I Used to Think MSG was a Designer Like DKNY

OK, so I'm joking about the designer snafu, but I DID think MSG was just a flavor enhancer and not something too harmful;  I also used to think that MSG was only in Chinese food.  Oh, how silly and wrong I am!  I stumbled upon a brilliant site called "Truth in Labeling" (not the prettiest of sites, but very informative) and it gave me a window into a world I had no idea existed.
"Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) literally stimulates neurons to death, causing brain damage to varying degrees."
-Russell Blaylock, M.D. Board Certified Neurosurgeon
"Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills"
Now, I do know corporate food is a bit evil because their only purpose in life is to get you to stuff your face with their processed junk, from Doritos to Cheetos, but I didn't know that they disguise MSG in their foods by calling it all sorts of different names like "natural flavoring".  What I find even more shocking is that MSG is also in a lot of "natural" foods, as well.  For example, my all-time-favorite, quick, go-to bouillon, Rapunzel's vegetarian organic cubes, contains "yeast extract" which is a polite way of saying, "MSG".  Another excellent site is MSG Exposed.

The following list was taken directly from the Truth in Labeling website:
Names of ingredients that ALWAYS contain processed free glutamic acid (MSG):

• Calcium glutamate (E 623)
• Monoammonium glutamate (E 624)
• Magnesium glutamate (E 625)
• Natrium glutamate
• Yeast extract
• Anything “hydrolyzed”
• Any “hydrolyzed protein”
• Calcium caseinate, Sodium caseinate
• Yeast food, Yeast nutrient
• Autolyzed yeast
• Gelatin
• Textured protein
• Soy protein, soy protein concentrate
• Soy protein isolate
• Whey protein, whey protein concentrate
• Whey protein isolate
• Anything “…protein”
• Vetsin
• Ajinomoto

After reading the above list I foraged through my "healthy" kitchen and was shocked, Earth Balance to Tofurky is littered with MSG!  No wonder they have that other-worldly tasty punch.  Into the trash they went....well, almost; I finished up the Tofurky slices and will never buy them again and the Earth Balance was in the trash, but then I quickly retrieved it as visions of buttered toast danced in my head.  It's still in the fridge and once it is gone, I will never buy it again either!

I think the big lesson I learned is to eat whole foods and this is pretty much what I do now.  I thought it would be daunting, but it gives me a greater appreciation and connection to my food.  I now laugh when I think I used to buy cartons of almond milk which tasted pretty horrible and now I whip up raw, soaked almonds and water in my high speed blender with a dash of vanilla and sea salt and it is dangerously delicious.  I also make my own salad dressings.  I cannot believe I used to buy that stuff.  Now I have total control of what goes into my concoctions and they taste better than anything I could ever buy in a jar at the store.