I've been poking around in the research again and have found more published studies than I can possibly list here, all pointing to MSG as a definitive cause of obesity, particularly in "neonates," that is, newborns. A nicely succinct quote is this one, from Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, June 2011: "The monosodium glutamate (MSG) neonatal administration in mice provides a model of obesity with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and insulin resistance."

Sadly, even though so many studies do in fact clearly show the MSG/obesity link, the manufacturers of this poison, and the food and beverage industry, have very deep pockets and are able to counter these facts with their own studies showing how safe it is. But again, let me ask this question: if MSG is simply a flavor enhancer and does not produce a physical response of any kind, why is it in vaccines? It would make no sense at all to include in vaccines if it did not produce a physical response.

A study from Japan that somehow escaped the MSG watchdogs says, "We previously reported that injection of monosodium glutamate (MSG) in ICR mice leads to the development of significant inflammation, central obesity, and type 2 diabetes." (Full disclosure: because many of these studies are almost impossible to access, I'm using the abstracts only. If I wanted to pay $41 for this one, I'd have full access. Sorry.) But this abstract, taken from the Journal of Autoimmunity, February-March 2008, says this, too, and it's the first time I've seen these words in print: " These results take on considerable significance in light of the widespread usage of dietary MSG and we suggest that MSG should have its safety profile re-examined and be potentially withdrawn from the food chain."

Withdrawn from the food chain. Think about that. The writers are from the Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan, or at least they were in 2008.

Withdrawn from the food chain. But safe to put in vaccines, even those given to infants?

Think. About. That.

In case you were wondering, this is what a rat looks like after it's been "treated" with MSG as a baby. You can probably guess which one it is. I should add that other than the MSG treatment, the rats were treated identically.

Compare that poor rat to Reiki, my cat. And by the way, if you purchase most commercial dog or cat foods (or, really, those for any pet, including birds), you are feeding them MSG.

I've heard people argue that human babies aren't "treated" with MSG like these rats (and other research animals) have been. My answer? Yes, they have. You just don't know it. Remember, MSG is in vaccines that are given to babies.

And even more MSG is in children's food, drinks, even their medicines and vitamins. And it's in infant formula, even though the manufacturers call it something else (remember the clean label?). The worst offenders are soy formulas, and those containing "whey protein concentrate," which is the clean label version of MSG.

Here's a tip: if an ingredient list says "protein" anything, as in a particular type of food (sort of), like soy protein, or pea protein, corn protein, or, well, any individual protein, you can assume it contains MSG. Here's a link to a list of ingredients that are either definitively MSG or likely to be MSG: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/SourcesBrochure.pdf

Next up: what the heck is MSG? The answer is, not what you think it is.

Speaking of vaccines, this is important, especially for those with children (or about to have them). Despite the "article" in yesterday's Parade Magazine, the one about those terrible parents who resist the ever-increasing number of mandatory vaccinations for their children, some real researchers have been looking into the toll taken by the recommended vaccination schedule, especially for infants.

Here is what some researchers have found, and it's a direct quote: "a high statistically significant correlation between increasing number of vaccine doses and increasing infant mortality rates." In other words, they found that more vaccines for babies result in more babies dying. This study is certainly not the only one, and while it's true that it was partially funded by the NVIC, the National Vaccine Information Center, it raises some interesting questions and is worth a read: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3170075/

Why do we mandate ever-increasing doses of vaccines for children and, worse, babies? Could it possibly have anything to do with money, and the fact that those who decide how many vaccinations kids should get are heavily involved with the manufacturers of those vaccines? (Answer: yes.)

But remember, vaccines contain MSG. And MSG, when given to lab animals, causes brain damage. This is a fact, not speculation. And the more vaccines we give babies (starting on the very day they are born), the higher the death rate. Yes, I know, study after study says vaccines are safe. You can choose who to believe; it's a free country. (So far.)

But knowledge is power. Really, it is. And coercion is powerful. Arm yourself with as many facts as you can before you let others start shooting MSG into your children.

So the question in my last post was this: Why is MSG in vaccines? Our wonderful folks at the Centers for Disease Control say it acts as a "stabilizer," but they also have it listed on their registry of toxic substances as, yes, a toxin. The CDC appears to be either confused or under the influence of money. Both, most likely.

