Do You Need Protection Against Toxic Food Additives?

You may have already suspected that your food supply is contaminated…and with good reason. According to Russell Blaylock, M.D. (board certified neurosurgeon), our food supply now contains many toxins that, when consumed, gradually kill brain cells over a period of time.[1] Eventually, when enough brain cells are killed, various diseases –Alzheimer’s, cancer, and Parkinson’s, along with many others — afflict countless individuals who consume these foods.

Harmful Toxins Present in Most Processed Foods

These brain-toxic additives are called excitotoxins because they literally over-stimulate brain cells, thus causing them to become exhausted and die. Dr. Blaylock further explains that excitotoxins are not present in just a few foods, but rather in almost all processed foods.[1]

What’s more, these toxins are being added in disguised forms, such as natural flavoring, spices, yeast extract, textured protein, and soy protein extract, to name a few.  Food manufacturers are not even required to list the primary names of some of these toxic ingredients.[1]

Excitotoxins Destroy Brain Cells, Accelerate Cancer Growth

By definition, excitotoxins are substances that react with certain brain cells in such as way as to cause their destruction.

Glutamate is one of the more commonly known excitotoxins added to foods, but more than 70 have been identified. MSG, for example, is the sodium salt of glutamate. Glutamate is a normal neurotransmitter in the brain, present in very low concentrations, which doesn’t usually cause any problems. At higher concentrations, however, the brain cells undergo a process of ‘over-excitement’ and gradual cell death.[1] What’s more, excitotoxins have been found to dramatically increase cancer growth and accelerate its spread throughout the body.

Researchers have also noticed that cancer cells exposed to glutamate, or MSG, become more mobile and spread rapidly throughout the body’s tissues. When glutamate levels are increased, cancer grows like wildfire;  when glutamate is blocked, it dramatically slows the growth of the cancer.[2]

A growing number of physicians and scientists are reporting that excitotoxins play a critical role in the development of:  cancers, several neurological disorders (including migraines), seizures, strokes, infections, abnormal brain cell development, certain hormone disorders, psychiatric disorders, learning disorders in children, AIDS, dementia, episodic violence, lyme borreliosis, brain disorders due to liver failure, obesity, and especially the neurodegenerative diseases (such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, etc.).[1,2,3]

Key Nutrients that Protect Brain Cells

How do we protect ourselves against the (often hidden) onslaught of excitotoxins that overstimulate and kill brain cells? Researchers have identified three key nutrients which are significantly brain-protective. [4,5,6] Benefits of these three nutrients-ginkgo, vinpocetine and huperzine A-include:  (1) enhancing brain function, (2) supplying energy to the brain, and (3) protecting brain cells against many environmental pollutants, including those in our food supply.

In a 2012 study, scientists found that ginkgo biloba extract could protect brain cells against overstimulation during conditions of reduced blood flow, such as brain swelling and neurodegeneration. Remarkably, ginkgo biloba extract reduced brain swelling by 60%. The extract was also found to inhibit brain cell degeneration. Protection conferred by the extract seems related to its ability to inhibit the release of a chemical that overstimulates brain cells, especially under conditions of reduced blood flow.[7]

In 2011, researchers concluded that vinpocetine effectively inhibits the release of chemicals known to overstimulate brain cells. In fact, vinpocetine was found to be more effective at protecting brain cells than several antiepileptic drugs.[8] Other studies have confirmed the protective effects of vinpocetine on brain cells when exposed to toxins.[9,10] Findings of these studies have far-reaching and important implications, considering the widespread contamination of our food supply.

Our Best Bet

In an ideal world, it would be best to avoid eating foods that contain brain-destroying excitotoxins. In reality, however, so many foods now contain these toxic additives (often under a disguised name), it has become virtually impossible to avoid them. For most people, it makes better sense to take nutritional supplements that offer wide-ranging protection against these toxins.

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NOTICE: The information herein is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, prescribe, treat or prevent any disease or endorse any brand or product. For medical advice consult a health care professional.