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 MSGModerators: Moderators Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Wellness -> Diet and Nutrition | Message format |
ReneeB |
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| When I first started eating chinese food, I would get these horrible migraines that would last for over a day - it was pure hell. Once I realized the connection, I stopped eating Chinese food and the headaches went away. Now I occasionally eat at a Chinese restaurant that doesn't use MSG and I'm fine. But, geez, my body had a horrible reaction to that stuff! eta: I'm sorry! I meant to post this in the "MSG" thread...I'd delete this if I were able.  Edited by ReneeB 2005-09-24 11:15 PM | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098   Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Yes, Renee, Been there and done that!! One thing you have to also be careful about...Now a days, Chinese restaurants, even though they say NO MSG.....MSG is in some of the pre-prepared stuff such as sauces and condiments, which are just as bad and LETHAL. I was tricked a couple of weeks ago at my local Chinese restaurant. I swear the owner's wife put it in my food just to piss me off. She is young girl with a bad attitude about Americans and their sensitivity to MSG. Needless to say, I will NEVER eat there again. In fact, I was thinking about writing an article about MSG in our country town newspaper, just to get her back,  | ||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | GreenJello - 2005-09-27 6:25 PM I thought this wasn't legal anymore, since it was a neurotoxin, or have all the good resturants stopped using it? Interestingly enough, a LOT of chinese people are allegic to alcohol. Are you kidding?? Chinese people love MSG. They also eat it in Nepal. The bad news...Americans love it too!! If you buy anything in the middle of any American Grocery Store Isle, chances are the product you purchased has in small tiny letters...monosodium glutamate, NOT MSG, All campbell's soup products, any gravy or sauce mixes, most barbeque sauces and potatoe chips that are flavored, frozen foods, hot dogs, etc. This is the reason I only shop at Whole Foods Markets and Earthfare's for most of my food items, otherwise, I inspect EVERYTHING at other places I shop. Once I was at a place where I never dreamed they would carry MSG products. Well, they were sampling an Asian dipping sauce for bread. I almost purchased it until I read the ingredients. I told the girl at the bakery section and she frowned too!! It's trickery at its finest,  I always know the MSG headache, it's an awful feeling and the only cure for it, is a good simple meditation technique of lying completly still for several hours in Savasana with a completely empty mind, if its more severe, then sleeping it off after you take 2 bayer aspirin to thin the blood which also allows it to leave the body quicker...along with lots of water. You literally have to detox your body and do it very quickly so it won't linger around. Along with being a neurotoxin, MSG forces heat to rise within the body, which therefore causes the headache. It heats your blood and is especially not good for women near their menstruation because of the liver function needed to be taken with care when so close to the menstrual cycle. Some people such as myself that are already Pitta proned, cannot deal with this. My Kapha husband, does better than me and usually can sleep his MSG headache off. It is worse when your body is pure and detoxed, it's like drinking poison. | ||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | GreenJello - 2005-09-27 8:57 PM Cyndi - 2005-09-27 6:44 PMIt is worse when your body is pure and detoxed, it's like drinking poison. Odd that you should mention that. I've been having a similar reaction to alcohol and pot. Usually I enjoy a little of both, but recently my body has been reacting very strongly against them. For that matter it doesn't seem all that keen on most types of meat. hmm? that's interesting. I have this saying...your body's alway's giving you information all the time and you should listen to your body. For what its worth. A long time ago when I was 13 years old. My friends would smoke pot. Once I tried it with them. After I did, they refused to ever get stoned with me again. I drove them crazy. Years after that, no one wanted to get high with me...they couldn't handle it. Hell after a certain point, I couldn't handle it. The philosophical stuff that would come up and then the other stuff. Smoking pot sent me into another world that I wasn't ready for and talk about hallucinating and OMG, no thanks. One of the things that I did notice was when I was 13 vs. when I was older with pot. When I was 13 the pot was organic and they didn't use pesticides and chemicals. It made me laugh and have a good time and was basically okay as long as I didn't have to drive or go out in public. When I got older, most of the pot that was going around had been sprayed with chemicals...which is what I had some really severe reactions to. So you may want to consider the fact that it could be chemicals that you are reacting to...not that I'm trying to change your mind to reconsider your pot smoking fun, Alcohol has so many side effects due to sulfites. I don't drink or smoke pot, but I have friends that are always giving me "White Lightening". It's the best stuff and so pure....at least my source is. I keep it for the winter time to make cough syrup with for friends and family. | ||
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| GreenJello |
