Maybe everyone else has found this out before I did, but it's in most meat substitutes, e.g. Morning Star Farms, Boca, Yves, Quorn, Lightlife. I'm not affected by it *relief*, but others get headaches and such. Just a heads up :)
Good point! I am really sensitive to these things and I believe they caused me weight gain as a child/teenager. Be aware as it is often listed as "Autolyzed Yeast","Hydrolyzed Soy Protein", "Calcium Caseinate", "Maltodextrin" and even "Natural Flavorings".
These things contain Glutamic Acid, a neurotoxin, which "can induce hypothalamic lesions (brain injury) and leptin resistance (failure of the hormone leptin to do its job)possibly influencing energy balance, leading to overweight"
From:
http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v16/n8/full /oby2008274a.html
I put morningstar farms "crumbles" in my spaghetti sauce last night. Now I understand why it took me forever to fall asleep!
I just found out I'm allergic to it. My doc actually sent me to a rheumatologist to see if I had Rheumatiod arthritis. It can also cause muscle pain, irritability, fatigue, stomach issues - all kinds of things. I can't eat anything with it (or anything with any form of it - including alcohol (anything fermented), aged cheese, autolized yeast, boulion, hydrolyzed veg/plat protein, Yeast extract, calcium/potassium glutamate, sodium/calcium caseinate, "natural" flavoring...... I end up with major muscle pain among other things.
Since I have excluded it from my diet - it has been an amazing change. If you are a label reader....you will find this in almost everything.
I don't care how "good" it makes things taste - it's awful stuff.
MrsK are you affected by tomatoes and soy as well? It's got to be a bummer having to follow such a carefully restricted diet. I avoid MSG because it gives me palpitations, but I only have to avoid straight MSG - the other msg-type flavourings don't seem to affect me (although I don't have very much of them either.)
Soy does seem to cause some issues but more on the digestive end of the spectrum as opposed to muscular (though I've never really been a soy person so it's not much of an issue). Tomatoes - in moderation- are okay, frankly one of my absolute favorite foods! So I was pretty disappointed to find out they naturally contain Glutamic acid. BUT once cooked for sauce, it doesn't seem to be an issue at all. MSG starts to break down at 250 degrees but there doesn't seem to be a clear cut answer to how long it would need to cook for it to completely break down.
Yes it's a bummer to have to be so careful (grocery shopping - read the label EVERY time you buy because formulas can change without warning - even brands you've been buying for years) but frankly after what I experienced when I went through the elimination and reintroduction to see if I reacted.....it is well worth it. It was eye opening. This has been an almost two year battle to find what the problem is. And only in the last month I found the answer by practically falling over a book on food allergies written by an allergist - in my own state no less! It's been a blessing to finally have some answers.
I'd rather restrict my diet than go back to my husband needing to cut my meat for me any day. 
Oh no, that sucks!! I am sorry... how about you try and eat some HEMP SEEDS or HEMP SEED OIL to get your protein (complete by the way) as well as good fats & lots of fiber! Amaranth is also a complete protein and doesn't have MSG in it! And have you ever tried Quinoa? Also a complete protein... I am sure you can google some "veggie burger" recipes with these ingredients!
Yea, it is in pretty much everything. It's more common than HFCS and partially hyrogenated oils even. That just makes it harder to watch out for...
Oh great so when I eat Morningstar I lose brain cells! I know there are meat substitues without MSG, right? Now I'll just have to check the package.
beware that sea salt can contain MSG. My hubby is sensitive to MSG, so I bought some chicken broth that was made with sea salt and had 'no msg' on the label.. He got a migraine anyway.
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