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.