Glutamate and Glutamine

[Zoe]

Zoe,
After an early start this morning and some much needed caffeine, I can give you the following link that gives a list of common foods and their glutamate/aspartate amounts: www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php.

Molly,
That link in our group discussion didn't lead to any information on the glutamate content of individual foods.
I did a search and found a very good bit of information on glutamate and glutamine.
From my reading, the glutamate in food converts to glutamine, a very important amino acid while the glutamate in MSG does not. This is what needs more clarification. I think the glutamate in MSG passes the blood brain barrier and is an excitotoxin. Any other information you find please post.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...ciencysymptoms

[RobinN]

Glutamate Containing Additives

Excitotoxins

[Shelley]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glutamic_acid

It gives the basic chemical picture, and a lot of other spiffy info.
There are other 'sites, I'm sure, but it show that flavor enhancers put in processed food is the sodium derivative, and tells a bit about what happens.

[joan]

More food for thought....I dont think youd need to be a celiac to still be bothered by this. Id think it like anything else, goes from mild to wild.
Im still working on it *
joan*


Traditionally, gluten is defined as a cohesive, elastic protein that is left behind after starch is washed away from a wheat flour dough. Only wheat is considered to have true gluten. Gluten is actually made up of many different proteins.
There are two main groups of proteins in gluten, called the gliadins and the glutenins. Upon digestion, the gluten proteins break down into smaller units, called peptides (also, polypeptides or peptide chains) that are made up of strings of amino acids--almost like beads on a string. The parent proteins have polypeptide chains that include hundreds of amino acids. One particular peptide has been shown to be harmful to celiac patients when instilled directly into the small intestine of several patients. This peptide includes 19 amino acids strung together in a specific sequence. Although the likelihood that this particular peptide is harmful is strong, other peptides may be harmful, as well, including some derived from the glutenin fraction.

It is certain that there are polypeptide chains in rye and barley proteins that are similar to the ones found in wheat. Oat proteins have similar, but slightly different polypeptide chains and may or may not be harmful to celiac patients. There is scientific evidence supporting both possibilities.

When celiac patients talk about "gluten-free" or a "gluten-free diet," they are actually talking about food or a diet free of the harmful peptides from wheat, rye, barley, and (possibly) oats. This means eliminating virtually all foods made from these grains (e. g., food starch when it is prepared from wheat, and malt when it comes from barley) regardless of whether these foods contain gluten in the very strict sense. Thus, "gluten-free" has become shorthand for "foods that dont harm celiacs."

In recent years, especially among non-celiacs, the term gluten has been stretched to include corn proteins (corn gluten) and there is a glutinous rice, although in the latter case, glutinous refers to the stickiness of the rice rather than to its containing gluten. As far as we know, neither corn nor glutinous rice cause any harm to celiacs.

http://www.celiac.com/articles/8/1/W...din/Page1.html

[Zoe]

More food for thought....I dont think youd need to be a celiac to still be bothered by this. Id think it like anything else, goes from mild to wild.
Im still working on it *
joan*

http://www.celiac.com/articles/8/1/W...din/Page1.html

Joan,
The sensitivity can be "acquired." I've seen NSAIDs listed as one cause due to the damage they wreak on the digestive tract. One of the doctors on the net is saying that only people with celiac may be only a very small percentage of the people who have gluten sensitivity. Did you read the article by Dr. Lewey? http://ezinearticles.com/?Gluten-Fre...toms&id=450571

He recognizes that people may be sensitive to gluten even when their tests are all normal. I've read several of his articles and am very impressed.

[Molly97]

Zoe,
In the link I provided to the Whole Foods list, you have to choose a food, then scroll down forever to the bottom where it offers you the ability to look at that particular food using an advanced nutrition search. That leads you to an extensive list of information for that food, including the amount of glutamate in it.
I just used the link and followed it through. It works.

I think that the danish food group composition link that I gave yields a quicker result of the glutamate levels in foods, and certainly has the advantage of being a more extensive list of foods.

