From Jeff Cox

Beware of commercial bouillons and broths.

Please read the labels carefully when you buy bouillon, bouillon cubes, broths, and canned soups or dry soup mixes. Unless they are organic, these handy bases for homemade soups, beans, sauces, and such could contain “excitotoxins,” according to board-certified neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, a professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi, whose recent book, “Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills,” is a real eye-opener.

The book is a well-researched bombshell that says that substances added to many processed foods and beverages, and especially to flavor enhancing savory foods like bouillon, can damage nerve cells in the brain and are “particularly dangerous to the elderly, children, and those at high risk of neurodegenerative diseases,” according to a review in Book News.

What exactly are excitotoxins? Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one. So is aspartate (NutraSweet). So is hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP). They may go by other names as well. Dr. Blaylock believes these excitotoxins can cause neurons within the nervous system to become overstimulated to the point that they become exhausted and die. One of his primary concerns is the possibility of brain damage in the developing nervous systems of young children.

Yeast extract is the base for most dry soup mixes and bouillons and many conventional products are made with genetically manipulated starters. It pays to read food labels carefully and to understand what you are reading. Buying organic products avoids these problems altogether, because they can contain no genetically modified ingredients or chemical additives.

If hydrolyzed vegetable protein sounds like it might be allowed in organic products, one only has to look at its manufacturing process to see why it’s not. Dr. Blaylock describes the process: “This powerful excitotoxin mixture is often portrayed as a perfectly safe and ‘natural’ substance. Actually, this mixture is made from junk vegetables that are unfit for sale. They are especially selected to have naturally high contents of glutamate. The extraction process of hydrolysis involves boiling these vegetables in a vat of acid. This is followed by a process of neutralization with caustic soda. The resulting product is a brown sludge that collects on the top. This is scraped off and allowed to dry. The end product is a brown powder that is high in three known excitotoxins — glutamate, aspartate, and cystoic acid. It is then added by the food industry to everything from canned tuna to baby food.”

The following label ingredients either are themselves excitotoxins or contain them:

Glutamate
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
Hydrolyzed protein
Hydrolyzed plant protein
Sodium caseinate
Calcium caseinate
Yeast extract
Textured protein
Autolyzed yeast
Hydrolyzed oat flour

Monosodium glutamate

Organic Demi-Glace Recipe

Make your own savory, meaty, flavor enhancer. Place a little bit on a fried egg so it melts—yum! It forms the base for rich stocks, soups, stews, and any dish that needs a flavor kick. And it’s all organic.

5 lbs. organic beef soup bones

1. Roast the bones at 300°F. for a few hours or until they are browned darkly, but don’t let them burn.

2. Place the bones in a large pot with water to cover. Boil covered over medium heat for two hours, being careful the liquid doesn’t boil away. After two hours, remove the bones and continue boiling uncovered until you can pour the liquid into a smaller saucepan. During the boiling, occasionally skim off the scum.

3. Continue to reduce the liquid, lowering the heat gradually, until the liquid is dark and thick—just a couple of cupfuls at most and it thickly coats a spoon. Don’t let it burn. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze. When frozen, turn the cubes into a freezer bag. Seal tightly and store in the freezer.
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Jeff Cox is author of The Organic Cook’s Bible and The Organic Food Shopper’s Guide and lives in Sonoma County, California.
Image Credit: © Tomboy2290 | Dreamstime.com
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