The story behind the use of aspartame in placebos that were used in double blind studies conducted to determine if people react to MSG is as follows: In the late 1980s or possibly in 1990, a number of people suffered severe adverse reactions to the dietary supplement, L-tryptophan. There were a number of deaths and a number of people who were permanently disabled. One of FDA's responses to this disaster was to request proposals from outside agencies to conduct a study on the safety of amino acids in dietary supplements. In September, 1990, an FDA funded study entitled "Safety of Amino Acids Used As Dietary Supplements" was initiated by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The final report was published in July, 1992. FASEB held an Open Meeting in Bethesda, Maryland on February 4, 1991, to provide an opportunity for comment on their task. I appeared at that meeting to express my concerns over the use of free glutamic acid in dietary supplements. Andrew Ebert, Ph.D., Chairman, International Glutamate Technical Committee, a glutamate industry organization that has directly or indirectly funded most, if not all of the studies that have attempted to conclude that MSG is safe for humans, was in the audience. Although Dr. Ebert was not scheduled to speak at the FASEB Open Meeting, he asked for and received permission to speak after hearing my presentation. Ebert was furious. He believed that I had accused his organization of using reactive placebos. Apparently, Ebert made such an issue over my remarks that Sue Ann Anderson, R.D., Ph.D., a FASEB senior staff scientist who sat on the FASEB panel, felt obligated to write Ebert and request that he disclose the contents of the placebos that had been used in MSG related studies. At the time, I was not aware of Anderson's request. In 1993, my wife and I were at the FDA Dockets Management Branch in Rockville, Maryland reviewing FDA Docket No. 90N-0379, the docket relating to this FASEB study. I accidentally came across Dr. Ebert's response to Dr. Anderson's request in that docket. It was dated March 22, 1991. Apparently, since Ebert did not know what data I had in my hand, he admitted, in writing, that the International Glutamate Technical Committee provided researchers with test material AND placebos that contained aspartame. He indicated that introduction of aspartame into test material began with a study done by Dr. Kenney, published in 1978. In Dr. Ebert's letter to FASEB, he attempted to justify the use of aspartame in the studies his organization had been involved in and, of course, provided no clue to its possible effect on results of the studies. The undisclosed use of aspartame is troublesome. For example: 1. Beginning as early as 1978, and continuing until 1994, the International Glutamate Technical Committee was responsible for the UNDISCLOSED use of aspartame in scientific studies in which they were involved. Since aspartame was first approved by the FDA in 1981, aspartame should not have been used. Since there may is danger to unborn fetuses from aspartame, undisclosed aspartame should not have been used. 2. The FDA knew of Dr. Ebert's admission in 1991, but took no action regarding the use of aspartame in test material used in research on humans until my repeated questioning forced them to take action in 1994. Even then, what the FDA did was to refer my concerns to FASEB, an organization that can only recommend, but can take no action. 3. The FDA has refused to reevaluate its position that "MSG" is "safe." They ignore the fact that it is the responsibility of the producer of a product to demonstrate that a product is safe. Rather, the FDA claims that there is no evidence to show that MSG is not safe. They simply ignore the fact that the many studies that the International Glutamate Technical Committee presented to them to "prove" that MSG is safe for humans are badly flawed. In most, if not all of these studies, subjects did react to MSG, but a high number of people also reacted to the placebos. The researchers concluded that since subjects reacted to MSG and the placebo, the subjects were not reacting to the MSG. The inference is that subjects were suffering from psychosomatic responses. Since it is generally known that MSG-sensitive individuals will react similarly to MSG and aspartame, the studies actually proved that some people do, indeed, react to MSG and aspartame. I first advised the FDA of the Ebert admission in 1993. They refused to comment. After continuing pressure from me, including questions from members of Congress, the FDA asked FASEB to comment on the use of aspartame in studies regarding MSG safety as part of their then ongoing study. In FASEB's final report entitled "Analysis of Adverse Reactions to Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)," dated July, 1995 FASEB suggested that: "Although there is no evidence to support the contention that either aspartame or the aspartic acid contained therein, at doses currently used in placebo vehicles is associated with adverse reactions, the Expert Panel concluded that in future studies the placebo should avoid, to the extent possible, sources of aspartate (and glutamate), e.g., gelatin, or other substances such as aspartame that could potentially affect the nervous system or create the perception of possible responses." Presumably, in 1994, the glutamate industry stopped using aspartame in scientific studies in which they were involved. In fact, a study in process in 1994 at Harvard University, Northwestern University, and UCLA was restructured to remove aspartame from the test material and placebo material. To date, the results from that studies has not been published. You might ask if my presentation to the FASEB Expert panel in 1991 on the toxicity of free glutamic acid had any effect on the conclusions reached in their study. We will never know. However, FASEB's