Many Taco Bell menu items contain MSG (free glutamate)

People have told me that Taco Bell appears healthier to other fast food because it’s tacos and burritos rather than greasy burgers, but there it nothing further from the truth. Taco Bell has a cult-like following of loyal fans that crave their creative quasi-mexi-american food inventiveness. What most do not realize is there is massive amounts of free glutamate (MSG) stuffed into their food. This may be why people crave and eat this stuff many times a week and sometimes more than once a day! The proof is in the pudding MSG.

Taco Bell has worked hard to keep the words “Monosodium Glutamate” off of their ingredients list, but that doesn’t mean there is no MSG. MSG (free glutamate) is hidden in other more harmless looking ingredients in order to create a “clean label” or the illusion that a food is more natural or harmless than it really is. Many of these MSG containing ingredients are labeled as Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Hydrolyzed Chicken Meat, Calcium Caseinate, Chicken Broth and Natural Flavoring. Also see our list of Hidden Sources of MSG on Food Labels for more ingredients that contain MSG.

The following Taco Bell menu items contain various forms of MSG (free glutamate):

• Beef, Seasoned

• Chicken, Southwest

• Chicken, Spicy Shredded

• Chili

• Dressing, Avocado Ranch

• Red Strips, Lime Seasoned

• Rice, Express

• Rice, Seasoned

• Salsa, Citrus

• Sauce, Creamy Lime

• Sauce, Fire

• Sauce, Green Tomatillo

• Sauce, Nacho Cheese

• Sauce, Pepper Jack

• Sauce, Red

• Steak, Carne Asada

The following Taco Bell menu items contain Carrageenan*:

• Sour Cream, Reduced Fat

• Strawberry Topping

• Empanada, Caramel Apple

• Chicken, Spicy Shredded

• Chicken, Southwest

• Steak, Carne Asada

The following Taco Bell menu items contain BHT and/or TBHQ**:

• Chicken, Spicy Shredded

• 

  Taco Bell Fiesta Platter loaded up with MSG

  Eggs

• Sauce, Pizza

• Steak, Carne Asada

• Cinnamon Twists

• Empanada, Caramel Apple

• Nacho Chips

• Nacho Chips, Express

• Red Strips

• Red Strips, Lime Seasoned

• 

  The Seasoned Beef has MSG

  Rice, Express

• Rice, Seasoned

• Shell, Chalupa

• Shell, Pizza

• Shell, Taco

• Shell, Taco Salad

• Shell, Tostada

More information about these harmful additives

*A Note About Carrageenan

“Carrageenan increases free radicals. It is a polysaccharide made from a seaweed, the substance is known to produce intense inflammatory reactions when injected into tissues. In fact, the intense reaction is so reproducible it is used when researchers want to study inflammation. Inflammation is strongly associated with intense free-radical production within tissues. It also may promote accelerated bowel cancer growth.” Carrageenan is used as a thickener. When even small amounts of carrageenan are injected near developing tumors in animals, tumor growth, and eventual metastasis, increases dramatically¹.”
-Source: Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills by Russell Blaylock M.D.

1.) Raz A, Levine G, Khomiak Y. Acute local inflammation potentiates tumor growth in mice. Cancer Letters 148(2000): 115-120

**Definition of TBHQ from Wikipedia:

TBHQ is a highly effective preservative for unsaturated vegetable oils and many edible animal fats. It does not cause discoloration even in the presence of iron, and does not change flavor or odor of the material to which it is added. It can be combined with other preservatives such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA). As food additive, its E number is E319, where it is used as a preservative. It is added to a wide range of foods, with highest limit (1000 mg/kg) permitted for frozen fish and fish products. Its primary advantage is enhancing storage life.

It is used industrially as a stabilizer to inhibit autopolymerization of organic peroxides. In perfumery, it is used as a fixative to lower the evaporation rate and improve stability. It is also added to varnishes, lacquers, resins, and oil field additives.

Carcinogenicity of TBHQ

In high doses, it has some negative health effects on lab animals, such as precursors to stomach tumors and damage to DNA.^[1] A number of studies have shown that prolonged exposure to TBHQ may induce carcinogenity.^[2] Other studies, however, have shown inhibition against HCA-induced carcinogenesis (by depression of metabolic activation) for TBHQ and other phenolic antioxidants.^[3]

1. ^ Tert-Butylhydroquinone – safety summary from The International Programme on Chemical Safety
2. ^ Gharavi N, El-Kadi A (2005). “tert-Butylhydroquinone is a novel aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand”. Drug Metab Dispos 33 (3): 365–72. doi:10.1124/dmd.104.002253. PMID 15608132.
3. ^ Hirose M, Takahashi S, Ogawa K, Futakuchi M, Shirai T, Shibutani M, Uneyama C, Toyoda K, Iwata H (1999). “Chemoprevention of heterocyclic amine-induced carcinogenesis by phenolic compounds in rats”. Cancer Lett 143 (2): 173–8. doi:10.1016/S0304-3835(99)00120-2. PMID 10503899.

They all serve MSG laced foods!

-~- What is MSG? -~-

In basic terms, MSG (and other, similar agents) pierces the blood-brain barrier and over-stimulates the neurons of a brain to a deadly degree. Habitual intake among animal experiments has shown the development of tumors, memory loss, and a whole host of neurodegenerative diseases as the end result of excess excitotoxin intake, including Alzhiemer’s, Parkenson’s, Lou Gerhig’s etc.

Walk into any gas station in the United States (or grocery store, for that matter) and, upon close investigation, you will find that 75%-90% of the available food has been ‘enhanced’ to some degree by excitotoxins. The chemical agents are often disguised by such ambiguous terms as ‘spice’ and ‘natural flavors’ or, my personal favorite, ‘hydrolyzed vegetable protein.’ A consumer society must have consumer slaves to keep it functioning; MSG is the crack cocaine of the food industry…and it is legally perpetuated by slush-fund advocates and a pork-glutted FDA. As proven again and again, money talks, … [you can finish the maxim for me].

-Excerpt from ‘Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills’ By Dr. Russell L Blaylock, MD
(A board certified neurosurgeon with over 25 years experience in neurosurgery in addition to having a nutritional practice.)