But here is an interesting page from my friends at the Truth in Labeling Campaign (more about that excellent group in a later post). Check it out: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Vaccines.html

Most interesting is the information about MSG causing retinal damage, which has actually been corroborated in numerous studies. In fact, the Macular Degeneration Association has posted this article saying just that, and also referring to the MSG connection with obesity, brain damage, and other ills. Here's the link. http://www.maculardegenerationassociation.org/resources/information.aspx?post=6766884b-5e47-4232-9997-e47e0aba11e7

The bottom line is that the damage done by MSG has been studied for decades (yes, decades) and research has shown many, many times (seriously, a lot) that MSG damages our health. Yet, there it is in almost anything you eat that has been prepared by someone other than yourself.

Here's today's question: Why?

The answer, as you'll see, has much to do with money.

More on that in the next post.

But let me address those of you who are saying as you read this, "But that package says no MSG!"

The truth is, they are lying to you. They've simply found a way around the truth, which is that all processed foods, regardless of whether you purchase them in a supermarket or are served them in a restaurant (yes, including the high-priced ones), contain MSG.

So here's my challenge to you: send me any ingredient list that claims it has no MSG, and I'll bet you I can find it. Why? Because they hide it under a host of names, all of which are MSG, and all of which allow them to use what is known as a "clean label" on their product. A clean label means they can slide in under the MSG radar by claiming they have added no MSG to their product, when, in fact, they have.

They just don't list it as monosodium glutamate.

And that's a fact.

So this is my question: Why is MSG (glutamic acid) in vaccines?

Remember, we've always been told that MSG is a harmless substance that just makes food taste better. Nothing to see here, folks. Please move along.

But vaccines are injected, most of them. We don't taste them, so it doesn't really matter whether their flavor has been improved.

So again, I ask the question: Why is MSG in vaccines? If it were simply a "flavor enhancer," as we've been told, there would be no reason to add it to vaccines.

Here for your reading pleasure is the latest from the Centers for Disease Control, the United States government agency in charge of protecting our health. (No, not really. In charge of protecting the investments of drug companies.) It's a listing of ingredients in vaccines commonly used in this country (and our level of shooting drugs into innocent children, and even adults, is vastly higher than that in other countries, but more on that in a later post). As you'll see if you do a Ctrl+F search, there's glutamate aplenty. (And mercury in the form of thimerosal, as if we didn't have enough to worry about.)

Check it out. Thinking of a flu vaccine this winter? Think twice.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf

This is Reiki, napping on his favorite bed. It is not enhanced in any way.

The day I picked him up from the rescue group, the kind gentleman who helped me with the paperwork and such administered to him, via injection, a number of cat vaccines. All at one time. I have no idea how many there were.

But he got the full load of vaccines all at once, and not too long afterward, he nearly died. It has taken me years to unearth as much information as I could on glutamic acid, the "active" part of MSG, and this is what I know (and, by the way, it's verifiable with very little work on your part, if you're skeptical).

Fact: laboratory animals are routinely administered glutamic acid when researchers need animals with two specific conditions: obesity and brain damage. Google "MSG treated rats" if you doubt it.

Fact: glutamic acid is an ingredient in numerous vaccines, not only for pets but for humans.

Reiki is not only obese, he's what we call a "special needs" cat. He's not all there.

Is glutamic acid (MSG) in your pets' vaccines? Absolutely.

Is it in your kids' vaccines? Absolutely.

Is it in yours?

About the blog

No, it's not about rich folks (not completely, at any rate). I wanted to call it Fat Rats, but that was taken.

This blog is about animals, and people, too, who have consumed (or had shot into them) a certain ingredient found in pretty much all prepared foods. More on that in my next post.

I have three cats, all about the same age, ten-ish, and all from a rescue group that does great work. Two of them are pretty normal. One, Reiki, was about six months old when I got him.

Not long after I adopted Reiki, he got very sick, very suddenly. I'd had him only a month or so. I thought he might die. But he recovered. Sort of.

And as he got older, in that first year or so, it seemed as if his head remained the same size, but his body kept growing. He's now over twenty pounds (he sat on the bathroom scale one day) and has a hard time walking. He has a hard time breathing, too, because he's so obese.

Putting him on a diet is not the answer. For one thing, he doesn't eat half as much as the other two, and he's twice as big. For another thing, it's not his appetite that has made him so fat. He suffered brain damage as a kitten.

And now, after nearly a decade of research, I know how.

This blog is about what I now know, and what you should know, too.