Monday, January 31, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords, Madness and Violent Behavior: The Food Connection.

"The U.S. is still reeling from another tragedy -- the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and the murder of several civilians during the attempt.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Giffords

Many are asking what the cause might have been -- whether it was pervasive, over-the-top violent rhetoric in the culture, or simply mental psychosis.
But, even if the former, there is still the underlying cause of mental psychosis to consider.
And what if people are lashing out with such destructive force, at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and now Arizona, not because of what they are hearing, but at least in part because of what they are eating?

"Loughner bought a doughnut, energy bars at a gas station at 2:34 a.m., source says"
It's not presently known whether Jared Loughner, the young man who shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killed several civilians, was taking medication, but there are indications that he did not have a healthful diet."    
"I have long thought, it is not what’s eating our young people that causes them to lash out with such destructive force, but, what they are eating."  says Kimberly Hartke: http://hartkeisonline.com/food-politics/madness-and-violent-behavior-the-food-connection/
Kimberly Hartke is the publicist for the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nutrition education non-profit based in Washington, D.C.
________________

Complex and Hidden Brain in Gut Makes Stomachaches and Butterflies

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/23/science/complex-and-hidden-brain-in-gut-makes-stomachaches-and-butterflies.html
_______________

Angry white male syndrome

"Hamburgers and fries are rarely accused of causing violent behaviour in male youth who subsist on them. But the standard junk food diet of North America is dangerously low in many nutrients, notably the omega fatty acids found most easily in fish and walnuts, fats that were likely crucial in early human evolution.
I say “dangerously low” not only because of the body’s physical need for such fats, but because these fats deliver mental health benefits that counter depression. Washington-based National Institute of Health clinician Joseph Hibbeln created a momentary stir in 2001 with research showing lower murder rates among prisoners who ate fish regularly.

Harvard’s Andrew Stoll wrote about EFAs as “the new pharmacology of aggression” in his 2001 book, The Omega-3 Connection, and expressed “hope that at least part of the answer” to such problems as intermittent explosive disorder “may be as simple as omega-3 fatty acid.”"  From: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=178682
_________________

Once again, we come back to "You Are What You Eat"!
_________________

Today:

Jay wanted to cash a check, I thought we were going to do some work first as it was going to be such a beautiful day, but he wanted to go right away.
 
But I still had to drive to Huntsville (TX) to pick up a door handle and lock for the guest house that I had ordered at McCoys.  Neither Home Depot or Lowes had the right one, so as the door had been bought at McCoys, that is where I had to order it.  So we decided that he could cash it in Huntsville.

As Convenience RV store is on the way, we picked up the cargo trailer's water tank drain faucet, so we can get that installed on the outside of the trailer.  But they only sold the tank filling water line, that white and turquoise plastic stuff, and the vent and drain line in 10' lengths.

Jay looked in my Huntsville phone book, but still took us to the wrong bank.  We finally went to the one in the Huntsville Walmart, and as you can imagine, anyone that receives a government check was there.  So while he was waiting in the long line, I picked up a few groceries.  I was done before he was.  It is a much nicer store than our Walmart in Conroe, as it is newer, larger, with wider aisles. 

We picked up the lock at McCoys, and tried to get the barb fittings for the water tank, but they didn't have them, so we just came home, as it was lunch time.
Later, I had to go into our little town to our very well stocked True Value to buy the rest of the barb fittings, plus the drain and vent line.

I still don't have the tank filler water line, so I will have to drive down to Camperland RV store another day.

3 comments:

Gypsy said...

I don't think we should hand this guy his defense - "the donuts made me do it". Millions of people eat junk food every day, and foods laced with chemicals, pesticides, etc., and they don't go out and murder. I'm much in favor of eating natural, untainted, untampered-with good food, but a person who would murder has something else drastically wrong with them than their diet, in my opinion.

pidge said...

I am with Gypsy on this one. Eating better foods is certainly the way we should go, but I think we will learn his up-bringing was not a good one. I think his brain was already damaged and his Dad being so up-tight might have made him snap. I guess we will learn more as time goes by.

LakeConroePenny,TX said...

Thank you for your comments, Sandra and Pidge, but I do think 'the donuts made him do it'.
Not necessarily the ones he had just eaten, but all the bad food he had been eating for most of his life. If he has AHDD, that would explain why his Dad was so uptight, and he had such a difficult childhood.
They don't grow out of it, I know, I have a 42 year old son with AHDD. I contribute it to what I was eating when I was pregnant with him. They just don't think the same. He gets in so many muddles, as he can't think to do first things first. I took him to a 'hyperactivity'(as it was called then) doctor, and the recommended diet changed his behavior, but he doesn't stick to it now. Just like Jay, who also has it, and eats all the wrong food.

There is a lot of info out there about how diet affect behavior, such as:

"In a new review of two dozen scientific studies, the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) contends that food dyes and certain foods can adversely affect children’s behavior. CSPI, in a 32-page report titled “Diet, ADHD, and Behavior,” charges that federal agencies, professional organizations, and the food industry ignore the growing evidence that diet affects behavior." From: http://www.cspinet.org/new/adhdpr.html

"There's a double threat out there that may help explain poor school performance, criminal behavior, alcoholism, and the growing numbers of Alzheimer's patients. The possible culprits: food additives and junky diets. Dr. Russell Blaylock says it's a double whammy because of high sugar content and starchy carbohydrates. Those carbs, too, act like sugar in the body."

It is just a tragedy.