symptom | Completely Nourished

So…you’re not eating MSG anymore because you’ve heard all about its health effects, right?!

Unfortunately, many products that say “MSG-Free” on the front of the package actually still contain hidden sources of this toxin. And it’s perfectly legal according to current labeling laws!

Outraged?! You should be!

It’s difficult to list all of the possible names that can disguise MSG because the food industry always seems to stay one step ahead of us consumers when creating new ways to “describe” their ingredients. For starters, though, click here for an overview of many of the names which disguise MSG on food labels.

Commonly reported physical effects of MSG ingestion are also included in the above link. I’m sure most of you will see a few ailments on that list that “hit close to home.”

This is just one example of the crap that we’re better off avoiding in our food as much as possible. Reading food labels can be really tricky, so it’s best to just:

1) Avoid foods with lengthy ingredients lists.

2) Don’t assume that a food has no ingredients list. For example, you may think that “sour cream,” “ground beef,” and “garlic salt” are pretty self-explanatory. But you’d be surprised at what you’ll find lurking on the back of the package of certain brands (I’ll blog about those later)!

3) If a food contains even ONE ingredient that you don’t understand, then leave it on the grocery shelf!

For many of us, it doesn’t take much of a toxin to have a devastating health effect, so don’t fool yourself into thinking that a little bit doesn’t matter! And, unless you enjoy spending hours at the store and online researching chemical ingredients, just stick with basic additive-free foods! If you’re not sure where to start with making such dietary changes, I’ve worked hard to create a book just for you! My “Eating Additive-Free” Natural Cookbook & Grocery Guide contains 160 delicious and simple natural recipes as well as ALL of the grocery shopping guidance you need to make every one of my recipes! Click here for more details, pictures, complete Table of Contents and ordering instructions. It’s available as an e-book (instant download)!

As you may or may not be aware, most table salts contain quite a few ingredients. Some of these are “anti-caking agents” which function to keep the salt granules from clumping together so your salt will fall freely through the holes of your salt shaker. There are anti-caking agents in table salt, sea salt, and both iodized and non-iodized versions of both. If you wish to avoid such ingredients, just inspect the containers in the salt aisle until you find one whose ingredients list contains solely: “salt.” And don’t assume, as I did, that just because a salt is coarse and comes in a fancy grinder that it is free of additives. Not true – check the label every time!

Several years ago at my aunt’s house, I was introduced to the ingredient, “yellow prussiate of soda.” I was enjoying some baked cabbage with my aunt that we made ourselves with just cabbage, olive oil and sea salt. By the time I finished eating, I had the worst hot flash!! My face was beet red, and I was literally running for the fan in the next room!! (And I never have hot flashes!) I couldn’t believe that this could’ve been caused by anything I’d just eaten, but I also couldn’t deny the timing of the reaction! Cabbage, olive oil and sea salt seemed like pretty “pure” ingredients to me, but I double-checked the ingredients just in case – and there it was on the back of the Morton sea salt: “yellow prussiate of soda (anti-caking agent).”

Can I prove that my hot flash was from this additive? I suppose not, since I’m not willing to eat that salt again. However, I can tell you that I had never seen that ingredient on a food label before (and I pretty much read labels for a living!); the salt I use everyday at home does not contain it; I eat baked cabbage using this same recipe at home all the time with no effects…and I never, ever have hot flashes otherwise. So you be the judge!

For 40 more pages of my best additive-free grocery shopping tips plus 160 of my favorite natural recipes, check out my book (and e-book) “Eating Additive-Free“!!

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