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| Well, maybe I should back up a little bit. Haven't touched the stuff in six months to a year, but the last time I did my whole body shuddered, which I took to be a bad sign. I also don't smoke, so maybe it's just the smoking my body really dislikes. I also don't feel I'm a good person to smoke/drink with, since it makes me very very quiet. Last time I got stoned I was unable to speak, which really made it hard for some of the other people there. They'd say something, and like 10 minutes later I'd finally respond. (Okay, it was probably a minute or two). I get the same way with drinking, only without the time distortion. A beer or two isn't that bad, but after that I start getting really quiet or really strange. Maybe it's like some of the philosophic stuff you wanted to discuss with your friends while stoned. I'm also thinking that a lot of the stress release that I used to get from drinking/smoking I get from yoga, and in a much cleaner form. Sure it takes a little more work, but it's well worth it. | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Well, don't go beating yourself up over the pot/alcohol issue. If it bothers you, quit doing it. I quit smoking cigarettes 8 years ago, and the pot and alcohol more years than that. I was not a person that smoked pot or drank alcohol for habitual reasons, It was a social issue and was not addicted to it. Therefore it was easy. Smoking Cigarettes and Quitting was probably more of a challenge than anything because of the chemical nature of cigarettes and the additives they use. I however, decided one day to quit - Cold Turkey and never had the desire to start smoking ever again...even though natural cigarettes came out etc. I do not like to be around people who smoke and kissing a person who smokes is like kissing an ashtray and is gross! Yes, doing yoga and meditation is a great tool to replace bad habits with or assist in overcoming bad habits. I used Tai Chi Qi Gong in the early years to help me with a lot of things. It helped me get to know myself internally and find a balance with that. Yoga is a different process and is so vast. Anyway, this is interesting because Satyam and I discuss what it is like in Nepal and India and how Yogi's live. I was surprised to learn that Yogi's smoke lots of pot in Nepal, I'm sure they have the organic kind too, | ||
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| GreenJello |
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Cyndi - 2005-09-28 11:08 AMAnyway, this is interesting because Satyam and I discuss what it is like in Nepal and India and how Yogi's live. I was surprised to learn that Yogi's smoke lots of pot in Nepal, I'm sure they have the organic kind too, Actually most of the pot heads I know are also into eastern religion. For some reason the two seem to go very much hand in hand, though it does seem to reduce their interest in some of the hard work involved in asanas and other practices. I also remember hearing that ganja is considered a scarament to shiva, and a blessing to mankind to help with some of the aches and pains of living.It might be interesting to run a poll of the locals to see what percentage indulge themselves from time to time, and how hard core their practice is. | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Well GJ, You start the poll and see what happens, The last time I checked into a Buddhist Temple that I know of, they had lots of pot smoking and mild altering partcipants. I could never for the life of me figure out what in the hell they were trying to do with their practices. In fact, they all looked like they were in hell and they were over weight and fat, ate whatever food that would go into their mouths without a care in the world how it was going to affect them...then they would try to feed it to the Rinpoche's and other monks. It was pretty scary and is why I'm no longer practicing with this particular Buddhist Temple - although, I really did give it my best shot and learned so many things..I just had to overlook the wierd and the strange. I dare say though, it was a major conflict with everything else I knew and was taught...in fact, other Tibetan Buddhist and Tibetans that I know do not like this type of behavior. When I started on my spiritual path, I was no longer endulging in those things. That stuff was for when I was young and stupid and basically having fun from boredom being an American teenager who was on my own and trying to survive. In fact, I have been through many facets of my life and the pot smoking and mind altering stuff are hundreds of chapters away, it seems like many lifetimes have come and gone by since those days. As for the Nepali Yogi's, I'm not that familiar with their reasons and practices, I'm sure Satyam can fill in the blanks for me though as he grew up and actually lived in a temple. His Guru just recently died and was over 100 years old..like around 108 I think I heard him mention. His Guru didn't smoke pot and refused to eat white sugar because he believed it was very bad for your health. | ||
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| there certianly is an 'issue' with american buddhists. a number of them are 'posers' and not really doing too much with their practices. but, on the other hand, sometimes i look at it like this--what would they be like if they weren't doing buddhism? i mean, really? this one woman in my area is nuts, and is a practicing buddhist (30 years). She's absolutely crackers. Anyway, i think--wow, if she wasn't practicing buddhism, where would she be today? it's probably doing her some good. and ultimately, each person is responsible for working out their own salvation with diligence. and prehaps the level of diligence or whatever is different to different people. all that being said, i know many american buddhists who are the real deal or striving torealy practice or whatever. many of them do not do drugs or whatever else. that seems to be a college thing, but who knows? ah, whatever.  i've never smoked pot or been drunk (or even had a full drink--no more than a sip) in my life. my body, mind, and spirit simply rejects the whole thing. | |||
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| GreenJello |
