As school is back in session, school cafeterias and students' lunch boxes are often loaded with hidden MSG. Even the most conscientious parents and faculty may not be aware of the MSG hidden in foods. Manufacturers know that MSG is a substance most people do not want in their food, so they have come up with ways of disguising it under other names.

Why, you ask? Because it makes food taste better "to the brain" as it stimulates the glutamate receptors. This makes people eat larger portions and purchase more of these foods. You've heard the potato chip martketing phrase "Can't eat just one." Now you know why.

The problem with MSG and the reason most people steer clear of it is because it is known to cause (these are just a few):
-GI issues (diarrhea, nausea, bloating)
-Neurological issues (depression, hyperactivity, rage, migraine headaches)
-Respiratory problems
-Circulatory and cardiac challenges

The following list are ingredients that contain MSG:

Monosodium glutamate, Glutamate and Glutamic acid
Gelatin
Calcium caseinate
Textured protein
Monopotassium glutamate
Sodium caseinate
Yeast nutrient, Yeast extract, Yeast food, and Autolyzed yeast
Hydrolyzed protein (any protein that is hydrolyzed)
Hydrolyzed corn gluten

Sauces, broths, seasoning on chips, processed foods, frozen foods, cheese-flavored crackers, soups, often contain MSG. The website www.truthinlabeling.org is a great resource for MSG-related information and products that contain MSG. Be aware, even some "natural food" products such as those from the Hain Company sold at health food stores contain MSG.

For those that do not have obvious signs of a problem with MSG (i.e. headaches or vomiting), you may feel that MSG is not a problem. The reason that MSG is still a problem is that glutamate is responsible for long and short term memory and stimulation (a cause of hyperactivity). Ordinarily glutamate is then supposed to be converted to GABA (which doesn't happen with MSG) an inhibitory neurotransmitter responsible for a calming effect and speech. By overstimulating the glutamate receptor you can create inflammation in the brain and acutally "excite a neuron to death." Combine this with over excitability, hyperactivity, decreased memory and focus, potential to interfer with speech, and an inability calm oneself and you can see why MSG is so damaging for children.

Before you pack that school lunch (in a non-vinyl lunch box - see next article) or open that pre-packaged food, check the label. It will be worth your time.

Oakland, CA ­ The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) announced it is filing lawsuits today against makers and retailers of soft vinyl lunch boxes that can expose children to harmful levels of lead. The Center has also notified several other companies of violations under California’s toxics law Proposition 65 (Prop 65) for lunch boxes with high lead levels. The lawsuits and violation notices against companies including Toys “R” Us, Warner Brothers, DC Comics, Time Warner, Walgreens, and others involve many lunch boxes featuring beloved children’s characters including Superman, Tweety Bird, Powerpuff Girls, and Hamtaro. The level of lead in one lunch box, an Angela Anaconda box made by Targus International, tested at 56,400 parts per million (ppm) of lead, more than 90 times the 600 ppm legal limit for lead in paint in children’s products.

“Lead exposure should not be on the lunch menu when kids’ go back to school this fall,” said Michael Green, CEH Executive Director. “There is no reason to expose children to any lead from lunch boxes. We are calling on these companies to recall these products and take action to eliminate lead from their products in the future.”

Initial independent laboratory testing commissioned by CEH has already found seventeen lunch boxes with high lead levels, and the group’s investigation is ongoing. In addition to the testing on the Angela Anaconda lunch box, tests on other lunch boxes showed levels of lead between two and twenty-five times the legal limit for lead paint in children’s products. In most cases, the highest lead levels were found in the lining of lunch boxes, where lead could come into direct contact with food. Lead is known to be harmful to children even in minute amounts, as it can impair brain development and cause other behavioral and developmental problems. Children may be exposed to lead from lunch boxes when they eat food that has been stored in them. Handling the lunchboxes just before eating could also be an exposure risk.

It is not possible to tell by appearance whether a vinyl lunch box may contain lead, so CEH is advising parents to avoid vinyl lunch boxes altogether. “Parents may need to seek out alternatives, since many mass produced lunch boxes are vinyl or vinyl-lined,” said Green. “A reusable cloth bag would be a good alternative.” Parents can find information on how to test for lead in their children’s lunch boxes at home at www.cehca.org/lunchboxes.

