Chicken broth and MSG

Recently I decided to read the ingredients in a typical container of chicken bouillon. I had heard that "fake" chicken broth was unhealthy, but did not realize how unhealthy it was! Here is a list of the ingredients in one single chicken bouillon cube:

Salt, Sugar, Mechanically Separated Cooked Ground Chicken Meat, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monosodium Glutamate, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Corn Maltodextrin, Onion Powder, Chicken Fat, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten Protein, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oils, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Water, Garlic Powder, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Dextrose, Cooked Chicken Powder, Natural Chicken Flavor, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Calcium Silicate, Gelatin, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Turmeric, Corn Syrup Solids, Spice, Modified Corn Starch, Silicon Dioxide, Diacetyl (Flavor), Artificial Flavor, Tricalcium Phosphate, Alpha Tocopherol (Antioxidant), Corn Oil, BHA (Preservative), Propyl Gallate, Citric Acid, BHT (Preservative).

You may notice a few things from this list - many of the ingredients break Michael Pollon's food rule of not eating anything with ingredients that a 3rd grader cannot pronounce. Second, you may notice the presence of a controversial ingredient known as MSG (monosodium glutamate).  

Many experts believe that MSG is dangerous to one's health because it's toxic and can cause problems with one's neurons. MSG has been linked to obesity, migraines, alzheimer, etc. MSG is often associated with Chinese food, but it has become popularly used in MANY commonly purchased foods in grocery stores. One doctor gives his opinion on the danger of MSGs (very interesting - a must see): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-pnzj0c06Q&feature=fvw. 

The doctor also touches upon the problems with artificial sugars and compares these sugars to MSG (they are both detrimental to health according to him). 


So what's the solution for using healthy chicken broth? Either make it yourself using bones or the meat itself, or use an organic natural broth such as the one I have recently started using (love it). You can buy this broth from Costco at a very reasonable price. It is low in sodium and tastes like real broth....not the fake stuff:

Made with ingredients you can pronounce and with only 70mg of sodium.

We begin with free-range chickens raised on an organic vegetarian diet. Our mixture of simple ingredients is cooked together to create a foundation for a rich, delicious low sodium broth you didn’t have to prepare yourself.
Use as a base for more hearty soups, risotto, and pasta dishes or create your own amazing recipe.

Happy Eating!!