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You start the poll and see what happens,  And I wonder why people think I'm a trouble maker.... Maybe I should stop asking the difficult questions.... Nah, this is too much fun! Sounds like the monks were a little over the top, and definitely becoming very self-indulgent. Most of the people I know who smoke, and practice aren't that bad off, which makes it harder to tell if it's really a detriment, and an assent to their practice. Zoebird may also be right about posers. Most of the people I remember doing this sort of thing never really stuck me as being incredibly profound. There were exceptions though, which goes back to the question of assert or hinderance. Maybe it should be more a question of what people do in their free time, like watch TV, read, bike, etc, and how that effects their practice. FWIW, there also seem to be a number of people in the tech fields who are also into alternative religions, so it maybe more a matter of people on the fringe being more open to exploring a lot of different things that are generally frowned upon, whether good or bad. i've never smoked pot or been drunk (or even had a full drink--no more than a sip) in my life. my body, mind, and spirit simply rejects the whole thing. This bothers me on some levels, since it smacks of fanaticism. From a lot of people I would think that it was fairly close minded, but since you seem to be fairly open, I think might be a simple case of virtue. If so, bravo Zoebird! | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Zoebird was born in 76, I was already 12 years old and babysitting babies her age, By the time she got old enough to *endulge*, we were hitting the 80's when it got really dangerous. When I used to toke a few J's if you will, this stuff was totally organic, and I was getting it from people who were much older than I (I have a big sis 4 yrs older), dating guys that were way much older that had the good stuff and knew exactly how to party. We are talking major league stuff here, GJ, the monks didn't smoke pot, that I was aware of, they had their Tibetan medicinal snuff they liked, that came from their headmaster lama over in Amdo, Tibet. He would make it by hand for them. The point I was trying to make about this was that some of these American people using drugs and such in the Buddhist Temples, *thinking* that is what they are teaching is incorrect. Here's a really bad example of bad judgement. I'm in NYC, Central Park 2 years ago with a Tibetan Family Group waiting to see HH Dalai Lama. Over to my right, this lady beside me lights up a Joint and starts passing it around to her girl friends - these girls were in their 50's okay - and they too were waiting to see HHDL!!! I'm sitting here with this Tibetan family with 2 small children, a baby and a 5 year old and we are having to inhale this smoke due to their neglegence. I politely told her to cut the crap and go smoke her joint elsewhere, which she felt embarrassed after I pointed it out to her. Anyway, So, I guess the moral of the story is that everyone is in their perfect place and YES, I learned so many things on my journey. I wouldn't take any of it back and I'm glad I got to experience everything I have done. I could of done without some of those long weekend parties, and sure, if I had known about spiritual things back then and had the right association of good people to practice with, I would have, but I didn't and I do now and that is what counts, Ciao, Cyndi Edited by Cyndi 2005-09-29 9:52 PM | ||
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This bothers me on some levels, since it smacks of fanaticism. From a lot of people I would think that it was fairly close minded, but since you seem to be fairly open, I think might be a simple case of virtue. If so, bravo Zoebird! i don't avoid it because i think it's per se bad or immoral. in fact, i have no problem with someone else doing these things if it makes them happy or if they enjoy it--and there are ritualistic and other reasons for consuming these things, as there are also health benefits. So, it's not as if i have a problem with it on that end. simply, i cannot stand the flavor, taste, or burn of alcohol. I've had sips of things many times over the years--and everything just is aweful. I simply can't drink it. I don't drink coffee either--simply because i don't like the taste. People think it's because of fanaticism or wanting to be healthy or whatever else, but really, it's taste. Because, conceptually, i have no problem with coffee, pot, or whatever else. i simply cannot consume it, so i don't. It would be kinda like asking the average person to eat a tin can or something. most of us 'just can't.' and it's not a moral judgement or anything, just the way it is. I think it may come down to a couple of things--as a baby i had to take medications for various things, most of which had that medicinal burn. so, i may have an aversion to burn sensations like medication (i don't take meds unless i absolutely have to too! LOL). I'm not fond of bitters so that may have another aspect. It's really a matter of taste. Simply, i can't abide it. And it comes at all levels, because even the ritualistic stuff it often more than i can handle deep down, and so i do alternative ritualistic elements (usually, i simply don't partake of eucharistic wine--but there is an abandoned, esoteric catholic ritual in honor of the wedding at cana that does water-to-wine-to blood of christ-->which takes a lot of 'doing' for the transubstantiation<--that has been done on my behalf before. very kind of those jebbies which refers to jesuits). one of those things i guess. Also, i had to laugh while reading the book that i'm reading now called Hindu Goddesses (forget the author, some prof from canada). In the discussion about Parvati, wife of shiva, he quotes this writing where she complains to her mother (or her mother complains to her) about shiva being a 'hemps smoker." hmm. | |||
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Did not know that MSG was a neurotoxin....very interesting. Explains mucho about headaches, etc. Thanks for the info.  | |||
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| Cyndi |
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Expert Yogi Posts: 5098 Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | |||
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| i just got a kick out of it. here we are going 'why do people connect eastern religions and pot?" and there seemed to be the answer. one thing i love about this book is how shiva, because he is sort of on the 'outskirts' of society in his natural inclinations, is really considered rather unsavory a character. there's also these descriptions about virtue being about being a part of society, refining culture, etc. the reason for the sort of shivan behavoir is to gain a boon from a god or as a form of pennance--otherwise simply being a good part of society is considered appropriate and holy behavoir. of course, this could jsut be one man's interpretation, but it's interesting nonetheless. | |||
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