You Are What You.....

While most people are aware that diet is important, it is easy to forget that what we eat has massive consequences that go far beyond the cosmetic. It's also easy to simply accept social trends (such as the trend towards processed packaged foods) and information from possibly biased sources instead of questioning the assumptions we have about food and checking up on sources. This entry aims to provide basic information on how ideas about food reach us, affect our choices, and finally affect our health.

Diet and Behaviour

The recent study on the correlation between diet and behaviour in one set of identical twins, showing a dramatic increase in IQ test results and decrease in discipline problems in the twin on an additive-free diet, is only the latest in a series of similar studies. Dr Bernard Gesch, a research scientist in physiology, carried out a Home Office-backed study on inmates at a maximum security facility in Aylesbury which had dramatic results: among those inmates on a regime of dietary supplements, serious disciplinary offences (including acts of violence) dropped by 37% - once the study was concluded and the prisoners returned to their usual diets, the prison staff reported a rise in violence against them of 40%.

During his presentation to the Associate Parliamentary Food And Health Forum (FHF) regarding the Aylesbury experiment, Dr Gesch outlined nine previous studies by a number of researchers on both sides of the Atlantic drawing strong relationships between diet and behaviour in prison or school situations dating from between 1976 and 2003 - not one of which was funded for follow-up. He also points out that the diet of the general population has changed dramatically over the past few decades from fresh whole foods to highly refined and processed packaged foods - it is also worth noting that our intake of animal products is drastically higher than it was before WWII, and at the same time livestock has become more exposed to chemicals (herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics, etc.) than ever before, leading to unprecedented levels of pollution of groundwater in both Britain and America; at the same time, levels of physical activity have dropped alarmingly. Dr Gesch lists in his presentation the many deficiencies in trace elements detected in the offenders at Aylesbury.

Dr Joseph Hibbeln5 followed Dr Gesch's presentation by pointing out that the change in diet has resulted in dramatic changes in the ratio of Omega fatty acids consumed by Americans, and that the intake of these essential fatty acids is crucial to the formation of the brain. In other words, the formation of every system and function of the body is affected by diet, and the average western diet is not only lower in nutritional value than it was a few decades ago, but even the healthiest diet is lower in nutrients due to the rapid deterioration of topsoil in the age of industrial farming. Dr Hibbeln referenced five major studies on links between food and behaviour, and added that Dr Gesch's conclusions were in line with cross-cultural epidemiological6 and long-term studies on links between diet and behaviour, and with the known 'neurochemical mechanism(s) related to violence and impulsive behaviours'.

To make matters worse, heavy drug use can have an adverse impact on the absorption and retention of nutrients, and many prisoners either have drug problems on entering the prison system or acquire one once inside. Further, Dr Gesch's Aylesbury study points to poor dietary choices made by prisoners, which perhaps points to a general lack of awareness about nutrition among prisoners (disproportionately drawn from poorer sections of society due to a number of factors), and may indicate that the general public is not as well educated on diet as is usually assumed. The influence of food advertising, especially during childhood (the crucial period for the physiological impact of nutrients), may well play a significant role in the dietary choices made both by prisoners and the general public.

As seen in the FHF presentation, Gesch and Hibbeln are not alone in their conclusions. The nine studies Dr Gesch cited and the five specific studies cited by Dr Hibbeln are only part of the growing body of evidence since the 1970s that strongly supports a link between diet and behaviour. In 1997, The Sunday Times referenced several studies on the correlation between low levels of zinc and anti-social behaviour and ADHD. Similarly, links between fatty acids, dyslexia, and behavioural problems such as ADHD were found by researchers from Oxford University and London's Imperial College School of Medicine during a study on children with dyslexia and behavioural problems in Northern Ireland. Prof. Ian Town of Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences in NZ is currently conducting a long-term study of the role of iron deficiency in behaviour, and, as a result of a study on the link between diet and behaviour in schoolchildren by Dr Charles Pollak7, the Scottish Executive is rethinking its policy on school lunches. Initial research into the effects of diet on aging show that a poor diet in early life leads to an inability to use anti-oxidants, and so to early aging and death in animals; further research will be undertaken to determine whether the same holds true in humans.

Therefore, 'You Are What You.....Eat'