Review - Excitotoxins, The Taste That Kills

by Russell Blaylock, M.D.

The consumer who wishes to go further in learning about MSG will find this book to be an indispensable resource.  As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Blaylock describes what happens inside the brain when an "excitotoxin" is consumer.  The brain contains various excitatory chemicals which occur naturally and are essential, but they are balanced by other chemicals which control those effects.   He opens the reader's eyes to the exquisitely complex chain of events that takes place in the three pounds of gray matter we carry around.  A portion of the book deals with a rather technical description of how neurons in the brain function.   Readers with some background in science will have an easier time than others, but it is not necessary to grasp the full description to gain a very clear picture of the effects of additives such as monosodium glutamate and aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet, Equal).

The major portion of the book is less technical, but the information provided is disturbing.  The very young and the old are seen as most vulnerable to the effects of "excitotoxins".  This name is taken from the observation that when the brain is flooded with additional excitatory chemicals (in the form of food additives) its natural protective devices become overwhelmed, and the neurons in some portions of the brain swell and are destroyed.  But while the young and old are the most at risk, Blaylock believes that nay exposure poses some damage, and the neurodegenerative diseases we see occurring in some older adults are the result of various factions, including year of accumulated exposure to harmful chemical additives.  This would explain why diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) seem to come about suddenly in people who had appeared to be healthy.  The brain has the ability to compensate for nerve destruction, but for only so long.  Eventually, a lifetime of exposure to many insults, as well as the consumption of excitotoxins, will take its toll.

The author documents his findings with an impressive bibliography of studies spanning many years, and footnotes numbering nearly 500.   Those wishing to explore the subject further will find these references helpful.

Reproduced with the permission of the Feingold Association