Sneaky Ingredient Food Industry Uses To Get Kids Hooked

Parents always should be concerned that what they are feeding their kids is good for them. Still, it’s tempting just to give them food they like. That said, it’s important to be aware on just why certain products are more appealing than others. In fact, a recent food personality has spoken out about a certain way companies can make their products seem more appetizing.

A Food Personality Recently Highlighted One Additive Used In Children’s Cuisine

Vani Hari is a blogger also known as the “Food Babe.” She has made a name for herself talking about the food industry and its tactics.

Recently, Hari warned about a certain ingredient added to dishes that can make it more appealing. She shared that it was one of many additives that is often added to children’s dishes, a topic she discussed in the book, Food Babe Family.

On social media, Hari wrote, “MSG is listed as ‘Monosodium Glutamate’ on the label, however, most brands that sell children’s food sneak in other additives—such as “Yeast Extract” and “Hydrolyzed Protein”—which contain free glutamic acid–the main component of MSG.”

Hari continued, “Food companies use MSG and similar additives to engineer their food to taste irresistible and memorable so you eat more. This is why MSG is also linked to obesity.” Hari shared MSG can make dishes “taste better” than they should, “increasing addictive eating habits. In fact, MSG is often used in animal studies to make rats obese!”

Hari also listed other issues with the additive. She continued, “MSG is also an excitotoxin that excites brain cells to death and causes adverse reactions in some people.” This includes “skin rashes, itching, hives, nausea, vomiting, migraine headaches, asthma, heart irregularities, depression, and even seizures.”

In the accompanying image, Hari listed items she claimed contained MSG. This included items purchased at both stores an restaurants.

 

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A post shared by Vani Hari | Food Babe (@thefoodbabe)

Healthline recently shared that various health authorities recommend only “14 mg per pound of body weight” as a daily intake of MSG. This included groups like the FDA. As the publication noted, this was “far more than the amount you’d typically ingest following a normal diet.”