Monosodium
Glutamate and Autism
The Erb Theory
Presented to
the 13th Annual
Defeat Autism
Now Conference
By John Edward
Erb
The number of
cases of Autism
in
the world has reached epidemic proportions. According to recent data,
Autistic
births number one in 156. This rate is now higher than any other birth
defect.
When
considering gender,
however, the number is worse.
Autism
strikes boys more than
girls, so the chance of having a boy with Autism may be one in a
hundred.
Before 1950,
there were only a
handful of cases worldwide, but the occurrence of Autism is ballooning
500%
each decade. At this rate of growth, by 2014, it is possible that one
out of
every five boys born could suffer from Autism.
Having worked
as a counselor
and
case manager specializing in the care of Autistic individuals for over
fifteen
years, I have an understanding of the difficulties that Autism places
on both
the child, and the family as a whole. In 2002, concerned for our
children's
health, my wife and I started researching food additives. What we
discovered
was so shocking that it inspired us to write a book on the subject
called The
Slow Poisoning of America. In this book I examined the connection
between
Autism and MSG in the diet of pregnant mothers.
MSG? Isn't
that
only in Chinese food?
During the
seventies there was
an uproar about MSG, with complaints that it caused all kinds of
symptoms, from
headaches to nausea. During this decade a lobby group appeared called
'The
Glutamate Association.' This organization was created to manipulate the
politician's and people's views on the safety of MSG. The membership of
this
association is limited to manufacturers and food processors that make
and use
MSG, the opinions they present serve only their own interests The
Glutamate
Association could not push off a FDA investigation forever. In 1992,
the FDA
called upon a 350 page review on the safety of the chemical. The review
itself
supported people's fears about the safety of Monosodium Glutamate:
'' an
undetermined percentage of the population may react to MSG and develop
MSG
symptom complex, a condition characterized by one or more of the
following
symptoms:
· burning
sensation in the back of the neck forearms and chest
· numbness
in the back of the neck, radiating to the arms and back
· tingling,
warmth and weakness in the face, temples, upper back, neck and arms
· facial
pressure or tightness
· chest
pain
· headache
· nausea
· rapid
heartbeat
· bronchospasm
(difficulty breathing) in MSG intolerant people with asthma drowsiness
· weakness
In otherwise
healthy MSG-intolerant people, the MSG symptom complex tends to occur
within
one hour after eating 3 grams or more of MSG on an empty stomach or
without
other food. A typical serving of Glutamate treated food contains less
than 0.5
grams of MSG. A reaction is most likely if the MSG is eaten in a large
quantity
or in a liquid, such as a clear soup.''
Federation
of American Societies
for
Experimental Biology
Presented
to the FDA, 1992
The
FDA chose to ignore the report completely.
They did not ask for further testing to find out what the 'unknown
percentage'
of the population was that was reacting to MSG. Instead, they allowed
MSG to
keep its 'GRAS' status. 'GRAS' is a term that means Generally Regarded
As Safe.
If a chemical falls into this category, the government grants its use
in
UNLIMITED amounts in food. At this moment, food companies could legally
put 3
ounces of MSG into a 5 ounce hamburger. This fact is alarming
considering that
one tablespoon of MSG could kill a dog.
Even more
alarming is the fact
that MSG has been used in hundreds of experiments on thousands of
laboratory
animals over the last thirty years. Scientists use MSG to replicate
brain
damage from stroke. They inject MSG (scientific name
Monosodium-L-Glutamate)
into an area of the subject's brains, and within moments, the neurons
become
overexcited and die. They also inject it into rats to make them obese
and cause
a condition of pre-diabetes.
The amount of
MSG needed to
create these effects is measured in milligrams. Less than the amount we
consume
in one handful of Doritos.
Scientists
classify chemicals
that can destroy brain neurons as 'Excitotoxins.' MSG is one of the
most
exoitotoxic chemicals that can be found in the body. The brain is
tilled with
neurons that are specifically coded to receive glutamate. Excessive
amounts of
glutamates over- stimulate these neurons until they die.
The FDA has
argued for the last
decade that the brain is safe from excess Glutamate due to the Blood
Brain
Barrier. This barrier is the membrane that regulates the flow of
chemicals into
the brain. The list of symptoms given to the FDA from the FASEB report
reveals
a breach in this barrier.
The FDA
argues that the
placenta
keeps MSG from handing the developing fetus. This claim is false.
The fetus
begins forming days
before the placental barrier is fully in place. Any chemicals in the
mother's
blood flow directly to the developing baby.
A study
titled Neurotoxicity
of monosodium-L-glutamate in pregnant and fetal rat
found that the MSG in a
pregnant mother's diet caused neuronal cell death and brain damage in
the
fetuses. They summed up their findings by saying:
"These
observations raise the possibility of transplacental poisoning in human
fetuses
after the consumption of glutamate-rich food by the mother.''
Toth L, Karcsu S. Feledi J,
Kreutzberg GW
Dept.
of Anatomy, UMS,
This study
was published l987.
1987!
Almost Twenty years
ago!
When one
study is done by a
pharmaceutical company that finds their wonder drug has a small chance
of
helping a small percentage of the population, we see it all over the
media from
Newspapers to CNN. But a study that proves that an additive placed in
our food
in unlimited amounts causes fetal brain death is not even newsworthy!
Considering
the 1992 report to
the FDA completely ignored this study and many others like it, what
else has
the Glutamate Association kept from the public? In our book The
Slow
Poisoning of America, my wife
Michelle and I outline over a hundred other
published medical studies kept from general knowledge for the last
thirty
years; studies proving that MSG can cause headaches, obesity, diabetes
and many
other health concerns.
