I have been using Bragg’s Liquid Aminos for awhile now thinking it was a better, healthier alternative to soy sauce. Knowing soy is not healthy for your body (especially since it is in practically every packaged product on the market), but still loving my stir fry, I wanted a healthy alternative. It is easy to think Bragg’s would be a good alternative because of the wonderful claims on the bottle that describe the significant collection of amino acids, the “all natural” label, and the fact that it is available in all health food stores. Amino acids are good but not in combination with MSG. A few readers directed me to an interesting discussion on this product from We Like It Raw. This is how I understand it: The liquid aminos product is heat processed and made with hydrochloric acid. Salt apparently forms in its processing, plus
glutamic acid which is the same substance that is in MSG. Thus it is processed with heat and chemicals and the final result is a dead food and not a living one as Bragg claims. In the case of Braggs, MSG occurs from processing.

I was startled to hear that Bragg’s formally had a “NO-MSG” label on it and had to remove the label because it was not true. Apparently, mono sodium glutamate (MSG) can result when processing soybeans. I checked with the Weston A Price foundation to verify this information, and it was confirmed that Bragg’s was forced to remove the “NO-MSG” label because it was false advertising.

What is MSG you may ask?

MSG is an excitotoxin: an ingredient known to cause nerve damage by overexciting nerves. This is exactly how MSG enhances the taste of foods: by overexciting the taste buds on the tongue.

According to Sally Fallon in her post Dirty Secrets of the Food Processing Industry,

“MSG is a food ingredient the Japanese had invented in 1908 to enhance food flavors, including meat-like flavors. Humans actually have receptors on the tongue for glutamate—it is the protein in food that the human body recognizes as meat. Unfortunately, the free glutamic acid in MSG has a very different effect in the body than the natural glutamic acid in food, one that is harmful, especially to the nervous system…

“MSG is a neurotoxic substance that causes a wide range of reactions, from temporary headaches to permanent brain damage…Most surprisingly, MSG causes obesity! In laboratory experiments on obese rats, scientists induce obesity by feeding the animals MSG!”

Is there any soy sauce we can use that does not have MSG in it?

Yes! You want to find soy sauce or soy products that have been naturally fermented, no MSG. Fermentation is a good thing! Weston A Price provided me with a few recommendations:

Ohsawa Organic Nama Shoyu (raw, unpasteurized)
South River Miso
Eden Organics shoyu sauce
San J Tamari & Shoyu Sauce
Trader Joe’s Soy Sauce

All of these products are naturally fermented, raw and unpasteurized, making them “living food”. They contain natural digestive enzymes, Lactobacillus, and other microorganisms which aid in the digestion of all foods.

I will no longer be recommending the use of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos. Another reason why you cannot trust the “all natural” claim!

If you want to read more on the dangers of soy, please check out Weston A Price Foundation’s Soy Alert or check out The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla Daniels.

For a complete list of all the different ingredients that contain MSG