I am a moderator on the nutrition board, and I am sick and tired of the hyperbole-filled, pseudo-scientific garbage that circulates on the internet and is repeated ad nauseum. Most of these poeple are "New Age" retards without any sort of scientific background or basic understanding of biochemistry and physiology. Here is some of the most common myths addressed by your moderator:
Myth: Monossodium glutamate causes brain damage.
Truth: Glutamate in free form is found on many foods, such as most cured cheeses, mushrooms and sea weeds. Glutamate in an excitatory amino acid derivative that the brain uses as a neurotransmitter. Excessive release of glutamate by neurons results in overstimulation of neurons which activate apoptosis(programmed cell suicide). However, glutamate from food does not enter the brain, because of the blood-brain barrier, which controls the entrance of many types of substances into the brain, including amino acids and their derivatives. Excessive glutamate release is responsible for a lot of the brain damage that follows after ischemic strokes, but glutamate from food has no effect on the brain because it doesen't enter the brain. There are certain areas of the nervous sytem not protected by the blood-brain barrier and thus are susceptible to being damaged by excessive glutamate, but the amount needed would be enormous. Furthermore, these are areas of the brain where neurogenesis occurs, so even if it does kill brain cells it wouldn't be so serious.
Myth: Aspartame is neurotoxic.
Truth: Aspartame is an amalgamated molecule composed of the amino acids, l-phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and methyl alcohol(methanol). Both phenylalanine and aspartic acid are normal parts of human nutrition and found in many foods. Methanol is a normal product of fermentation just like ethanol, and only extremely small amounts of methanol are contained in aspartame. A glass of orange juice contains 10 X more methanol than a glass of soda sweetened with aspartame. So unless you regard orange juice as a toxin, then it makes no sense to claim that the methanol in aspartame is dangerous. Methanol can damage the optic nerve and cause blindness, but you would need to drink over 10,000 cans of soda sweetened with aspartame at once to go blind from it. The tiny amount of methanol in aspartame is easily broken down by the liver.
The only true danger of aspartame are to those who have phenylketonuria, and extremely rare condition which the body is unable to metabolize l-phenylalanine. For people with phenylketonuria, aspartame does cause serious brain damage, but for normal people it is perfectly safe.So unless you have phenylketonuria, don't worry about aspartame.
Myth: Sodium saccharine causes cancer
Truth: Doses of saccharin over 2,000 times greater per pound than those consumed by humans can cause intestinal cancer in mice. However, mice are far more susceptible to cancer than humans due to higher rates of redox, and the amounts given to mice were thousands of times greater than those that humans ingest in beverages and foods sweetened with saccharin. For humans and in normal doses, there is no evidence that saccharin causes any kind of cancer.
Myth: Eating more protein than required forces muscle growth.
Truth: Protein is only required to maintain nitrogen balance and as a raw material for muscle building if there is a stimulus for it(either training or drugs). Protein in excess does not stimulate muscle growth. Without the stimulus from either training or drugs, excess protein is either turned into glucose in the liver via gluconeogenesis or stored as fat. There is some evidence that large doses of l-leucine might stimulate protein synthesis beyond ordinary without an exogenous stimulous, but this is speculative.
Myth: Antioxidants from fruits and vegetbles offer protection against cancer and other diseases.
Truth: These antioxidants in vitro(in a test tube) cause tumors to recede. The problem is that when you eat vegetables these antioxidants do not reach your plasma and thus your cells. They are destroyed by the liver before reaching your plasma. Vegetables are important for fiber which lowers cholesterol and protects against colon cancer and vitamins, but not antioxidant protection. However, the metabolism of vegetables increases uric acid which is a powerful antioxidant. But the antioxidants from the plant have no antioxidant effects outside the plant or a test tube.
Myth: Azo dyes cause brain damage, liver damage, cancer and renal failure.
Truth: Extremely large doses of certain azo dies caused a significant increase in liver enzymes in monkeys. But the increase was dose-dependent and only observed when very large amounts were consumed. Alcohol produces a greater elevation of liver enzymes at lower doses than azos. As for cancer, there is no evidence. As for renal failure, you would need to consume a pound of azo dyes at once to experience renal failure. That is the amount of azo in over 50,000 colored pills. Iron, a required mineral for human life, would cause renal failure at a dose 100 fold smaller. There is also some evidence that large doses of azo consumed for long periods of time might cause memory impairment, but there is little conclusive evidence and there is no evidence that the impairment is not reversible.The only real danger of azo dyes lie in tartrazine(yellow color) which can cause extreme allergic reaction in certain susceptible individuals, including anaphylactic shock. But this is extremely rare. If you have allergies, it is best to avoid azos as they do tend to overstimulate the immune system...
SUCKMYMUSCLE
