Fat, Stressed, and Sick describes the scientific evidence linking glutamate (aka MSG) to a suite of inflammatory diseases: obesity, diabetes, autism, addiction, depression, and cancer, to name a few. Author and biochemist Katherine Reid learned this when her youngest daughter was diagnosed with autism. Reid made the connection between disease, inflammation, and MSG in the diet—a connection amply supported by studies conducted over decades.

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A deep dive into patents and FDA regulations revealed that manufacturing creates MSG during food processing. MSG is also found in additives labeled “hydrolyzed protein,” “yeast extract,” and even “natural flavors.”

 

In what became an experiment in her home kitchen, Reid scrutinized food labels and removed everything with MSG, replacing them with whole foods. The benefits to her daughter were swift and undeniable. Reid’s discovery that what one ate mattered was the start of a program of food-based solutions for chronic inflammatory illnesses, through which now, a decade later, she has helped thousands of people. That glutamate in the diet jeopardizes health is backed by decades of research, despite efforts by the glutamate industry to discredit the evidence that it poses a risk. Some would have you believe the science is settled. It is not. This book explains the science behind why we crave the MSG in processed food, why it is hidden, how it is making us sick, and what we can do about it.