final report stated the following, in part, in regard to free glutamic acid: "The continuing controversy over the potential effects of glutamate on growth and development of neonatal animal models suggests that it is prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by pregnant women, infants, and children. The existence of evidence of potential endocrine responses, i.e., elevated cortisol and prolactin, and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective disorders." ADandJACK@aol.com Sat, 12 Feb 2000 ******************** MSG and aspartame MSG is a common trigger for migraine headache, as is aspartame. The most common reaction to MSG and to aspartame is migraine headache. MSG-sensitive people react to glutamic acid that has been freed from protein through a manufacturing process. It makes up approximately 78% of the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate" and up to 40% of over 40 other food ingredients that are identified with names that give no clue of its presence. (See http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.htm) Neuroscientists have found that glutamic acid and aspartic acid (approximately 40% of aspartame) load on the same receptors in the brain, cause identical brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders, and act in an additive fashion. Typically, MSG-sensitive people react similarly to aspartame and aspartame-sensitive people react similarly to MSG, providing that they ingest amounts that exceed their tolerances for the substances. Jack Samuels Thu, 9 Mar 2000 ******************** Celiac Sprue We are well aware of celiac sprue. Gluten is not MSG, but many individuals with celiac sprue have suffered reactions from processed food that they thought was free of gluten. They did not realize that the product that they ate contained "flavorings" or "flavors," often proceeded by the word "natural," which included a hydrolyzed grain. Congress has passed legislation that has allowed food processors to treat the ingredients of flavorings as proprietary information, and FDA regulations allows hydrolyzed proteins, including hydrolyzed grains, to be included in flavorings. The food industry wants the option to include hydrolyzed proteins in flavorings because all hydrolyzed proteins introduce some processed free glutamic acid (MSG) into the product, enhancing flavor. Grains are high in glutamic acid. One final point. People afflicted with celiac sprue vary in their tolerance for grains. Therefore, not all people with celiac sprue react to all flavorings that include grain. ******************** 50 SIGNS OF FIBROMYALGIA Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 16:20:47 EDT From: ADandJACK@aol.com Subject: Re: Re: 50 SIGNS OF FIBRO Rich: I did not respond to the Fibromyalgia Message Board because I am not registered at the site. I totally concur with Rich Murray's comments regarding aspartame and MSG. The symptoms of fibromyalgia, as Rich stated, are the symptoms associated with aspartame ingestion, but are also the symptoms associated with MSG ingestion. Last week, I spoke with a retired physician in Ohio who told me that he cured his fibromyalgia by elimination of MSG, and cured 57 patients in his practice who had been diagnosed as suffering from fibromyalgia with the same approach. I would assume that the doctor and his patients also avoided aspartame, or by eliminating only MSG dropped their combined intake of both MSG and aspartame to a point below their tolerances for the substances. Neuroscientists, in studies on experimental animals, have found that glutamic acid (the reactive component of the food ingredient "monosodium glutamate" and over 40 other food ingredients) and aspartic acid (approximately 40% of aspartame) load on the same receptors in the brain, cause identical brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders, and act in an additive fashion. People sensitive to MSG typically react similarly to aspartame and vice versa, providing that they ingest amounts that exceed their tolereances for the substances. Jack Samuels President Truth in Labeling Camp[aiogn www.truthinlabeling.org adandjack@aol.com **************** Subject: MSG Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 12:08:40 EDT From: ADandJACK@aol.com To: rmforall@earthlink.net Rich: In your e-mail of 9/21/00, under the heading "Food Additives to Avoid," there is a reference to "monosodium glutamate" which, I believe, came from CSPI. It stated in part: "Unfortunately, too much MSG can lead to headaches, tightness in the chest, and a burning sensation in the forearms and the back of the neck." The reference to "monosodium glutamate" is the type of language that I expect to hear from the glutamate industry or from the FDA. It is not what one should expect to come from CSPI. The reference to "too much" is ridiculous. I would like to think that someone at CSPI would know enough about science to realize that people vary in their tolerance to allergens and/or substances to which they are sensitive. MSG-sensitive people vary greatly in their tolerance to MSG and, I for one, react to MINUTE amounts of the substance. If reactions to MSG were limited to the mild and transitory reactions listed in the statement, the MSG issue would not be as serious a health issue as it is. MSG reactions can be debilitating and/or life threatening. Serious reactions include, but are not limited to migraine headache (not just "headache" as listed in the CSPI caution), asthma, heart irregularities, and seizures. MSG is implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, and, based on research findings, should be avoided by people on MAO inhibitor drugs and people predisposed to or suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or multiple sclerosis (MS). Jack Samuels **************** http://www.dorway.com/msginfo.txt http://www.dorway.com/fms50.txt