(NaturalNews Investigations) Monosodium glutamate, otherwise known as MSG, is a common ingredient in our food, and this is especially true for fast food.
Technically speaking, MSG is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, and it's a widely used flavor-enhancer. Many people associate it with Chinese food, but in reality, it's used just about everywhere.
What many don't know is that MSG is the most common form of amino acid and it naturally occurs in our bodies. But the MSG we find in our foods is processed, and as such, it can cause a number of adverse health reactions like asthma, hives, skin rashes, vomiting, heart irregularities and even seizures. Dr. Russell Blaylock calls MSG an "excitotoxin" that kills brain cells and damages neurology.
So which fast food restaurants use the most MSG? In this investigation we examine the worst MSG offenders in the fast-food industry.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
How do you KFC? Hopefully you don't, especially if you want to avoid MSG. KFC is the worst MSG offender in the industry.
The fast-food giant adds the chemical flavor enhancer to practically everything the restaurant serves containing chicken. And if you look closely at the ingredients labels, you'll find that MSG is listed in most offerings, meaning that it is one of the restaurant's primary ingredients.
"The first two or three ingredients are the ones that matter most. Ingredients at the bottom of the list may appear in only very tiny amounts," explained Christine A. Rosenbloom, PhD, RD, professor of nutrition at Georgia State University.
In fact, some of the KFC offerings with the highest MSG content include Chicken Pot Pie, Colonel's Sauce, Extra Crispy Tenders, Extra Crispy Boneless Chicken -- Dark and White Meat, and, of course, the trademark Original and Extra Crispy Chicken.
And did you know that
even KFC's green beans are loaded with MSG? I know -- that one surprised me too.
Lots of other KFC menu items contain MSG. They include:
- KFC Famous Bowls - Rice with Gravy
- Rice
- Seasoned Rice
- KFC Snacker -- Chicken
- KFC Snacker - Honey BBQ
- Honey BBQ Sandwich
- Double Crunch Sandwich
- Crispy Twister
- Oven Roasted Twister
- Colonel's Crispy Strips
- Popcorn Chicken
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Boneless HBBQ Wings
- Boneless Fiery Buffalo Wings
- Sweet and Spicy Boneless Wings
- Hot Wings
(Source for menu items: http://www.kfc.com)
Burger King
The king rules! Burger King is another high-end user of MSG in its food offerings, especially in its servings of -- you guessed it -- chicken. Some of the brand's highest levels of MSG are found in the (fried) Crispy Chicken Patty and Tendercrisp Chicken.
But your BK salad isn't safe, either, depending on the dressing you use. Stay away from the ranch and avocado ranch dressings, as they both contain MSG.
Even the BK Veggie Burger Patty contains MSG, even though you won't find it listed specifically in the ingredients label. That's because the veggie burger contains hydrolyzed corn, soy and wheat -- all
hidden forms of MSG.
Look out for the Sausage Patty, ranch dipping sauce and Ken's Fat Free Ranch Dressing as well.
Chick-fil-A
Continuing with the trend of chicken-related menu items, Chick-fil-A is not to be outdone.
The brand's signature Chicken Sandwich is
loaded with MSG. In fact, MSG is infused throughout the ingredients used to make them. It is in the sandwich's seasoning and seasoned coater.
The Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Spicy Chicken Deluxe both contain MSG, and so do the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich and Chargrilled Chicken Club Sandwich (in the form of yeast extract and autolyzed yeast extract). Busted!
Other menu choices containing MSG are the Chick-fil-A Nuggets, Chick-n-Strips (autolyzed yeast extract) and the Chicken Salad Sandwich.
(Chick-fil-A ingredients page: http://www.chick-fil-a.com)
McDonald's
Mickey D's has publicly come out and said that the restaurant chain no longer uses MSG in its menu items, but that's not completely true.
While you may not find
"monosodium glutamate" on McDonalds's ingredients labels, what you will find is an autolyzed yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein and natural flavors which the company admits contain wheat and dairy hydrolysates -- which in turn contain free glutamates which mimic MSG.
Angus Beef Seasoning, Big Mac sauce and ranch dressings and dipping sauces all contain these ingredients. And of course, most of the chicken menu items are affected, as well as the following:
- Chili Lime Tortilla Strips
- Hash Browns
- French Fries (note that the
seasoning that gets added to the oil the fries are pre-cooked in contains hydrolyzed wheat and milk, "hydrolyzed proteins" that contain manufactured glutamic acid).
And by the way, U.S. law permits "natural seasoning" to consist of "protein hydrolysates," which contain free glutamic acid. And this is why McDonald's does this: it frees up the glutamate to act like MSG, so the company can say its menu item is "clean" and MSG-free, when it functionally isn't.
Mickey D's also uses a lot of phosphates on its menu, a food additive once widely used to prepare for a colonoscopy but dropped because it was found to be damaging to the kidneys since it pulls water from the body and can cause diarrhea.
(McDonald's ingredients page: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com)
Pizza Hut
Not only are Pizza Hut's menu items loaded with calories, but they also contain gluten, allergens and, of course, MSG.
The company's dough is loaded with all three, which includes regular, thick and thin crust pizzas. So is its pizza sauce.
Pizza Hut also includes some chicken in its menu -- hot wings, to be exact -- and these are packed with MSG. Bone Out Wings, Crispy Bone-In Wings and Traditional Wings all have varying degrees of glutamate, but so do the appetizers on the menu:
- Ranch Dipping Sauce
- Breadsticks
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Cinnamon Sticks Icing
- Hershey's Chocolate Dunkers Sauce
And let's not forget Pizza Hut's Pasta Dishes:
- Chicken Alfredo
- Meaty Marinara
(Pizza Hut ingredients page: http://www.pizzahut.com)
How can they get away with claiming they are serving "fresh" food?
One of the biggest scandals of all is the manner in which these and other fast-food companies are able to bend the rules in order to claim that they are serving you "fresh," wholesome food, free of MSG and other potentially harmful additives.
Though government regulations require ingredients labeling, these chains are able to hide MSG content in their foods by using other additives that essentially provide the same amounts of free glutamates.
What's more, companies are trying to figure out more ways to use this popular, yet harmful, flavor enhancer in supposedly "MSG-free" menu items.
Apparently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't mind sanctioning MSG fraud, because
fast food companies are permitted to use MSG under altered names like Autolyzed Yeast, Hydrolyzed Plant Protein, Textured Protein, and Yeast Extract.
And all these companies really seem to care about is "You want fries with that?"
MSG, glutamic acid, chemical additives, fast food, KFC, Chick-fil-A, Burger King, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, menu items, investigation
