Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

It's been a while since my last write up, and also a while before my last attack. Managed to make it to 10 months before 2 attacks came back to back. I've learnt a lot though. 

I've been lucky enough to have gone through a long period of time without an attack, partly because of extra nutrition from eating more unprocessed foods/less restaurant foods and partly because I've been consuming a combination of Vitamin C, D and Magnesium supplements, really helped.

However, recently, we went to a restaurant which we have not visited in a very long time. Food was very tasty but the after effects were not, 3 hours later - an attack awaited me. As I started to realise - all this while, it had to have been MSG. Very dry mouth, locking of muscles, pain and numbness in the limbs and the all to common nystagmus. So as I have learnt in the past, keep the fluids in, and eat as best as I can. It worked, recovered from the attack within 24 hours although the brain fog persisted for another 3 days.

Lesson learnt ? Here's the proof. A week after, as I've only just gotten better from the attack, we decided a packet of frozen Gyoza was a good idea. After all, the label said "No MSG". An attacked followed, but this time it was rather mild. But off to bed I went. The next day, the same, had more Gyoza, and a rather large attack followed. My suspicion grew - only because in the past, I had suspected MSG was the trigger and the packet clearly labelled No MSG did I miss the signs. Closer look at the ingredients "Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein", code name for naturally occurring amino acids, Glutamates exposed by breaking cell walls. Seem to me a crime that someone could label something No MSG when it contains basically MSG in lesser concentrations. Misleading maybe but dangerous to people who have a clear allergy.

It' has been 2 weeks since the last attack now, and I am still anxious. However, it has been great to know that Magnesium and the two vitamin supplements, seems to have helped my symptoms, a lot. In fact, to know, that it has been in fact MSG has helped put many questions together.

Why has Vitamin C helped so much ? Research shows that it reduces the damage MSG does to your brain cells.[1]
Why has Vitamin D helped ? Had low Vitamin D levels
Why has Magnesium helped ? Some claims to protect against harmful effects of MSG [2] Don't know but it helps me personally.
What to do when attack happens ? Drink as much fluids to clear the MSG out of the body.
What is MSG ? An chemical excitotoxin, flavour enhancer, used in an incredibly wide range of foods, misleading labels.

May you feel healthy.

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19507646
2. http://www.truthinlabeling.org/NAET.html

The case for magnesium and the effects of diuretics

One of the many complaints people with Meniere's asks recently, has more to do with Magnesium deficiency, than the disease itself. Of course, there is no way for me to tell for sure. But the questions always goes like this.

I have constant muscular cramps, and I have random muscle pains. I'm feeling anxious and depressed with these constant symptoms, and am taking antidepressants for it. The diuretics are heling for now but I can't live without them. I'm scared.

Well, this sounds typical, and it includes myself (anxiety, fear). The common response, is..

I've been taking diuretics for my symptoms. 

It pains me to read this. That's compounding the problem isn't it ? If I had cramps, and myalgia symptoms, including, the last thing I should do is to be taking more diuretics and anti-depressants. Chemical diuretics tend to drain the body of salts, including that of Magnesium, Potassium which would further result in pain and stress in a situation like this.

Here lies the problem. Since Meniere's technically is a disease that no one yet know how to cure, and there is no single cause for the problem, it would make sense that the associated symptoms be observed carefully. If I was getting Meniere's symptoms, together with constant cramps, insomnia, anxiety - I would be rightfully staying away from the shorter cure symptoms of flooding myself with mineral draining chemicals, and see if I could be balancing my nutrients back together.

Whilst you have read this far, please take the time to try something. Search medical journals, and look into the role of anti-depressants and it's effects on Magnesium levels in the body.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198864/ Something like this, and there are more.

In the case, someone is clearly displaying signs of Magnesium deficiency, I would be likened to have myself checked for it's deficiency, yet, so many with this disease, cannot see the barrel that has rolled down the hill, continue to flood themselves with more diuretics, more anti-depressants to further deplete themselves to the oblivion. It is beyond comprehension.

On another note, there is a saying - you cannot create something out of nothing. Well well, nuclear physics have of course proved us wrong on that note. Energy can create something, theoretically. But people forget in such simple terms that there are no nuclear reactors in plants. It's a solar receiver, that pulls energy from the sun and joins together with water, carbon, nitrogen to form cellulose and other fibres. In some places, the soil is rich in Magnesium, and plants that require Magnesium are able to pull this from the ground - and bind these chemically for our nutrition.

Yet you constantly hear the same story - you can get Magnesium from beans, herbs, pumpkins. One thing I know, they grow, and easily with little Magnesium from the soil. Most of Australian soil is low in Magnesium,  you can't expect these plants to suddenly create it's own source of Magnesium. We're a nation full of sandstone.

I might add, you'd be lucky if much of your green vegetables are grown in decent well composted soil, as opposed to glyphosated dead earth starved of nutrients. Maybe, most of them are grown in water based hydroponics systems - coupled together with the high stress age we live in, how can this be helpful for someone with low Magnesium ?