Aggression and Violence

Poverty and violence seem to go together. People in poverty in the US tend to eat poor diets—diets that are essentially junk food. People of color are disproportionately poor, economically and nutritionally. They also tend to have more mental illness and are more likely to be in prison. It’s possible that these factors are all related in a vicious spiral, that poverty creates poor diets and poor diets create more poverty, more violence, more incarceration.

A study by the Justice Policy Institute reports that the number of African-American men in American prisons has increased 500 percent since 1980. There are more African-American men in prison than there are in college. One of many factors that may have contributed to this situation is diet.

When the people in the current prison population were children, approximately half of all African-American children lived in poverty. Today that has improved so that one-third live in poverty--still too many.

It is extraordinarily difficult for a person in poverty to eat a healthy, natural diet. The poor tend to drink soda and eat junk food. Their diet is rich in the unhealthy fats, sugars and salt--and poor in the healthy fats. They tend to live in cities where access to fresh vegetables and fruits is difficult.

Some fats, known as essential fatty acids (EFA), are “essential” for a healthy brain. Without the EFAs the brain has a reduced ability to manage stress and tends toward primitive behaviors which are violent and addictive.

EFAs are necessary to build healthy cell membranes for all the cells in our bodies. For optimal functioning the cells must be able to recognize nutrients in their surroundings and take those nutrients into the cell through the cell wall. The cells must also get rid of their internal waste by passing it through the cell wall. Without EFAs to maintain healthy cell membranes both the nutrient absorption and the elimination of waste are compromised. In fact, without EFAs every cell in the body begins to struggle, therefore every organ begins to struggle, including the brain.

Research by Dr. Hibbeln at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland has shown that people with violent behavior tend to have low levels of essential fatty acids in their bodies.

So what to do?

Solving the problems of crime and poverty is beyond the scope of this short paper. However, almost everyone can eat a Mediterranean Diet which is not an expensive diet. In many cities community gardens are providing fresh organic produce where it was previously unavailable.

Above all, avoid junk food with excess fat, trans fat, salt and sugar.

Summary

A common factor in addictions, violence and mental illness is a brain that isn’t working at its best. A healthy diet isn’t the only requirement for a healthy brain, but it is a factor. So even if a person is struggling with grief, economic problems or racism, a healthy diet will benefit them in their struggle and perhaps give them the added support they need to succeed.

References

Vincent Schiraldi and Jason Ziedenberg, “Cellblocks or Classrooms?: The Funding of Higher Education and Corrections and It's Impact on African American Men,” Justice Policy Institute, 09/01/02

Hibbeln JR, Bissette G, Umhau JC, Georgo DT. Omega-3 status and cerebrospinal fluid corticotrophin releasing hormone in perpetrators of domestic violence. Biol Psychiatry. 56(11):895-897

Hibbeln JR, Nieminen LR, Lands WE. Increasing homicide rates and linoleic acid consumption among five Western countries, 1961-2000. Lipids. 39(12):1207-1213

Hibbeln JR (2001): “Seafood consumption and homicide mortality.” World Rev Nutr Diet 85:41– 46.

Diet and Violence

Diet and Violence

Mediterranean Diet

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