MSG Koh Phangan – Monosodium Glutamate that kills your brain!

So … today it’s a good time to post another article that has been in my damaged brain for ages now and urgently needs to be published to inform all of you about food poisoning which not only happens on Koh Phangan every single day but also every where on this lovely planet called earth!

It all started a couple of hundreds of years ago when some oriental cooks discovered that some food tasted better when prepared with a soup stock made from seaweed. In 1908 glutamate was isolated by some smart scientists and the secrets of its flavor enhancing properties were finally unlocked. Since then MSG has been used in a wide range of dishes to create rich and full bodied flavor.

Glutamate acid is a neurotransmitter that excites our neurons in the brain (not just in our tongues). This electrical charging of neurons is what makes foods with added free glutamate acid taste so good. So it just fakes our brain the food itself doesn’t taste any better at all. Unfortunately, the free glutamate acid can cause problems in many people. Actually, our brains have many receptors for glutamate acid and some areas, such as the hypothalamus, do not have an impermeable blood-brain barrier, so free glutamate acid from food sources can get into the brain, injuring and sometimes killing neurons.

And as far as I have investigated this issue here on Koh Phangan paradise island MSG is used in let’s say 98% of all the restaurants serving you that so delicious and healthy Thai food. Most of the restaurant cooks even don’t have any idea at all what MSG actually is and how it harms your body and brain system. They are not aware what they are doing just because there’s a big lack of information which should be naturally provided by the government to protect their population isn’t it?

But the sad truth on the other side is that government departments always work very close together with the glutamate industry to only maximize their profits and they don’t really give a shit about your health! Monsanto’s Robert Shapiro sits on the board of the Tufts University School of Nutrition for example who are publishing scientific proofed reports from time to time to assure you that MSG is a 100% safe to use – hehehe 🙂

Anyway, I normally don’t have any breakfast in the morning. Only coffee and probably too much of cigarettes to get my addicted body engine start running for another day in this beautiful world. Then later in the afternoon I start getting hungry and finally find my way to Thongsala main town to get some of that so delicious and healthy Thai food in my stomach. Once I finished eating my food I find myself sometimes in a strange lethargic mood. Brain activity goes down to zero! I get tired starting yawning and my jaw muscles twitch around strangely! Sometimes I experience head pressure which normally ends up in a bit of head ache. If the poisoning was a bit overdosed I normally get stomach cramps and the toilet looks pretty disgusting the next morning 🙂

And then I just ask myself ‘hey what’s wrong here?’ Shouldn’t you feel energized and re-charged after providing your body with lots of nutrients and vitamins? Shouldn’t my body be very happy about all that? Well …. Exactly the opposite is the case!

Strange, isn’t it? It looks like that now my body uses all available energy to get the poison out of the system as fast as possible. Leaving me tired and in a very uncertain and unpleasant mental state!

So … what to do? What’s the solution? First of all you need to know the Thai expression for MSG. They call it ‘Phong Chu Rot’! Next time when ordering your Thai food just tell them that you don’t like MSG in your food. The magic and healthy term is ‘Mai Sai Phong Chu Rot’ which means ‘Don’t put MSG in’ and just hope that they will do so as most of the Thais really love that magic flavor enhancing crab and probably won’t understand why you don’t share the same opinion 🙂

And like I already said, MSG is used in 98% of the restaurant here on Koh Phangan. Be aware of that! So far I have only found two places which don’t use MSG at all. One place is MaiPenRai Thansadet and the other one is BuaKao Inn – A’s Coffee Shop as long as you order western food! Mike told me that they put in a bit with their Thai food as his wife Sophie insists on doing so 😉

Well a good thing would be to publish a list of restaurants on Ko Pangan which don’t use MSG in their food. Probably something to keep in mind for the future. But for the moment all this info should be enough to give you an idea about the food poisoning situation here on paradise island Koh Phangan 🙂

Below I will include some links with more detailed information about this subject. You’ve been warned and informed! Now it’s up to you to make the best out of it. Thanks a lot for your attention and wish you all the very best like usual. ENJOY 🙂

• http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Brain.html
• http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Dang.html
• http://www.truthinlabeling.org/
• http://www.rense.com/general52/msg.htm