aminos huh?

[sara]

I received Alissa's book and am truly loving it! I have a couple questions though. What on earth is Bragg liquid aminos? And in her book, she mentions that she exercises in the morning before she eats. I quess I thought that you should eat first so that you'll have some fuel to move you. Can someone please explain? Thanks bunches!

[Wendy]

Information:

Bragg Liquid Aminos is a Certified NON-GMO liquid protein concentrate, derived from soybeans, that contains the following Essential and Non-essential Amino Acids in naturally occurring amounts:




Alanine
Arginine
Aspartic Acid
Glutamic Acid
Glycine
Histidine
Isoleucine

Leucine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Proline
Serine
Threonine
Tyrosine
Valine
Lysine


The reason people exercise in the morning before eating is that the body will burn fat first when it doesn't have food to work on. If you want to see fast results, I suggest that you try this in the morning. If you want to see faster results, get a trainer, and work out twice a day. As a former gym rat, I can attest that it really works.

[siempresam]

It's the healthy alternative to soy sauce. At least that is what we have used it for mainly. You can find Bragg in health food stores, and GNC stores. There is also a raw Apple Cider Vinegar also by Bragg.

Here is their website (http://www.bragg.com/products/liquidaminos.html) so you can see the product packaging. Good stuff!

[VeganVixen]

btw ,exercising w/ food in your stomach could be hard on your body (youd be digesting while exercising -which could result in lesser digested food,low energy and cramping or bloating ) I prefer to exercise on an empty stomach

[Mike]

I'm not sure if braggs is healthy or not. I disagree with many things written by Natural Hygienists, and the article below was written by a Natural Hygienist.

Personally, I don't use braggs. I use Nama Shoyu for the soy sauce taste. For amino acids I eat Bee Pollen, Flax seeds, Hemp Seeds, Spirulina, chlorella, maca, and other foods which contain all essential amino acids.

http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.php?f=1&i=66009&t=66000#reply_66009
BRAGG LIQUID AMINOS: THE SCAM REVEALED
by David Klein, 1997
http://www.livingnutrition.com

Below is information I received from an associate on the saltiness of Bragg Liquid Aminos. Below is the text from her letter. Before I get to it, I’ll give some background information on her, so you’ll know where she is coming from.

Griselda Blazey has a B.S. in biology, a M.S. is biochemistry, and a Ph.D. (actually a post-doctorate) in endocrinology. She also has a degree from the now defunct College of Dietary Therapy in England. She authored a book, "Food Matters", and a workbook called, "Nutritional Transformation", and used to teach a course by that name. She has been teaching cell physiology, metabolic disorders, and nutrition at Life Chiropractic College West, in San Leandro, California for the past four years. The first time I heard her theory on the saltiness of Bragg Liquid Aminos was during a lecture she gave at a San Francisco Living Foods Support Group meeting a few years ago. Here is the text from her recent letter:

"The other topic you asked about in your letter was about how Bragg Aminos are made. Once again, here’s an armchair biologist’s answer, meaning that I don’t know this for sure, but it’s the only thing that makes scientific sense. If I were given some vegetable protein and were asked to make it into amino acids without spending a lot of money on it, I would boil it up with some hydrochloric acid. This would break it down to amino acids, but of course it would be too acidic to be palatable. So I would then neutralize the acid with baking soda, causing the reaction mixture to look like this:

2HCl + Na2CO3 ===> 2NaCl + CO2 + H2O

So the salt gets made by mistake as it were. Now someone (I forget who) followed up on this and contacted the Bragg company to ask if this was how they did it, and they denied it. However, they didn’t disclose how they do actually do it, so in the absence of correct information, and with an extremely salty taste in their product, I still consider the above process to play at least some part in their procedure."

That’s it. We don’t know for sure. All I know is that Griselda has an impressive mind for original theoretical scientific thought, and I sure felt awful after having a bit of Bragg a several years ago, just like I did when after having some dulse flakes in raw food recipes - I think that they heat the dulse to drive out the moisture so that it is chopable, thus cooking it and making the "deadly" form of sodium chloride.

Hope you find her theory interesting and worthy of second-thinking the inclusion of the Bragg product in recipes.

* * *

From the http://www.living-foods.com Forum
Subject: RE: Bragg liquid aminos IS POISON
Author: Dave Klein, board moderator (209-239-210-172.oak.jps.net)
Date: 08-06-1999 14:34

It looks like we finally got some proof from the Bragg company that the liquid aminos product is heat processed and made with hydrochloric acid. Salt apparently forms in its processing, plus glutamic acid which is the same poison which is in MSG. Many many raw fooders have apparently been lied to and duped by the Bragg who have until recently stated that the product is all raw and not processed with heat or chemicals. And many many folks like myself become ill very soon after ingesting the crap. Sea salt is less deadly than Bragg Liquid Aminos, but then I prefer tomatoes to get minerals salts in my diet when I want to enjoy salty flavors. Try adding sun
dried tomatoes to salads too.

