MSG, A.L.S., and Gulf
War Vets
A major story just
hitting the airwaves now is that Gulf War veterans are twice as likely to
develop A.L.S. than those who did not serve. These vets were all exposed
to MSG by way of their MREs, or Meals-Ready-To-Eat. The U.S. military
has been adding MSG to MREs on purpose to make army rations more palatable.
MREs were actually required to contain a
minimum amount of MSG up until very recently. We have gotten new reports
that fortunately, they are no longer using MSG in MREs.
The intake of MSG by GIs in Iraq in particular, was compounded by the fact that
diet
drinks containing aspartame were also supplied to the troops - at the same
time. MSG and aspartame are more harmful together as research has shown
(See Related Research).
Aspartame breaks down in heat and was probably being
stored in Iraq on pallets with no refrigeration.
CONSIDER THIS:
1) In Iraq, in 115 degree heat, soldiers were fighting a guerilla war, still eating MSG, and
drinking aspartame - substances that directly affect the hypothalamus,
the center of the brain responsible for heat regulation, rage, fear, and
panic.
2) Recent advances in understanding A.L.S. link an excess of glutamate in the brain to
brain cell damage. Here is what the FDA has to say
about A.L.S. and glutamate :
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/796_als.html
It will be a tragedy if these soldiers made mistakes in
the field not simply because of a mistake in judgment, but because of an
unnecessary food additive, acting like a drug, that the army put in rations ON
PURPOSE. Then the tragedy will be further compounded when these soon to
be vets, develop A.L.S. later.
It should be noted: In World War II, U.S. army rations
did not have added MSG. They have until recently, when the U.S. military
found out why the Japanese rations tasted better. It should also be
noted that U.S. pilots were advised in 1992 NOT to drink aspartame containing
soft drinks due to risk of seizures.
In an odd coincidence, Donald Rumsfeld, who was
involved in the Iraq War as part of the civilian command, was CEO of G.D.
Searle, before it was bought by Monsanto. G.D. Searle's main product at
the time was Nutrasweet, which was approved by the FDA despite the objections
of FDA scientists for its use in soft drinks.