Have you ever sat and thought about, 'what ever happened to good old fashion soup'? When you go to the grocery store and purchase a can of soup, it doesn't matter which brand; have you ever taken a good look at the label? Most, (not all) but most canned soups now days contains ingredients that are completely unnecessary for a desirable tasting soup. And in a lot of cases, even the food products within the soup are derived from previously processed foods or condensed foods and food products.

For instance_ the label on the can of soup that I am holding right now reads:

Water, Beef, Carrots, Potatoes, Frozen Peas, Celery, Modified food starch, Salt, MSG, Wheat flour, Hydrolyzed corn protein, Dehydrated onions, Caramel color, Beef extract, Onion powder, Garlic powder, Spices.

First off_ Let's talk about this MSG. What is MSG? MSG is (Monosodium Glutamate). According to the MSG Corporation, it is nothing more than a natural ingredient and food enhancer. That it is a sodium salt of glutamic acid, and one of the most common amino acids found in nature; that there is no difference between the glutamate found in natural foods than that added as MSG. You can look it up yourself, for they even have their own website now.

If this is all true, then why is it that so many people have strange or allergic reactions to it? I am one of them. Within 20 minutes of eating anything that contains MSG, I get a pounding headache that incapacitates me for at least 2 hours. There has even been several occasions where my sight went blurry for about the same amount of time. I have been tested to see if perhaps it may have been due to the food itself and not the MSG, but I can eat all of the foods separately without any problem. I am also able to eat table salt on anything I want without any problems. Something isn't making any sense here.

Now let's get on to some of the other ingredients such as Modified food starch, Hydrolyzed corn protein, and Caramel color. If potatoes are added to the soup, they will produce a thickening agent by themselves. And why use corn protein; why not just add corn? Why do you need to add coloring to soup? Do you honestly believe that our grandmothers added all this nonsense to their homemade soups and stews? It is possible that they may have added some bouillon for added flavor, and yes, there is bouillon that does not contain MSG. However, if soup and stew is done correctly, none of these added off the wall ingredients are needed. Soups and stews will flavor themselves naturally with the fresh meats and vegetables that are added. The longer it cooks and simmers, the deeper the flavor will be.