[Zoe]

Zoe,
In the link I provided to the Whole Foods list, you have to choose a food, then scroll down forever to the bottom where it offers you the ability to look at that particular food using an advanced nutrition search. That leads you to an extensive list of information for that food, including the amount of glutamate in it.
I just used the link and followed it through. It works.

I think that the danish food group composition link that I gave yields a quicker result of the glutamate levels in foods, and certainly has the advantage of being a more extensive list of foods.

Both of the links are good, but on neither one can I find the amount of glutamate in soybeans. The WHF site lists the nutrients, but not glutamate.
If you can find it on either site, I've checked both, will you please post the link?
Thanks!

[Molly97]

Zoe,
Again, I say that the whole foods link I provided gives you the info you want on soybeans. Just follow my directions. Choose soybeans in the list of foods. That takes you to an entire page on soybeans, articles, etc. Scroll down almost to the bottom of that page. It will say something about click here if you want advance nutritional information. Click there. You will be taken to a very lengthy list for soybean nutritional info only. Scroll down until you find glutamate. It's there. It says 3.24g, compared to what overall amount I don't know.
This is the last time I'm responding in this thread.

[joan]

It does... maybe this will make is easier...

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...rofile&dbid=17

good luck
joan*

[RobinN]

One other thing to consider about soy, is it is high in estrogen.
Estrogen excites the brain. Many with catamenial seizures are sensitive to high estrogen.

Just a thought, and why I have chosen to take it out of Rebecca's diet.

[Bernard]

You can find the list of foods analyzed on whfoods.com here:

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Click on any item (like soybeans) and you will see a link near the bottom of the page that says "In-Depth Nutritional Profile for ...". Click that link and you will find the table listing glutamate and aspartate content under the amino acids.

I remember that it took me a while to figure out how to navigate that site when Dogtor J first told me about it in an email some time ago.

[Zoe]

You can find the list of foods analyzed on whfoods.com here:

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Click on any item (like soybeans) and you will see a link near the bottom of the page that says "In-Depth Nutritional Profile for ...". Click that link and you will find the table listing glutamate and aspartate content under the amino acids.

I remember that it took me a while to figure out how to navigate that site when Dogtor J first told me about it in an email some time ago.

Thanks Bernard. I'll check back and see if I can find the information. I'd sure like to have the WHF book!

[Zoe]

You can find the list of foods analyzed on whfoods.com here:

http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.phpI remember that it took me a while to figure out how to navigate that site when Dogtor J first told me about it in an email some time ago.

Found it! Buried like small print on a contract. Thanks!

[Shelley]

A friend of mine at work was telling me that rice was not good for you. Something about it not being a complex carbohydrate, thus resulting in weight gain and other problems.
Anyone got a clue?

[Bernard]

White rice is a simple carb and fits the description given by your friend.

Whole/brown rice is a complex carb and does not fit that description.

Care should be taken to distinguish between whole grain brown rice and "brown rice" served at some Asian restaurants which is really white rice that has been fried in soy sauce.

Brown rice vs white rice

[RobinN]

Why do consumers react to factory-produced MSG and not to naturally occurring glutamic acid found in food? One theory is that the glutamic acid produced by hydrolysis in factories contains many isomers in the right-handed form, whereas natural glutamic acid in meat and meat broths contains only the left-handed form. L-glutamic acid is a precursor to neurotransmitters, but the synthetic form, d-glutamic acid, may stimulate the nervous system in pathological ways.

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/broth.html

[Zoe]

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/broth.html

The glutamate in food is still part of a molecule containing as many as 20 other amino acids which breaks down differently than that in MSG. The glutamate in MSG is "free." In the process of manufacturing it is broken down and isolated. MSG, mono (one) sodium glutamate is what remains, there's nothing in it but the glutamate so it will act differently in the body than when it is part of a "crowd." Like drinking 100% pure rum rather than egg nog flavored with a touch of rum.