Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 That was an oversight on my part, and I believe that I was misled by the product labels into thinking the company would never use yeast extract. But I was wrong. They do use the additive, and they apparently have made a conscious decision to do so.
Let's hope they find the courage to reverse that decision and do what's right for consumers' health. This is a company that I believe wants to do the right thing. It's up to us, the consumers, to remind them what that is.
End the use of yeast extract. And save Amy from hidden ingredients. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| And given the company's ability to produce surprisingly tasteful vegetarian cuisine without having to resort to hidden sources of MSG, it certainly appears to have the resources to reformulate four of its products to be yeast extract free.
NewsTarget thanks the hundreds of readers who contacted Amy's Kitchen about their use of yeast extract, and we thank Amy's Kitchen for responding in a constructive way. We will continue to follow this story and issue reports and updates here on NewsTarget.com. We've also updated our original story on Amy's Kitchen to reflect this new information. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Yep, you heard me correctly. yeast extract. It's right on the label, right after "spices" and right before "turmeric." And as I write this, I have a screaming headache that was caused by it, and which will last probably for another six hours.
I made the mistake, you see, of trusting Amy's Kitchen products to contain no yeast extract. So I did something stupid: I ate a food product without reading the label. And I got nailed by an ingredient that I thought Amy's Kitchen never used. |
| For more than a year now, I've been recommending Amy's Kitchen as a source of quality, organic frozen foods made without yeast extract. As you may recall, yeast extract is a natural-sounding additive that food companies use as a flavor enhancer replacement for MSG. Yet it contains free glutamate, and for many people, it has the same effect as MSG -- migraine headaches, chemical taste enhancement and harm to the nervous system according to doctors like Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins.
Editors' Note: This story has been updated with new information from Amy's Kitchen. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| REPPED: A recent NewsTarget article on Amy's Kitchen (a well-known producer of organic food products) resulted in a groundswell of customer comments being sent to the Amy's Kitchen company requesting they stop using yeast extract in their products. The large number of requests garnered the attention of Amy's Kitchen decision makers, and NewsTarget was soon contacted by Bill Twieg, the Technical Director of Amy's Kitchen, who offered additional information presented here. |
| Bill Twieg explained that the reader response resulted in, "The most emails we had ever received in one day" and indicated that due to Amy's Kitchen's commitment to serving the health-conscious community, the owner of the company (Andy Berliner) was willing to work with their product formulators to find a way to possibly remove yeast extract from the four products that currently contain it. |
| Background information: yeast extract contains from 6% - 12% MSG (or "free glutamate") and is used by food companies who want to add an MSG-like taste experience to their foods without using MSG on the label. It causes extreme headaches in some people, and according to Dr. Russell Blaylock, the author of Excitotoxins, MSG is damaging to the brain, nervous system, endocrine system and even promotes obesity by interfering with appetite regulation. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 You'll never find yeast in my foods, except for one whole food supplement that we have. For those who are purists, we supplement yeast for the B vitamin supplement. You should not have yeast in your dog food. It can actually become toxic to the liver. It becomes very hard for the body to break down. Unfortunately, a lot of people will get into the habit of using a lot of nutritional yeast in their diet. They will start to get sore joints, and they don't consider it's the yeast. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| There are many other so-called "natural" food companies that aren't even worth contacting, since they have no desire to remove yeast extract or to even listen to the natural health community about hidden sources of MSG. But Amy's Kitchen is willing to listen.
The fact that Amy's Kitchen responded in a constructive way to our original article is good news, indeed. It means the company is sensitive to issues of food additives and that it is engaged in a constructive dialog intended to improve its product line and food safety. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| As you may recall, yeast extract is a natural-sounding additive that food companies use as a flavor enhancer replacement for MSG. Yet it contains free glutamate, and for many people, it has the same effect as MSG -- migraine headaches, chemical taste enhancement and harm to the nervous system according to doctors like Russell Blaylock, author of Excitotoxins.
Editors' Note: This story has been updated with new information from Amy's Kitchen. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| For those who are purists, we supplement yeast for the B vitamin supplement. You should not have yeast in your dog food. It can actually become toxic to the liver. It becomes very hard for the body to break down. Unfortunately, a lot of people will get into the habit of using a lot of nutritional yeast in their diet. They will start to get sore joints, and they don't consider it's the yeast. When I used to work with humans as a naturopathic doctor, I couldn't believe the amount of people who were coming to me as heavy yeast users. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Here's the ingredients list for Yves "Savory Veggie" veggie burgers:
Water, oats, brown rice, onions, cheddar cheese (milk, bacterial culture, salt, calcium chloride, enzymes), mushrooms, flax meal, canola oil, red peppers, flaxseeds, dextrose, salt, textured soy protein (with caramel color), modified vegetable gum, natural cheese flavor, corn starch, torula yeast, hydrolyzed wheat protein, autolyzed yeast extract, spices, carrageenan, garlic powder, tomato powder. [Emphasis added.]
I get a headache just thinking about eating any of those foods. |
| Avoid all foods -- even natural or vegetarian foods -- made with yeast extract or torula yeast. And don't spend another dime with a "natural" food company that misleads consumers by hiding chemical taste enhancers on the label with words that disguise their true purpose. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Several products do use tamari, another ingredient that contains a small amount of free glutamate, but tamari is usually not problematic for consumers in the same way that yeast extract can be, possibly due to the process used to create tamari.