The CEH lawsuits were filed today against lunch box producers Igloo and InGear, and against retailers Toys “R” Us, Walgreens, Big Lots, and Ross Stores. Earlier this year, CEH sent notices of Prop 65 violations to Targus International, DC Comics, Time Warner, Warner Brothers, Binney & Smith (a division of Hallmark and the makers of Crayola-brand lunch boxes), Fast Forward LLC, and Holiday Fair Incorporated. Under Prop 65, companies have sixty days to respond to violation notices, after which lawsuits can be filed. CEH expects to file more notifications of lunch boxes that violate Prop 65 in the near future.

We would like to invite you to join us at our month Autism Parent/Practioner meeting! Please tell any friends that might be interested in joining us as well. It is free and a wonderful way to connect with other parents, listen to guest speakers, and share information.

Our next meeting is September 25th and is our "Back to School" Meeting. We will have an open forum to start out the new school year with any questions you have about autism, biomedical interventions, alternative therapies, and nutrition. We will have Julie Matthews, a Certified Nutrition Consultant, and very well informed and experienced parents lead a discussion.

Next meeting:
Sunday, September 25th
10:00AM to noon
Marin City Southern Marin Public Safety Building (Firehouse)
Annette Rose Meeting Room
850 Drake Avenue, Marin City.

All drugs containing PHENYLPROPANOLAMINE are being recalled. It has been linked to increased hemorrhagic stroke (bleeding in brain) among women ages 18-49 in the three days after starting use of medication. Problems were not found in men, but the FDA recommended that everyone (even children) seek alternative medicine.

Cetain Auctrim, Alka-Seltzer, Dexatrim, Dimetapp, Robitussin, Triaminic, and other over-the-counter medicines are being recalled because they contain this ingredient. Additionally, Triaminic is voluntarily recalling the following medicines because of a certain ingredient that is causing strokes and seizures in children:

Orange 3D Cold & Allergy Cherry (Pink)
3D Cold & Cough Berry
3D Cough Relief Yellow 3D Expectorant

They are asking to call them at 800-548-3708 with the lot number on the box so they can send you postage for you to send it back to them, and they will also issue you a refund. If you know of anyone else with small children, PLEASE PASS THIS ON.

In the last installment of this section back in the May newsletter, we explored the ancient Indian notion of “health” as the ultimate state when all the disconnected aspects of our Consciousnessare in harmonious alignment with Spirit. Thus, whatever illness and disease we manifest in thephysical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies are just unhealed patterns and energies that are separate from the “whole”-ness of Spirit. In order for each of us to experience “union” withSpirit, and ultimately with Cosmic Consciousness, the ancient Indian sages developed the scienceand psychology of Yoga as a means for all of us to become “whole” and in turn exist in eternal “health” at the very core of our sacred Being.

Yoga philosophy and psychology teach us that our Soul chooses to incarnate into various physical bodies on the earthly plane in order to learn lessons and evolve by experiencing the entire rangeof the richness of life ­ from ecstatic joy to the extreme angst of the human condition. The painfulmemories from the trauma and the wounding that the Soul acquires not only from this incarnation, but also from other lifetimes, are actually encoded onto the cells, muscles, and theDNA of our body! Each of these deeply imprinted “issues in the tissues” that the physical bodyholds is known as a samskara (pronounced “sum ­ skaa ­ ra). I often like to say with humor that our samskaras can be “some scary” stuff that each of us needs to examine as we continue toevolve and heal at all levels of our Being.

As dedicated yogis and yoginis, an important aspect of this sacred journey of our spiritualunfolding is to heal and reintegrate the disconnected and unhealed samskaras into the IntegratedWhole of our Spirit. I invited each of you in the last column to become aware of the various deeply held blocks that prevent you from truly experiencing the sacred alignment to Spirit. Now Iencourage you to bring that awareness and witness how and where your body may hold ontothese samskaras ­ both on and off the yoga mat. For some the samskaras can manifest as actual physical symptoms, as mental anxiety, or as emotional pain. Observing where these samskarasare held and how they come up in your life via the physical body is the first step toward healingthem.

The ancient yogis discovered that the various yoga asanas we practice act as a means for us toallow the deeply imprinted samskaras that are woven into the physical body to become healed. Inthe next issue we will explore ways through which the various samskaras get triggered and learn how asana, pranayama, and meditation when practiced together act as profoundly healing tools toassist us on our sacred expansion into Spirit. Only when all the samskaras from all our Soulincarnations are fully healed and reintegrated, will we experience the full embrace of Spirit and the ultimate Yoga “union” with Cosmic Consciousness!