more of it, and faster than food that does not have this additive. If it makes the elderly eat more, what is it doing to our nation's children?

Glutamate is an amino acid that can excite almost every major organ in the body, especially the brain. It occurs naturally in milligram amounts in some harvested foods. Now, however, a person can get as much as a teaspoonful a day. John Erb finds this especially disparaging considering in some countries of the world one tablespoon of MSG is given to dogs to make them go into epileptic convulsions until they die.

"When ingested by human test subjects MSG directly affects the Pancreas stimulating it to triple its standard output of insulin output. This unnatural amount of insulin finds the sugar in the blood and converts it to fat. A few hours after you eat MSG the excess insulin the MSG triggers reduces your blood sugar level so much that you become tired and even hungry again. In animal test subjects this excess insulin leads to hyperinsulinemia: the chronic overproduction of insulin. The pancreas becomes so out of control that the body starts producing killer T cells to shut it down. Is it any wonder why diabetes, obesity and lethargy in our youths are at an all time high? Junk foods, processed foods, even cafeteria foods are now laced with large amounts of exitotoxic glutamates.

so there were no obese people before msg?

Where does it say that?

Thats just daws being daws...eternally ignorant stupid and partisan.

odd? that's a partial description of you jimblowme, except you left out faux Christian and raving paranoid then it would be a spot on description of you .

 

[JimBowie1958]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

I believe that it mentioned somewhere that Americans consume about a teaspoon of MSG per day, and scientists give rats much less in ratio to their body mass to make them obese.

 

[Alystyr]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

I believe that it mentioned somewhere that Americans consume about a teaspoon of MSG per day, and scientists give rats much less in ratio to their body mass to make them obese.

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

 

[dannyboys]

It has only been in the last 30 years or so that MSG became such a widely used additive on our foods and we have a corresponding sky-rocketing rate of Type 2 Diabetes and obesity.

So why dont we just ban MSG from foods?

Proof MSG Causes Obesity In Experimental Studies

The data is in and it is staggering: Scientists have been using the common food additive Monosodium Glutamate to create fat rats and mice to experiment on. In hundreds of studies produced worldwide over the last thirty years, Monosodium Glutamate has been injected under the skin of day old mice and rats to produce obese rats and mice with a predisposition for diabetes.

Just as the occurrence of obesity and diabetes has risen to record levels, so too has the public's ingestion of MSG. MSG, also found in ingredients such as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and Autolyzed Yeast Extract, is being added to a huge selection of restaurant food and processed food found in supermarkets.
According to the Glutamate Association, a government Lobby group sponsored by many of the companies that use or produce MSG in its various forms, the reason that it is added to food is simple:

"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations.

John Erb, author of the book The Slow Poisoning of America believes that MSG is the food industry's equivalent to Nicotine. "Studies have shown that people who eat food laced with MSG eat more of it, and faster than food that does not have this additive. If it makes the elderly eat more, what is it doing to our nation's children?

Glutamate is an amino acid that can excite almost every major organ in the body, especially the brain. It occurs naturally in milligram amounts in some harvested foods. Now, however, a person can get as much as a teaspoonful a day. John Erb finds this especially disparaging considering in some countries of the world one tablespoon of MSG is given to dogs to make them go into epileptic convulsions until they die.

"When ingested by human test subjects MSG directly affects the Pancreas stimulating it to triple its standard output of insulin output. This unnatural amount of insulin finds the sugar in the blood and converts it to fat. A few hours after you eat MSG the excess insulin the MSG triggers reduces your blood sugar level so much that you become tired and even hungry again. In animal test subjects this excess insulin leads to hyperinsulinemia: the chronic overproduction of insulin. The pancreas becomes so out of control that the body starts producing killer T cells to shut it down. Is it any wonder why diabetes, obesity and lethargy in our youths are at an all time high? Junk foods, processed foods, even cafeteria foods are now laced with large amounts of exitotoxic glutamates.

You can actually subtract MSG from you life without the government banning it.

I try to stay away from buying junk foods, and process foods and never eat out hardly, so I have control over what I eat.

Eat fresh fruits, veggies, nuts ( no not the sexual one ), fish daily and you will see a massive difference in your weight, and how you feel.

What I can't figure out is how can you even taste anything with your tongue stuck up Hillary's asshole all the time?

 

[daws101]

It has only been in the last 30 years or so that MSG became such a widely used additive on our foods and we have a corresponding sky-rocketing rate of Type 2 Diabetes and obesity.

