MSG or Monosodium Glutamate. Be Aware!

Do you read labels closely? Are you aware of the REAL ingredients in your daily food? Do you get a feeling sometimes that food is like a drug? You go to one of your favorite restaurants and their food seems so intensely delicious that you dream about it all the time until you come back and eat there again. Do you realize how cheap it is to make potato chips with MSG. This knowledge is unreal and it will blow your mind!

If you do get sensation that a particular food is so intensely delicious, it may be for a reason.  An array of food chemicals have been created in the last few decades.  Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is one that often used in food industry.  This substance makes our taste buds feel wild and happy and it’s found in fast food, in many restaurants, packaged and processed foods, sushi, Chinese food, etc.  It is created to bring exciting taste to very cheap, low quality food. 

I once saw a Russian movie which performed an experiment on MSG. A lady had a bowl of a natural veggie soup and the same soup with MSG. She said that the one with MSG was so much tastier and the one without it had a plain boring taste. 

MSG is usually disguised under some names like textured vegetable protein or plant protein extract that would seem more or less safe to the unaware consumer. It has many more names and you can read more about it in the article below. The saddest part is that even though it is so harmful for a human brain to consume the FDA approves it and even allows it in some kids meals.


Here is a great article from the Food Matters Movie Blog. The article is long but it is worth reading for your own awareness and safety. It also gives a long list of foods to pay close attention to: http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_378860/The_Dangers_of_MSG


Here is an excerpt:
“The term MSG is seldom seen listed on a food label, but MSG is most likely contained in the food, in a disguised form. Here are some of its many disguises: hydrolyzed vegetable protein, autolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein, hydrolyzed yeast extract, autolyzed yeast extract, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured whey protein, and textured soy protein. Even the innocuous terms spice and natural flavor can designate the presence of MSG.”


With this new knowledge of the modern food, don't hesitate to spend more time in a grocery store to read all those beautiful colorful labels and pay especial attention to those labels that don't say "All Natural" or "Organic"  Not only your family will benefit from your food choice, your grandchildren and their grandchildren will benefit from the choices you make in that store today! 

Lets Stand Together Against MSG!

Zero Waste Initiative

Zero Waste Initiative in Steamboat Springs Ski Resort Area

Steamboat Springs Ski Resort in Colorado is

#1 Resort for Environmental Responsibility 

This post is not about Becoming Raw but about Green Living.

We spent two wonderful weeks in the Steamboat Spring, CO recently and inevitably fell in love with it. There were many reasons for it – beautiful weather and fantastic living conditions at the Christy Club right at the foot of the Mt. Werner with great biking trails along the Yampa River. However, the main reason I was impressed by it was their Zero Waste Initiative in the Ski Resort area:  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=123950830800

National Ski Areas Association awarded Steamboat Ski Resort as the best resort in Reduction and Recycling Program in North America. They’ve put a huge effort over the last year and reduced their land fill by 63%. They also reduced their recycling by 73%. They have moved from 374 garbage loads two years ago to 79 this year. They have been able to achieve it by creating a composting facility and switching to compostable items. This page caught my attention at the local coffee chop that won award for environmental responsibility. It has some items that I would never thought as compostables.

You can watch a video about it: http://videos.apnicommunity.com/Video,Item,1702238407.html# 

What is a compostable item? Here is a great definition from The Green Office: http://www.TheGreenOffice.com  Turns out it’s better then recyclable and even better the biodegradable!

COMPOSTABLE:
'Compostable' products are biodegradable, but with an added benefit: when they break down, they release valuable nutrients into the soil, aiding the growth of trees and plants. These products degrade within several months in an industrial composting facility and produce no toxic residues. Compostability is a desirable feature in traditionally-disposable products such as plates, bowls, cups and cutlery. These products are commonly made out of PLA (Polylactic acid), bagasse (sugarcane fiber) or vegetable starch. It is environmentally-preferable to use disposable products that are labeled 'compostable' rather than just 'biodegradable'.

Products that are labeled 'compostable' must enter an industrial composting facility in order for it to fully degrade into organic matter. If your city has a composting facility, place these products in your compost bins to be picked up. Compostable products will typically degrade in 30-120 days in an industrial composter, depending on the product size and material used. If your city doesn't provide industrial composting, you can dispose of compostable products in your backyard or home composter, but they will take longer to biodegrade. If you do not have access to a compost facility or a home composter, dispose of the compostables in the garbage. This option should be your last resort as waste does not easily biodegrade in landfills. Remember: do not put compostables into your recycling! They are not recyclable and will contaminate the recycling process.