It's A Pair-A-Docs

The “CRAP” Hidden in our Food

Part 1: MSG

Since I no longer assume that people know what I know, here is a list of symptoms that have been attributed to MSG sensitivity:

Severe Headaches, Irregular heartbeat or racing heart, Depression,  Mood Changes, Bipolar, Seasonal affective disorders (SAD), Abdominal Pain, Chronic diarrhea, Colitis, Nausea, Balance problems, Dizziness, Seizures, Mini strokes, Insomnia, Daytime sleepiness, Tenderness in localized areas of neck, back, shoulders, etc., Intermittent swelling and water gains in hands, feet, legs and jaw, Difficulty in swallowing and gagging reflex, Hyperactivity, Behavioral problems, Difficulty concentrating, Poor memory, Pain in joints or bones,  Heavy, weak feeling in arms or legs, Restless leg syndrome,  ADD, ADHD, Rage Disorder, Chronic Post Nasal Drip.  That enough for you?

NOW HOLD ON TO YOUR CHAIR!  THESE ARE LABEL INGREDIENTS THAT ALWAYS CONTAIN MSG!!!

Monosodium Glutamate , Monopotassium Glutamate, Yeast Extract, Glutamic Acid, Hydrolyzed Protein (any and all), Sodium Casseinate, Yeast Food, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Gelatin (yes, even Jello), Textured Protein, Yeast Nutrient, Autolyzed Yeast

THESE ARE INGREDIENTS THAT OFTEN CONTAIN MSG OR CREATE IT DURING PROCESSING:

Carrageenan, Natural Pork flavoring, Citric Acid, Natural Beef flavoring, Bouillion and Broth, Natural Chicken Flavoring, Maltodextrin, Whey Protein Concentrate, Soup Stocks, Whey Protein, Ultra Pasteurized, Soy Sauce, Barley Malt, Enzyme (or Enzyme modified), Protease, Soy protein, Protease Enzymes, Soy Protein Concentrate, Soy Protein Isolate, Malt Extract, Any ingredient labeled “fermented and or protein fortified.”, And most important – NATURAL FLAVORS AND SEASONINGS which is very often a catch phrase for MSG based food enhancing ingredients

If you’d like to read more, watch our web site  WWW.ITSAPAIRADOCS.COM for the book The Secret Assassins in Food by A. True Ott, PhD

“So, now, what do I do?  Many of you may ask… Well, a wise woman (me) would tell you to STOP EATING PROCESSED FOODS!  That means canned, boxed, or jars.  Shift to FRESH or FROZEN fruits, vegetables, meats and whole grains.  Organic is best.  (Or grow your own if you can manage the time.  Doc Mills and I both grow as much as possible and buy organic.  For those of you who live near us in Southern California, log on to WWW.ABUNDANTHARVESTORGANICS.COM .  Doc Mills also offers ALCAT tests.  These are blood tests that are more complete than any I’ve ever seen.  Some insurances reimburse the client for these and others don’t.  They test for food sensitivities.  These are more complete than most “alergy tests.”

“I’m just sayin….”  Dr. Vicky Thomas

As you may have heard, next week we’re talking about chronic pain. By definition, chronic means longer than a few weeks, but in many cases, chronic means years. It breaks my heart when chronic patients walk in the door because if they had gotten chiropractic or bodywork type of care early on in their injury, they probably wouldn’t suffer at all today. And the longer you let something go, well, you know…. the longer and harder it is to fix it.

From a mental/emotional standpoint, the chronic patient is also dealing with anger, frustration, depression, etc. and these flat out depress the immune system, which further makes it harder to heal.

As frustrating as all this is for me, the health care practitioner, what REALLY upsets me is that the paradigm of sickness care in America makes it so that patients don’t realize they have choices AND control until it’s much too late. They trust that the system will get them better, they put their health in the hands of doctors who are overworked and have forgotten basic body mechanics (if they were ever taught them to begin with), and whose only response is often, “Take this and if it doesn’t work we’ll run more tests.” The tests themselves have high false diagnosis rates. Heck, nearly every adult over the age of 40 has a herniated disc somewhere in their back, and MOST of those are symptom free. The reason 50% of disc surgeries fail to correct the problem is because although a disc herniation shows up on MRI, the disc isn’t causing the pain. Another structure, maybe related, maybe not, is causing it.

It doesn’t matter what ails you. Your body is waiting for its healer to show up. And the healer is YOU. Take control of your body. Learn how it’s supposed to work and learn how to help it do so. If your posture is poor, get it analyzed and fixed (before you get arthritis of the spine and the damage is permanent). If you have an autoimmune disorder, learn which foods may cause excess inflammation and get rid of them. Learn how to manage your immunity with meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, and the like. If you have gastro-intestinal issues, learn how stress affects your digestion and make a plan to manage your stress. Watch your simple carbs, get rid of processed foods, eat whole foods, and learn how the nervous system controls it (stress shuts down your GI tract, did you know?). And if you’re stressed and overworked (who isn’t?) come up with a workable plan to decrease the damage it does to you.

Your body is the most amazing creation. Don’t take it for granted. Be response-able (manage your responses) and take control. Your doctor may guide you, but you must critically evaluate the information you’re given and then take actions that will help you heal.

Listen Monday, April 19 at 11:00 am as Dr. Vicky and I talk more about chronic pain. That’s on AM1380 if you’re local or www.newstalk1380.com if you’re not.

Yours in good health,

~Dr. M

I’m pretty technologically savvy, but apparently the link for the audio didn’t work. So let me try this again.

If you missed the original show yesterday, you can listen to it here: April 12, 2010 Premiere Show

You should be able to click on that link and an audio player will pop up, OR you can right click and Save As… it to your computer and either listen there or upload it to your iPod or other mp3 player.

Thanks for your patience (I just typed that patients! Ha! edit…) and I hope you enjoy it.