So why dont we just ban MSG from foods?

Proof MSG Causes Obesity In Experimental Studies

The data is in and it is staggering: Scientists have been using the common food additive Monosodium Glutamate to create fat rats and mice to experiment on. In hundreds of studies produced worldwide over the last thirty years, Monosodium Glutamate has been injected under the skin of day old mice and rats to produce obese rats and mice with a predisposition for diabetes.

Just as the occurrence of obesity and diabetes has risen to record levels, so too has the public's ingestion of MSG. MSG, also found in ingredients such as Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein and Autolyzed Yeast Extract, is being added to a huge selection of restaurant food and processed food found in supermarkets.
According to the Glutamate Association, a government Lobby group sponsored by many of the companies that use or produce MSG in its various forms, the reason that it is added to food is simple:

"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations.

John Erb, author of the book The Slow Poisoning of America believes that MSG is the food industry's equivalent to Nicotine. "Studies have shown that people who eat food laced with MSG eat more of it, and faster than food that does not have this additive. If it makes the elderly eat more, what is it doing to our nation's children?

Glutamate is an amino acid that can excite almost every major organ in the body, especially the brain. It occurs naturally in milligram amounts in some harvested foods. Now, however, a person can get as much as a teaspoonful a day. John Erb finds this especially disparaging considering in some countries of the world one tablespoon of MSG is given to dogs to make them go into epileptic convulsions until they die.

"When ingested by human test subjects MSG directly affects the Pancreas stimulating it to triple its standard output of insulin output. This unnatural amount of insulin finds the sugar in the blood and converts it to fat. A few hours after you eat MSG the excess insulin the MSG triggers reduces your blood sugar level so much that you become tired and even hungry again. In animal test subjects this excess insulin leads to hyperinsulinemia: the chronic overproduction of insulin. The pancreas becomes so out of control that the body starts producing killer T cells to shut it down. Is it any wonder why diabetes, obesity and lethargy in our youths are at an all time high? Junk foods, processed foods, even cafeteria foods are now laced with large amounts of exitotoxic glutamates.

You can actually subtract MSG from you life without the government banning it.

I try to stay away from buying junk foods, and process foods and never eat out hardly, so I have control over what I eat.

Eat fresh fruits, veggies, nuts ( no not the sexual one ), fish daily and you will see a massive difference in your weight, and how you feel.

What I can't figure out is how can you even taste anything with your tongue stuck up Hillary's asshole all the time?

strange question coming from some one who head has been up his ass since puberty after being caught masturbating in the boys locker room.

 

[JimBowie1958]

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

Good questions. Here is one study. The induction of obesity in rodents by means of monosodium glutamate. - PubMed - NCBI

1. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) was administered by various methods to mice and rats of various ages and the incidence of obesity was later measured.

2. Newborn mice were injected subcutaneously with 3 mg MSG/g body-weight at 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 d of age; 16% died before weaning. Of the survivors, 90% or more became markedly obese. Mean carcass lipid content was increased by about 120% in both sexes at 20-30 weeks old. In male mice, MSG treatment increased body-weight and epididymal fat pad weight, and greatly decreased adrenaline-stimulated lipolysis in isolated fat cells. Body-eright of females was not increased significantly. Food intake was not increased in either sex from weeks 13 to 15. Blood glucose level was not generally increased by MSG but some of the male mice had abnormally high values.

3. Obesity was not detected in the offspring of female mice that had received 100 g MSG/kg diet, either from 3 weeks before mating until weaning, or from the 14th day of pregnancy until weaning.

4. Intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg MSG/g body-weight (in two doses) at weaning increased carcass lipid content in female mice by 34% by 23 weeks of age, but female rats were not affected.

5. The addition of 20 g MSG/l to the drinking-water from weaning onwards did not increase carcass lipid content in female rats or mice.

6. The addition of 20 g MSG/kg diet from weaning onwards did not alter body-weight or carcass lipid content in male and female rats by 14 weeks of age.

Sounds like it was way less than a teaspoon equivalent.

So should MSG be banned? Why not? It isnt like it is there for anything other than compelling people to eat more and we dont need that today. So ban it and have a healtheir America almost over night; why not?

 

[Alystyr]

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

Good questions. Here is one study. The induction of obesity in rodents by means of monosodium glutamate. - PubMed - NCBI

1. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) was administered by various methods to mice and rats of various ages and the incidence of obesity was later measured.

