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Date:
Tue, 17 Dec 2002 08:48:17 -0500
From:
Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide
Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
Dear Mr. Helliker, I thught you might like to read a new email I just received:
Dear Steve:
Do you remember the item you sent your e-mail list a couple of months ago about the school in Appleton, Wisconsin that all but eliminated violence, discipline problems, and poor academic performance by banning junk food and helping kids eat healthy, nutritious meals (http://www.stratiawire.com/article.asp?id=655)? Well, it appears, from this BJP article, that the Appleton experience was not unique.
Two things in particular impress me about this study. First, that the researchers were able to reduce antisocial incidents by so much -- 35 per cent, or more than a third -- merely by giving the test subjects some fairly basic essential nutrients that were clearly lacking in their diet before. Second, that these results happened so quickly -- in a mere two weeks. If only these people hadn't been handicapped by biochemical imbalances in their brains earlier -- many (most?) of them may have been able to stay on the straight and narrow and avoid much unhappiness in their lives.
And it makes you wonder how much more than 35 per cent could be achieved if, in addition to popping a few multivitamin capsules for a couple of weeks, these people could have grown up in environments free from poisonous chemicals that, we know, transform whole foods into nutrient-deficient or even toxic foods, create havoc with people's ability to learn, reduce their stress tolerance, and spawn a multitude of physical illnesses. 50 per cent? 75 per cent? 90 per cent?
Joe
Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on the antisocial behaviour of young adult prisoners Randomised, placebo-controlled trial
C. BERNARD GESCH, CQSW University Laboratory of Physiology, University of Oxford, UK
SEAN M. HAMMOND, PhD
Department of Applied Psychology, University College Cork, Ireland
SARAH E. HAMPSON, PhD
Department of Psychology
ANITA EVES, PhD
School of Management Studies for the Service Sector, University of Surrey, UK
MARTIN J. CROWDER, PhD
Department of Mathematics, Imperial College, London, UK
Correspondence: C. Bernard Gesch
University Laboratory of Physiology
University of Oxford
Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PT, UK
Declaration of interest: The research was supported by a grant from the research charity Natural Justice (see Acknowledgements) and managed from the University of Surrey. Scotia Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Unigreg Ltd supplied nutritional supplements.
Background: There is evidence that offenders consume diets lacking in essential nutrients and this could adversely affect their behaviour.
Aims: To test empirically if physiologically adequate intakes of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids cause a reduction in antisocial behaviour.
Method: Experimental, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial of nutritional supplements on 231 young adult prisoners, comparing disciplinary offences before and during supplementation.
Results: Compared with placebos, those receiving the active capsules committed an average of 26.3% (95% CI 8.3-44.33%) fewer offences (P=0.03, two-tailed). Compared to baseline, the effect on those taking active supplements for a minimum of 2 weeks (n=172) was an average 35.1% (95% CI 16.3-53.9%) reduction of offences (P<0.001, two-tailed), whereas placebos remained within standard error.
Conclusions: Antisocial behaviour in prisons, including violence, are reduced by vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids with similar implications for those eating poor diets in the community.
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