Poison to the Brain

We all know we should read food labels and avoid things with lots of ingredients that have names we can barely read, much less pronounce.  I used to think it was not that big a deal, but in the past year I've begun to take this very seriously.  I'd been reading a few things that made me begin to understand how insidious these additives are.  For starters they can upset your hormone balance, lead to abnormal food cravings and  promote weight gain.  But when I finally read a book by a neurosurgeon, Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, MD, I began to make reading food labels a priority.  His book, entitled Exitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, is a sobering look at the diminishing quality of our food supply.

Dr. Blaylock cites study after study that suggest many of the foods we are eating every day are loaded with chemicals called neurotoxins that over-excite neurons and certain areas of the brain to the point where these nerve cells die off.  They are literally excited to death.  The damage may not show up for years until a certain percentage of them have been killed, and at that point, the downward spiral begins.  There seems to be a strong connection between these neurotoxins, ingested over time, and the onset of adult degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers's, Parkinson's, ALS (Lou Gherigs's Disease) and others.  He aptly calls these diseases "creeping death".

Not only that, but these neurotoxins are passed through the placenta of pregnant mothers to their unborn babies.  There is evidence to suggest that the rampant increase in childhood disorders such as ADHD, learning disabilities and autism may be a result of this toxic overload on the unborn child.  Giving young children, whose nervous systems are not yet fully developed, food and drinks that are laden with these chemicals can also potentially trigger learning disabilities, make them hyperactive, and can possibly cause problems many years down the road such as infertility.

Dr. Blaylock says that many substances considered harmless to the body and found normally in the blood are quite toxic to the brain.  Thus the need for the blood brain barrier, whose job it is to exclude these harmful substances from entering the brain.  This barrier is incompletely formed in the newborn, and it is not known when it reaches a full state of maturity, although it may be as late as adolescence.  It is extremely important for young children to avoid these neurotoxins to avoid possible damage to their nervous systems.

Those of us born in the baby boomer years have pretty much been exposed to a lifetime of neurtoxic assault, as it has only been in the past 20-30 years that more natural foods have been easier to find.  Back in the 1950s, MSG was added to baby food!  Today, even processed food in health food stores, such as power bars and powders for shakes and smoothies will often have these nasty ingredients.  No wonder we're seeing such an epidemic of neuro-degenerative diseases as the population gets older!  I can't help but wonder what the next generation will be facing.

These neurotoxins serve no other purpose than to enhance the taste of food.  So what are these neurotoxins and how do we identify them?  Some of the most common are MSG, aspartame,cysteine and hydrolyzed vegetable protein.

Aspartame is the artificial sweetener found in diet sodas and now many other products, especially "low fat" items.  MSG has received a lot of bad press so now many people try to avoid it.  Unfortunately it can still be included as a part of other ingredients but does not need to be labeled as such if the product is not one hundred percent MSG.  It is often disguised under names like "vegetable protein", "hydrolyzed vegetable protein", "spices", and (my favorite) "natural flavorings".  These ingredients may contain anywhere from 12-40% MSG.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein may be even worse than MSG alone.  It contains three know neurotoxins: glutamate, aspartate and cysteic acid, as well as several know carcinogens (cancer causing substances).  According to Dr. Blaylock, the FDA does not regulate the amount of carcinogens allowed in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, or the amount of hydrolyzed vegetable protein allowed to be added to food products.

To top it off, these neurotoxins, or exitotoxins as he calls them, have a compounding effect when eaten at the same meal, making them more toxic than when eaten individually.  And although many of the studies done on their effects have been done on laboratory animals and in tissue cultures, human beings absorb many of these neurotoxins at a much higher rate than any other animal tested.

People also have different rates of vulnerability and resistance to these neurotoxins, but it's like playing Russian Roulette.  Do you really want to take the chance that you won't be the one to succumb to a stroke, Alzheimer's Disease, MS or some other degenerative condition?  I think I can safely say that everyone who has a well-functioning brain would like to keep it that way.

Dr. Blaylock's father succumbed to Parkinson's Disease in 1989, which started him on his journey to help others avoid this terrible experience.

For myself, I watched my best friend's life partner wither away as he became more and more incapacitated by ALS, or Lou Gherig's Disease.  As a certified massage therapist, I would go over to their home once a month to give both him and his caregiver (my friend) massages.  The work was pro bono, and was some of the most satisfying massage work I've done.  It was one of the few things he could enjoy the last few years of his life, and she needed it for the stress of taking care of him while working from home.  If there is a way to possibly avoid an outcome like he experienced, I'm paying attention.

Dr. Blaylock also discusses supplements you can take that may help mitigate the effects of some of these neurotoxins.  It doesn't mean you should continue to eat food laden with additives.  But they are difficult to avoid completely, whether you buy packaged food to eat at home or eat out often in restaurants or fast-food places.  Supplementing in any way that helps mitigate the effects of these deadly substances just makes sense.

Although his book is fairly technical, it is understandable to anyone with a minimal understanding of physiology.  And there is so much information that is eye-opening and useful, that I highly recommend educating yourself by getting a copy of your own.  I bought mine on Amazon.  Again, the book is titled Exitotoxins: The Taste that Kills.  Here is a link to the sales page.