2. Newborn mice were injected subcutaneously with 3 mg MSG/g body-weight at 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 d of age; 16% died before weaning. Of the survivors, 90% or more became markedly obese. Mean carcass lipid content was increased by about 120% in both sexes at 20-30 weeks old. In male mice, MSG treatment increased body-weight and epididymal fat pad weight, and greatly decreased adrenaline-stimulated lipolysis in isolated fat cells. Body-eright of females was not increased significantly. Food intake was not increased in either sex from weeks 13 to 15. Blood glucose level was not generally increased by MSG but some of the male mice had abnormally high values.

3. Obesity was not detected in the offspring of female mice that had received 100 g MSG/kg diet, either from 3 weeks before mating until weaning, or from the 14th day of pregnancy until weaning.

4. Intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg MSG/g body-weight (in two doses) at weaning increased carcass lipid content in female mice by 34% by 23 weeks of age, but female rats were not affected.

5. The addition of 20 g MSG/l to the drinking-water from weaning onwards did not increase carcass lipid content in female rats or mice.

6. The addition of 20 g MSG/kg diet from weaning onwards did not alter body-weight or carcass lipid content in male and female rats by 14 weeks of age.

Sounds like it was way less than a teaspoon equivalent.

So should MSG be banned? Why not? It isnt like it is there for anything other than compelling people to eat more and we dont need that today. So ban it and have a healtheir America almost over night; why not?

I'll admit that I did the math on the fly, but even the 3mg per gram of body weight (3mg/g) sounds somewhat extreme.
I did my original calculations using 500g weight, high-end average for an adult rat. Using the 3mg/g, that would equate to 1,500mg - equal to 44 teaspoons in a 180lb human, if my math is correct. Truthfully, I'm surprised that only 16% died (Item 2).
Item 4, the other positive, is even more extreme - 146 teaspoons. A little unrealistic.
Interestingly, the three consumption tests (items 3, 5, and 6) all appeared to be negative regardless of the concentration.
If food tastes good, people will tend to eat more of it, simple as that. Banning MSG just because it makes food taste better makes as much sense as banning coarse-ground black pepper (my preference, since MSG gives me a headache).

 

[OldLady]

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

Good questions. Here is one study. The induction of obesity in rodents by means of monosodium glutamate. - PubMed - NCBI

1. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) was administered by various methods to mice and rats of various ages and the incidence of obesity was later measured.

2. Newborn mice were injected subcutaneously with 3 mg MSG/g body-weight at 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 8 d of age; 16% died before weaning. Of the survivors, 90% or more became markedly obese. Mean carcass lipid content was increased by about 120% in both sexes at 20-30 weeks old. In male mice, MSG treatment increased body-weight and epididymal fat pad weight, and greatly decreased adrenaline-stimulated lipolysis in isolated fat cells. Body-eright of females was not increased significantly. Food intake was not increased in either sex from weeks 13 to 15. Blood glucose level was not generally increased by MSG but some of the male mice had abnormally high values.

3. Obesity was not detected in the offspring of female mice that had received 100 g MSG/kg diet, either from 3 weeks before mating until weaning, or from the 14th day of pregnancy until weaning.

4. Intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg MSG/g body-weight (in two doses) at weaning increased carcass lipid content in female mice by 34% by 23 weeks of age, but female rats were not affected.

5. The addition of 20 g MSG/l to the drinking-water from weaning onwards did not increase carcass lipid content in female rats or mice.

6. The addition of 20 g MSG/kg diet from weaning onwards did not alter body-weight or carcass lipid content in male and female rats by 14 weeks of age.

Sounds like it was way less than a teaspoon equivalent.

So should MSG be banned? Why not? It isnt like it is there for anything other than compelling people to eat more and we dont need that today. So ban it and have a healtheir America almost over night; why not?

I don't think the government should BAN it--that's a bit much--but just like salt, once the majority of folks know about it and the harm it can do, restaurants and processed food suppliers will start omitting or limiting it. Keep spreading the word, Jim.

 

[JimBowie1958]

If food tastes good, people will tend to eat more of it, simple as that. Banning MSG just because it makes food taste better makes as much sense as banning coarse-ground black pepper (my preference, since MSG gives me a headache).

But I am not suggesting banning MSG just because it makes food taste better but due tot he affect it has on the pancreas and insulin output.

 

[Alystyr]

If food tastes good, people will tend to eat more of it, simple as that. Banning MSG just because it makes food taste better makes as much sense as banning coarse-ground black pepper (my preference, since MSG gives me a headache).

