I read a story today in the Guardian today about a study from New Scientist. The study showed that giving violent youth offenders vitamin supplements decreased their violent offenses by 37%. I remember when this study originally came out, in 2002(link for New Scientist subscribers only), and I couldn't believe back then that people seemed shocked that malnutrition led to violent and/or serious crime. I was also pretty disgusted that the US and UK governments decided that it was OK to prescribe powerful drugs for offenders in jail, even minors, but deemed a vitamin supplement unnecessary...but that's a blog for another day.

It's amazing what we, in the modern era, eat, and still we expect to maintain happy healthy lives. It's as if most people assume that it's McDonald's job to give you all the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. Somehow, someway, we've got to change the modern world's diet, and fast food simply isn't the answer.

As an example, here's an average daily diet for one of the offenders in the trial:

Breakfast: nothing (asleep)

Mid morning: nothing (asleep)

Lunchtime: 4 or 5 cups of coffee with milk and 2½ heaped teaspoons of sugar

Mid afternoon: 3 or 4 cups of coffee with milk and 2½ heaped sugars

Tea: chips, egg, ketchup, 2 slices of white bread, 5 cups of tea or coffee with milk and sugar

Evening: 5 cups of tea or coffee with milk and sugar, 20 cigarettes, £2 worth of sweets, cakes and if money available 3 or 4 pints of beer.

The sad fact is, this is probably what the kid ate his entire life, and probably all he's ever known. Sadly, I don't think there's any possible way his brain chemistry can be normal given that diet. Our culture's diet is actually making criminals, and then our society is prescribing them expensive, powerful drugs in an attempt to counteract it. Does that make any sense?