Anxiety and MSG in food.

[Jimbo]

Just thought I would share something I have gone through the past 12 months. I have always had some anxiety and a rapid heartbeat. Well about a year ago it got worse and I noticed my heart would speed up after I ate sometimes. Well it got really bad to the point where I couldn't even sleep because my heart would pound too hard all night. I also had this srange feeling in my chest and throat and a severe anxiety feeling. Well at first I thought maybe it was wheat or gluten allergy. After awhile I finally started tracking what I was eating and after countless hours of internet research I figured out it was the MSG in foods.

MSG is an excitotoxin that is added to many foods to stimulate the taste buds so that your brain thinks the food tastes better than it actually does. Well the problem is that it can also stimulate your brain cells and cause them damage in the process. My thinking is that when you take a person like an aspie who is already on the edge of anxiety and add this excitotoxin that it can push them into extreme anxiety. It was so bad I was having panic attacks too. I told my doctor and he prescribed Hydroxyzine, but I knew it was food related because it would start after eating.

MSG is found in most packaged foods like Doritos and chips and many restaurant foods. It also goes by over 40 different names like hydrolyzed soy protein and maltodextrin. If you are experiencing extreme anxiety I would encourage you to do a little research and see if you are overdosing on MSG. I wonder how many people there are walking around on anxiety meds when all they need to do is change their diet.

I hope this helps someone!

 

[Mia]

I knew about MSG Jimbo, can't eat a lot of foods that have it as an ingredient. Don't eat much in the way of packaged foods, I make everything from scratch for those kinds of reasons. Things like dried foods treated with sulfur cause an intense reaction. Didn't know about the hydrolyzed soy protein or malodextrin, thanks for paying attention to that.

 

[AustinTheAspie]

It's usually Asian food that I know of that has MSG in it, but I know that lots of places don't use it anymore, because of many complaints. A Vietnamese restaurant just opened near my place last week, and they don't use MSG. But as far as the diet thing goes, I agree on the fact that if you eat a better diet, your mental health improves greatly. I personally love my junk foods so much that I just can't see myself giving it up completely, but I really do enjoy fruits and veggies too. If I could just give those junk foods up, and replaced it with more plant-based foods, maybe my anxiety and depression would be cured...I just wish I had the willpower to do so.

 

[Jimbo]

Here is a pretty comprehensive list of ingredients that could contain MSG or cause a reaction.
MSG Hidden in Plain Sight - Food - Impose Magazine

 

[Jimbo]

It's usually Asian food that I know of that has MSG in it, but I know that lots of places don't use it anymore, because of many complaints. A Vietnamese restaurant just opened near my place last week, and they don't use MSG. But as far as the diet thing goes, I agree on the fact that if you eat a better diet, your mental health improves greatly. I personally love my junk foods so much that I just can't see myself giving it up completely, but I really do enjoy fruits and veggies too. If I could just give those junk foods up, and replaced it with more plant-based foods, maybe my anxiety and depression would be cured...I just wish I had the willpower to do so.

I have always been a big junk food eater too. I love Doritos and chips. The MSG is in the flavoring. That powdered flavoring on Dorotos is MSG. I'm slowly figuring out a few things that I can add back into my diet without having a reaction. I'm really careful because if I have a reaction my heart pounds for two days before it all gets out of my system.

 

[AustinTheAspie]

I have always been a big junk food eater too. I love Doritos and chips. The MSG is in the flavoring. That powdered flavoring on Dorotos is MSG. I'm slowly figuring out a few things that I can add back into my diet without having a reaction. I'm really careful because if I have a reaction my heart pounds for two days before it all gets out of my system.

That's horrible. I wish you all the best in finding those few things, or at least an alternative if things don't work out. Have you ever tried the baked Lay's chips? They're like really thin, and honestly not too bad in my book. Some people don't like them, but they're one of my favorites. Maybe you could try those as an alternative. I love Doritos too, so I know how you feel. I really wish they didn't put MSG in anything, honestly. MSG is such an epidemic these days.

 

[WereBear]

I found out in the midst of making a lasagna that the sausage I got has MSG in it! I usually avoid this stuff. Now I wonder if it is why this batch is not as appealing as it used to be.

Stupid food manufacters!

 

[Jimbo]

I found out in the midst of making a lasagna that the sausage I got has MSG in it! I usually avoid this stuff. Now I wonder if it is why this batch is not as appealing as it used to be.

Stupid food manufacters!

Bacon and sausage were one of the worst for me. I did find some bacon with no additives that I seem to tolerate. Even though they don't always put MSG on the label they can still sneak it in under the heading of "natural flavors".

 

[8398]

I love getting Asian snacks and I would always get these sweet rice crackers that they'd sometimes give in restaurants. I couldn't stop thinking about them until the entire bag was empty, so I'd eat all of them in one sitting. My mom told me it was because the MSG tricked my brain. Sounds bad. Over 40 different names for it?! I wonder if it's to be deceptive.
(I know beaver butt can be used as vanilla, raspberry and strawberry flavoring, goes under the name Castoruem or natural flavoring. Crushed scale insects are Cochineal or carmine. Lac bug poop is on jelly bellys, and sometimes apples to make it shinier, listed as shellac or confectioner's glaze.
In high school we watched a documentary about an era and how they ate jelly derived from animal bone and the whole class went EWWWWWW.
That's how jello's made today, you sillies, under the name gelatin.)




@AustinTheAspie
My favorite chips are Tyrells, they don't make me feel icky after eating a whole bag. My favorite flavor is sweet chilli and red pepper. I remember reading the label and it looked simple, they aren't super greasy either. Some are vegan a few aren't.