The "no hidden ingredients" claim that currently appears on some Amy's Kitchen products, we were told, is currently being phased in across the Amy's Kitchen product line and will be appearing on more products soon. The lack of such a descriptive claim on any current Amy's Kitchen product in no way means the product contains hidden ingredients, Mr. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Avoid all foods -- even natural or vegetarian foods -- made with yeast extract or torula yeast. And don't spend another dime with a "natural" food company that misleads consumers by hiding chemical taste enhancers on the label with words that disguise their true purpose. |
| If you're looking for hidden forms of MSG chemicals on food labels, look for yeast extract and torula yeast, and anything that is hydrolyzed or autolyzed. Autolyzed or hydrolyzed vegetable proteins are also hidden sources of MSG, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock, author of "Excitotoxins," and perhaps the world's top expert on neurotoxic substances found in the food supply. |
| For example, the Garden of Eatin' "Salsa Reds" product contains organic red corn, expeller pressed oleic safflower oil and/or sunflower oil, rice flour, dehydrated tomato, salt, cultured skim milk, dehydrated onion and garlic, dehydrated green and red bell peppers, spices, contains 2% or less of asparagus powder, barley malt syrup, yeast extract, cocoa powder, natural flavor, extractives of paprika. [Emphasis added.]
There it is, listed right there in the ingredients list. But guess what? The promotional text for the product doesn't mention yeast extract. Strange coincidence, huh? |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| They will start to get sore joints, and they don't consider it's the yeast. When I used to work with humans as a naturopathic doctor, I couldn't believe the amount of people who were coming to me as heavy yeast users. We took them off the yeast, and we reversed a lot of symptoms just by doing that. So, this got me interested in how this affects animals, too. I started to see old dogs with arthritic joints, for instance. We took them off all yeast products, and they would start to recover.
This interview continues in part 3 (published tomorrow), where Dr. Lisa Newman discusses pet nutrition. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 The problem is that yeast extract is a hidden source of MSG (monosodium glutamate), according to my sources (see below).
MSG, you may know, is classified as an excitotoxin by Dr. Russell Blaylock, who is a doctor, author, and expert on chemicals that damage the nervous system. MSG is well known to cause migraine headaches, seizures, and other nervous system disorders. Dr. Blaylock's research also shows that MSG damages the endocrine system and causes obesity due to impaired appetite control regulation (causes you to be unable to stop eating). |
| Dr Julian Whitaker, The Memory Solution
AVERY PUBLISHING GROUP, 1999
Page 80
Often MSG is difficult to avoid, as it also occurs in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein, gelatin, yeast extracts, calcium and sodium caseinate, vegetable broth, whey, smoke flavoring, malt extracts, and several other food ingredients—without appearing on the label.
Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC, Editor-in-Chief, The Natural Pharmacy
Prima Health, 1999
Page 80
The best known example is MSG (monosodium glutamate). |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Frank was using nutritional yeast and RNA derived from yeast, which has been in health food stores for years.
Dr. Frank found that when he had patients consume a combination of sardines and fish that were high in RNA, along with B complex vitamins and RNA from yeast, he could take almost anyone who was over 50 and in three or four weeks have them looking 10 or 15 years younger. These people would start feeling energetic, and have greater endurance and aerobic capacity.
Our ideas about RNA developed over time. First, we were eating and experimenting with sardines. Then we discovered Dr. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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| Most processed foods contain excitotoxins, notably any kind of commercial taste or flavor enhancers, such as caseinate, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, soy protein extract, yeast extract, or beef stock. These may be labeled as natural flavoring and are especially prevalent in soups, sauces, and gravies.
Walter Last, The Natural Way to Heal: 65 Ways to Create Superior Health
Hampton Roads Publishing Company , 2004
Page 193
Even though MSG is usually found in packaged (and therefore, labeled) foods, its presence isn't always obvious. |
| First, if you are feeding commercial foods, check the label to see if it contains textured protein, yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein, glutamic acid, gelatin, or sodium or calcium caseinate. These substances always contain MSG. Other ingredients that often contain MSG include whey protein, soy protein, soy sauce, carrageenan or vegetable gum, anything fermented, chicken, beef or pork smoke flavorings. |
| Gary Null, The Complete Encyclopedia Of Natural Healing: A comprehensive A-Z listing of common and chronic illnesses and their proven natural treatments
Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2001
Page 204
Most processed foods contain excitotoxins, especially any type of commercial taste or flavor enhancer, such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein; soy protein extract; yeast extract; beef stock; commercial soups, sauces, and gravies; caseinate; and aspartame. These excitotoxins may simply be labeled as "natural" flavorings. All processed foods should be avoided by persons with Parkinson's disease. |
| Marion, Anti-Aging Manual
Information Pioneers, 1999
Page 60
Cheese, smoked fish, yogurt, and yeast extracts contain an ingredient known as tyramine, which has been known to increase susceptibility to migraines. Sodium nitrate, common in cold cuts and frankfurters, is yet another cause. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 I" would be infections. The yeast would be the main ones. Most chronic sinusitis and most spastic colons come from yeast overgrowth, or Candida. We've been saying this for well over a decade -- and the doctors say there's no such thing as yeast overgrowth. We know that you can knock out chronic sinusitis. I like to use a mix of natural and prescription things, like avoiding sugar. I like grapefruit seed extract, acidophilus -- which is healthy bacteria -- but you have to use the acid. |
Dr Ron Roberts
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 Yeast products, too, should be avoided by chronic asthmatics, as a substance known to cause excessive mucus secretion, constriction of airways and activation of inflammatory cells (all part of asthmatic reactions) is found in yeast. yeast is a good source of many vitamins, but you may have to find an alternative in your diet.
Supermarket convenience' foods are usually heavily refined, with preservatives and artificial colourings being added. The preparation also leads to loss of micro-nutrients, particularly vitamins Bl, B2, B3, C, E and zinc. |
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