* * *

From the http://www.living-foods.com Forum
“My point” by Michael
18/06/99 05:59:17

After reading the speculations about Bragg Liquid Aminos posted on this forum and hearing horror stories from others (my sister talked with a man who said he quit using it because it gave him nightmares) I decided to just jump right out and ask the Bragg company themselves.

Decide for yourself if you feel like using it.

1. Is hydrochloric acid used at any time in the production of Bragg Liquid Aminos? I have been told that it is used to separate the aminos from the soybeans (like isolated soy protein) and gives it the salty flavor.

Yes, our product is hydrolized in the process.

2. Are you aware of the dangerous effects of glutamic acid within the human body? Do you plan on taking measures to remove glutamic acid from Bragg Liquid Aminos?

The glutamic acid is naturally occurring and cannot be isolated to remove it as an individual amino acid. In our laboratory results analyses show that the Liquid Aminos contain no monosodium glutamate.

3. If BLA is neither heat processed nor fermented, could you please explain why it does not turn rancid at room temperature as opposed to requiring refrigeration?

Our liquid aminos does go rancid if kept out of the cupboard or out of the refrigerator. We suggest storing in a cupboard or the refrigerator. It is the same reason ketchup or soy sauce, or jam, or peanut butter do not go bad if kept in the cupboard. Eventually they will all go bad.


* * *

A group e-mail message:
November 2, 1998

Hi all:

A while back we were had chatted here and questioned whether above has msg or not and Patricia Bragg said NO.

We'll here's some info. that says yes, and FDA had her remove her NO MSG label. You can check on the documentation self. A friend sent this is who a researcher. I don't have his permission to release his name, but this should ans. the question on YES, above has MSG per FDA.

"MSG-sensitive people react to any glutamic acid that has been freed from protein through a manufacturing process providing that they ingest an amount that exceeds their individual tolerance for the substance. Consequently, consumers refer to all processed free glutamic acid as MSG. This fact was acknowledged by the FDA in the "FDA Backgrounder" dated August 31, 1995.

Under Section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act it is deceptive and misleading to say "No MSG" or "No MSG added" on a processed food label that contains free glutamic acid. It is for this reason that the FDA forced Live Products, manufacturer of Bragg Liquid Aminos, to remove the words "No MSG" from the product's label."

Hugs,
Carol, CO

***

Some “Salty” Advice by Art Baker

Forget the Bragg Liquid Aminos and try this: Dehydrate celery and lemon. As the celery dries out it hardens and becomes thin like floss. Place both in a coffee grinder and pulverize into powder. The powder is very salty, with a slight celery flavor, making it a great addition to guacamole, salsa, raw soups, crackers, etc.

[joy]

Thanks, Mike. After reading similar info months ago, I also stopped using Bragg's. The sketchiness of the company's responses cinched it for me.

However, like a lot of ingredients (balsamic, non-raw agave, pasteurized nut butters), it is something new raw-foodists might consider including as they transition. It provides flavors that might be familiar enough to keep them from being entirely disconnected with SAD foods.

[sara]

Thanks to everyone so much for the info. I will definitely try exercising on an empty stomach. I am a former gym rat too, but my trainer made me eat, but we were also lifting. And thank you Mike! I actually already have the Nama Shoyu, and I think I'll just stick with that. I really appreciated the scientific explanation. I was a Marine Biology major until a year ago, so I could actually follow that...scary. :)

[JustMe]

Can anyone tell me if the raw soy sauce tastes like nonraw soy sauce? I haven't been able to buy any yet. Thanks!

[tracyinfo]

Can anyone tell me if the raw soy sauce tastes like nonraw soy sauce? I haven't been able to buy any yet. Thanks!

I myself cannot taste the difference between regular soy sauce and Nama Shoyu (the raw soy sauce).

[vegangelist]

yes. ditto on the braggs. i dumped my last bottle of it quite some time back. overwhelming amounts of negative on the stuff....and some scary stuff too!

nama is healthier than that stuff imo. you can sub nama shoyu for braggs 1 to 1 in recipes. i would recommend doing just that.

and re: nama taste--i think that the nama is a bit milder, mellower tasting than non raw soy sauce. actually, the best non-raw substitute for nama shoyu is organic, low-sodium, wheat-free tamari. those have equal (approx) sodium content. if you try to substitute regular tamari you will be over salted b/c regular tamari is much higher sodium than nama.

kristi