If MSG is
destructive to the
brain, why is it added to almost every soup, snack food, frozen
prepared meal,
and restaurant item in the country? Is Monosodium Glutamate a valuable
preservative or vitamin? It is neither. MSG is an amino acid which is
harvested
from the excrement of yeast cells in giant vats and added to food for
one main
purpose:
MSG is an
addictive substance.
"Studies
have found that adding MSG to certain foods such as soup and mashed
potatoes
has been successful in increasing the food intake."
The
Glutamate Association
MSG is
Nicotine
for Food
MSG added to
food makes you
crave more of that food.
Studies show
that when people
are offered the choice between similar foods, they will like the one
with MSG
better than the one without. This food addiction leads to an increase
in sales
for the companies that use MSG.
For the
financial gain from
selling more of their product, food companies risk the health of you,
your
children, and even your unborn babies. Their profit is more important
than our
health.
In 1944, the
Japanese
surrendered to the Americans, and all their scientific secrets went
with them. Among
these secrets was a new food additive, tested on the rations of the
Japanese
Soldiers. Its name was MSG and it made even the blandest and low
quality food
taste good. At a conference in
The results
were amazing,
consumers developed brand loyalty to products made with ingredients of
the
poorest quality. MSG made even industrial foods taste good.
Restaurants
that used MSG in
their seasonings showed tremendous return on their investment. Kentucky
Fried
Chicken had phenomenal growth, bragging about their herbs and spices.
If you
check their ingredients list today, you will find MSG in almost every
menu
item. and barely a sign of herbs or spices! As production of MSG became
cheaper
even smaller food companies and restaurants could add it to their
products.
Soon meals
made at home in
hours
could be replicated in minutes in fast food restaurants or factories
with
second rate ingredients.
In the 1970's
when consumers
were demanding food
without MSG, the
food manufacturers hid the glutamate under new ingredient names.
Hydrolyzed
Vegetable Protein, Yeast Extract, aid Natural Flavorings are only a few
of the
dozen new aliases for MSG.
Today
cafeterias in retirement
homes, hospitals and even schools pour thousands of tons of MSG into
their
foods, despite the hundreds of articles showing its toxic effects.
Is it any wonder that the number of victims of Autism, and countless other disorders from Diabetes to ADHD to Alzheimer's are growing at record speed?
MSG'S Affect
on
the Unborn
MSG is an
Excitotoxin,
stimulating neurons until they die.
So if they
can stimulate them
to
death, how do they affect brain cells just forming? Little medical
research has
been done in this field which is surprising considering the
recommendations of
the 1987 study.
During the
writing of our book
I
found countless studies that show the variety of ways that MSG can
affect the
human body. From my research I developed the following hypothesis and
presented
it in the book The Slow Poisoning of America.
The Erb
Theory:
''MSG introduced during the
first month of fetal development causes Autism,
as well as Asperger Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactive
Disorder. ''
The genetic
make-up of the mother may determine how susceptible the child is to
glutamate
poisoning in Utero.
ADHD as well
as Asperger
Syndrome share a similar frequency of striking boys vs. girls. It is
possible
that the amount of damage that glutamates do to the fetus occurs on a
sliding
scale determined by the amount of MSG ingested and the genetic
sensitivity of
the fetus.
Perhaps if
the fetus is only
slightly affected by the MSG, the child would be born with ADHD. More
MSG/higher genetic sensitivity could manifest in the child as Asperger
Syndrome, while the greatest exposure/highest sensitivity could result
in
Autism in its various degrees.
This is as
yet an unproven
theory. But there are over a hundred published studies which have
proven that
MSG can cause obesity in 100% of test subjects. If it can harm these
subjects
with a simple under the skin injection into day old infants, what can
MSG do to
an unborn child whose brain is just developing?
Suggestion for
a Treatment Plan
From the
research I have
reviewed, I believe that the hyperactivity and OCD behaviors of
children
suffering from Autism, Asperger Syndrome. and ADHD can be linked to
abnormally
high levels of Dopamine in the Central Nervous Syndrome. In the book
The Slow
Poisoning of America we present evidence supporting the use of
Melatonin as a
natural counterpoint to Dopamine.
Melatonin
Personally I
have had great
success in using Melatonin (created naturally in the Pineal Gland) to
reduce
the ADHD behaviors that myself and two of my children have been
diagnosed with.
Many parents I have been in contact with have started giving Melatonin
(available
over-the counter from a variety of suppliers for a small price) to
their
children with Autism. In conjunction with removing all sources of MSG
from
their child's diet, these parents have reported that Melatonin has
given their
children
These
findings have not been
studied in a controlled experimental situation, but for the parents who
are
currently using it, Melatonin is making a considerable difference.
In Conclusion
The children
of this nation
suffer from Autism today not due to the fault of themselves or their
parents,
but due to a food industry driven by corporate greed, watched over by
government agencies too asleep at the wheel to care.
This paper is
presented to the
victims, their parents, and the practitioners, who care enough to make
a
difference. The name of this Conference is Defeat Autism Now. Perhaps
in its
13th year, this name can ring true.
Since
developing this theory in
May of 2003, I have yet to meet a health professional who has
definitive proof
that my theory is unfounded. Perhaps this theory will fill in the
missing piece
of the puzzle that so many here are looking for.
If I am
correct, and MSG
introduced to the developing fetus is the cause of Autism, then we
could end
this epidemic now, simply by demanding the removal of this toxic
substance from
the food supply, with no new cases of Autistic births. The funding
available
can be directed towards the thousands of cases of Autism we have now,
instead
of the millions more we will see in the years to come.
Once the
cause of an ailment is
determined, the cure for it is easier to discover.
John Erb
Author
The
Slow Poisoning of
www.spofamerica.com