But I am not suggesting banning MSG just because it makes food taste better but due tot he affect it has on the pancreas and insulin output.

None of the tests that you posted in #29 showed that MSG had any effect whatsoever when consumed (points 3, 5, and 6) regardless of concentration.
The only tests that were positive (points 2 and 4) were by injection, and even then involved totally unrealistic (44 tsp. and 146 tsp. respectively, human equivalent) concentrations.
What this seems to indicate is that when MSG is metabolized in the normal fashion (through the digestive tract) is that it has little to no effect when compared to being forcibly introduced into the bloodstream in a pure form.

 

[Pogo]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

Your conclusion here doesn't necessarily follow. For instance it's true that tolerance to "heat" (as in capsicum) increases with age, i.e. you can take more Scoville units (perceive them less). So you simply put more heat on until you reach your desired level. That's what I do. But that has no effect on the total volume.

Same thing with spices and seasonings in general -- you end up consuming more seasoning, not more food.

 

[Alystyr]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

Your conclusion here doesn't necessarily follow. For instance it's true that tolerance to "heat" (as in capsicum) increases with age, i.e. you can take more Scoville units (perceive them less). So you simply put more heat on until you reach your desired level. That's what I do. But that has no effect on the total volume.

Same thing with spices and seasonings in general -- you end up consuming more seasoning, not more food.

Not in all cases.

What to Do if Your Elderly Parent Won't Eat - AgingCare.com
"Dining involves many senses: aromas, colors and tastes in one's mouth; but many mature adults experience a lessening of the senses of smell and sense of taste in their aging process. There is a reduction in the experience that, in turn, lessens the personal desire for food. There is no magic pill to restore full senses of smell and taste.
As caregiver and chief cook, you can alter your recipes, switching from typical spices used in the past or as used by your parent in his or her own cooking, to herbs and spices with a bit more zing, and that introduce a new, added flavor to the dish." (Bolding mine)

I would imagine that the problem is magnified among the institutionalized elderly, as mentioned in the OP's article. Although in that situation, the increased food intake is possibly more of a return toward normal food intake (due to more flavorful food) than it is an increase over normal.

 

[FJO]

MSG must be banned. Along with sugar, salt, beef, butter, sausage, ham, pasta, mushrooms, potatoes and eggs.

The only "food" people should be allowed to eat should be lettuce, sushi, tofu and dandelion leaves.

 

[FJO]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

I believe that it mentioned somewhere that Americans consume about a teaspoon of MSG per day, and scientists give rats much less in ratio to their body mass to make them obese.

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

The validity of tests performed on rats only applies to DemocRATS.
Appropriately.

 

[daws101]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

I believe that it mentioned somewhere that Americans consume about a teaspoon of MSG per day, and scientists give rats much less in ratio to their body mass to make them obese.

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

The validity of tests performed on rats only applies to DemocRATS.
Appropriately.

That must mean that the republicans are too far gone to bother with.

 

[FJO]

I won't discount the studies out of hand, but I do have some issues as to how they were reported...
What was the dosage given to the rats and mice, in comparison to the equivalent for an average human? Excessive amounts of anything given to lab animals will skew results and cause problems. That's why I have problems with statements like "_____ has been proven to cause ______ in laboratory animals".
"Studies have found that adding MSG to certain foods, such as soup and mashed potatoes, has been successful in increasing the food intake in institutionalized elderly populations." From my understanding (and personal experience as well) many elderly persons tend to have a reduced sense of taste to begin with. If a food tastes better to them, then their preference will be toward that food rather than one that (to them) has little or no flavor at all, possibly resulting in greater consumption.

I believe that it mentioned somewhere that Americans consume about a teaspoon of MSG per day, and scientists give rats much less in ratio to their body mass to make them obese.

As I said, I'm not discounting the studies. However, when the methodology isn't given, I begin to doubt the validity.
For example, did they give the rats 34mg (equiv. to a teaspoon in a human)? More? Less? How often?
Without that data, all it shows is a correlation but it does nothing to prove causation.
On a similar note, I also have problems with studies that claim "_____ increases the risk of _____ by __%". Unless actual ratios are given, percentages are not only meaningless but allow the studies to capitalize on sensationalism.

The validity of tests performed on rats only applies to DemocRATS.
Appropriately.

That must mean that the republicans are too far gone to bother with.

And that response must mean that you are a moron.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

You do realise that those test involve giving the rats what amount to a life time of consumption in a very short period of time. Drink to much water and it will kill you.