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Americans are in a world of hurt. Use of store-bought painkillers primarily for headaches increased by nearly 90% between 1997 and 2005 according to statistics provided by the Department of Drug Enforcement.
What’s worse, frequent use of over the counter painkillers can cause withdrawal headaches causing the sufferer to use an ever-increasing dose to treat symptoms and a cycle of overuse.
It’s no secret that recurring and sometimes debilitating headaches are a primary reason for the abuse of over the counter pain meds. Unfortunately, most folks popping pills to rid themselves of headaches have absolutely no idea what is causing them. Neither do most people know about natural ways to relieve headaches.
What if I told you that completely eliminating a single food additive would rid you of many, if not the majority of headaches that you suffer from?
That additive is none other than the ubiquitous monosodium glutamate, better known as MSG.
MSG is the mirror image of the naturally occurring glutamic acid in the human body. In a nutshell, MSG is glutamic acid gone bad.
MSG is a Neurotoxin and a Primary Cause of Headaches
MSG is a potent neurotoxin, according to neurologist Dr. Russell Blaylock MD, author of Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills. When consumed as an additive in processed foods, it hammers the hypothalamus, part of the brain stem, and shrivels and kills brain cells.
The hypothalamus is the Master Gland of the endocrine system. It controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and sleep.
Rats fed or injected with MSG get morbidly obese, possibly because the MSG causes the pancreas to increase the amount of insulin it secrets which can rapidly lead to insulin resistance and Metabolic Syndrome.
Ok, so we now know that MSG can contribute to weight issues and other metabolic problems.
But did you also know that MSG is a primary cause of headaches and migraines?
Most people fail to make the connection between MSG and their headache problems because the headache doesn’t always immediately happen after eating a MSG laced fast food meal, for example.
In some cases, the headache won’t take hold for a full 24 or even 72 hours later, long after that brief, dietary lapse has faded from memory.
The good news is that you can eliminate this additive from your life once and for all, and with it, your headaches and dependence on over the counter pain meds!
This is especially important for children. For example, even infrequent Tylenol use increases asthma risk tremendously.
Remove Processed Foods from Your Life
To accomplish this goal, you must basically swear off most, if not all, processed foods. Earlier in this post, I referred to MSG as ubiquitous because it is everywhere. MSG is the dominant additive in the food supply occurring in approximately 95% of all processed foods!
Restaurants use MSG-laden ingredients too. Most soups and sauces in restaurants come from some sort of “flavor” package. This innocent looking packet or bouillon cubes are loaded with MSG.
Steaks are frequently brushed with MSG before grilling to make them tastier for the consumer. This also disguises poor quality or old meat.
Beware also of restaurants that claim that they do not use MSG! What they are really telling you is that they don’t add any MSG.
MSG is still very much present in the flavor mixes, soup starters, and bottled sauces that they buy and use to prepare the food. They don’t make that stuff from scratch, I can assure you!
Beware also of products that have on the label “No MSG Added”.
The picture above is of a package of beef sausage bites my husband bought for our kids thinking it was MSG-free. Is it? Absolutely not! The ingredients list includes “natural spices” which is an MSG-alias.
Again, the manufacturer can get away with the “No MSG added” label because none of the listed ingredients contain more than 50% MSG.
Games, games, and more labeling games. Bottom line? If you think a product may contain MSG, it most likely does considering that 95% of processed foods have it added somewhere.
Once you decide to get off MSG and avoid it like the plague like I do, you will be delighted to see that headaches become a distant memory in your life story.
I can’t remember the last time I actually took ibuprofen or any over the counter pain med for anything, let alone a headache!
There is much benefit to be gained from slaying the Processed Food Giant in your home! Start by eliminating MSG from your life and experience the wonder of headache-free days that ensue from a happy hypothalamus!
References
(1) Department of Drug Enforcement
(2) When Headaches Come Off the Rebound
More Information
Chicken Broth: “No MSG” Labels are False!
Bone Broth and MSG: What You Need to Know
Healthy and Easy Bouillon Cubes Recipe
Stock or Broth? Are You Confused?
Removing gluten got rid of my frequent migraines.
MSG should be banned!
I suffered as a child from debilitating migraines and now as an adult I know that MSG was one of the main causes of my migraines.
MSG doesn’t give me headaches but it makes me pack on fat like crazy. I couldn’t believe it when I found that it was in the cans of tuna packed in “spring water”…ingredients list “vegetable broth”…the MSG is in the broth!
It’s because of Sarah’s blogs that I learner I was sensitive to MSG. Now if I wake up with a headache I can usually figure out the culprit food.
That makes so much sense.. We eat all organic at home versus putting our son on add meds yet after work I get horrible headaches.. ( I’m a stay at home mom but get called in to help at my parents business once a month) I’ve been thinking its stress related but we order out for lunch..
Yes, I can attest that this is right on! I was desperate to end my migraines about 2 years ago and stumbled upon a list of additives that can contain MSG, even though they’re not labeled as msg. The 3 biggies seem to be citric acid, natural flavoring, and anything with yeast in the terminology. I’ve only had 2 migraines over the past 2 years, and I know that they both happened within days of accidentally ingesting citric acid. It’s in everything! I have to make practically everything myself, but it’s worth it.
Such good info! My life changed when I discovered high fructose corn syrup was causing my debilitating weekly migraines. I was on multiple daily medications to prevent them(didn’t work) and strong pain killers to treat them(didn’t work). And now I just avoid the junk and I’m completely migraine free!
I was a life long headache sufferer for years. There are several things that bring on a headache in me, and MSG is definitely one of them.
Stephanie i did see this thank you, we try really hard to stay away from msg!