Of course, I had heard 'bad things' about MSG, but really did not know what it was, and I have never noticed (or correlated) symptoms with the foods I eat (other than IBS and meat.) So I did a little reading online about MSG and there is no question that many people have severe negative reactions to it, ranging from numbness in the limbs, to vomiting and migraines.
I vowed to never eat Cheetos again. I succeeded for a 4 or 5 days. Today I bought some more and I just ate them. I crave them like Sméagol craves The Ring. They draw me in and I can't seem to stop myself. The MSG is calling.
A few weeks ago I blogged about having those horrible episodes where I felt like I was being electrocuted. Tonight, I noticed suddenly that they had gone away. Interesting. Now that I have eaten the deadly Cheetos, I am interested to see what happens. I got a headache within a half hour. However, I also just took my Benedryl to go to sleep, some zinc and probiotics, although those have never caused a headache that I can recall.
So... all that MSG in Cheetos could be the cause of some of my symptoms. It is actually considered a 'poison' not an 'allergic reaction' according to some websites. It builds up in your system over time, so the reaction gets worse. In order to stop the symptoms, a detox is needed. No wonder I never felt any negative side effects for quite some time, but and over time I started to get symptoms that could very well be related to my Cheetos addiction.
Another fascinating thing I read was that MSG actually tricks the brain into thinking it is eating a healthy protein and somehow makes your brain crave it. That fits exactly with what happens when I eat them. I cannot stop. I am like a mindless Zombie and I tell myself "This is the LAST ONE" and then I eat another one. Like my brain has no control over my body. The only safe thing is to keep them out of the house.....once this last bag is gone :)
While I don't believe everything I read on the internet, one cannot ignore hundreds of people who are all saying basically the same thing. Obviously, as those with Lyme Disease know, the real truth is coming from those suffering, not the organizations that claim to have the public's best interest at heart.
Here are a some website I looked at for information on MSG:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/msg-dangerous-science/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/21/msg-is-this-silent-killer-lurking-in-your-kitchen-cabinets.aspx