Norwegian to Test Fish As Crime Fighter

[Samuel]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Norway-Anti-Crime-Diet.html

Norwegian to Test Fish As Crime Fighter

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 21, 2005
Filed at 8:15 p.m. ET

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- A Norwegian researcher is starting a study to find out whether feeding prisoners a diet heavy on fish is a good way to fight crime, the ANB news agency reported Friday.

Researcher Anita Lill Hansen wants to see whether there is a connection between the amount of oily fish that people consume, and problems such as controlling impulsive actions, violent outbursts and lack of concentration.

Those are traits commonplace among prisoners in Norwegian jails, the University of Bergen researcher said.

The project is being planned in cooperation with the national center for seafood research, and the Norwegian prison authorities in western Norway.

''A lot of crimes are committed on impulse,'' Leif Waage, a prison service spokesman told ANB. If fatty oil found in fish ''has a positive effect on people's impulse control, we hope it could result in a reduction in crime.''

Waage said depending on the outcome of the study, Norwegian prisoners could face a lot more fatty fish on their dinner plates.

Hansen said earlier studies have indicated a link between the human heart rate and a person's ability to plan their actions, and that omega-3 fatty acid, a fish fat extract, is good for the heart.

''I want to see whether there is a connection between low omega-3 levels and problem behavior,'' she told ANB.

''The plan is to have two test groups,'' among inmates who volunteer for the study, Hansen said. One will be given extra omega-3 and the other group will not. She will then look for any differences in behavior.

Hansen did not immediately return calls from the Associated Press, and it was not clear from the news agency story when the study would be completed.

[Duparc]

While I am currently unable to make reference to my point that I am raising here, there have, however, been earlier similar studies regarding food, nutrition, and behaviour, some which were conducted in prisons, some in other institutions (read Dr Richard Mackarness's book, "Not All in The Mind") and some in schools. The results of those studies demonstrated a relationship between behaviour and diet. Regretfully, today, those studies lie, forgotten, in the annals of medical literature.

With regard to criminality and prisoners; once released from custody criminals return home and resort to their usual diets (just a point).

With regard also to polyunsaturated oil see the following two related articles: www.second-opinions.co.uk/fats_and_cancer.html (http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/fats_and_cancer.html) and an article by Dr Raymond Peat, "Unsaturated Vegetable oils: Toxic" (sorry, try search engine) which may be of some interest to readers of this thread.

(PS: Another interesting and not unrelated article is at: www.river-centre.org/StarvSympt.html (http://www.river-centre.org/StarvSympt.html)).

[TBoneMitch]

Duparc,

one of the chapters in Dr Weston Price's «Nutrition and Physical Degeneration» classic from 1930 is devoted to that question.

He shows that inmates and behavorially troubled children exhibit the same physical abnormalities, indicative of defective nutrition, than native peoples when they adopt our «modern» refined diet.

Fascinating stuff, and like you said, ignored and forgotten by the whole of society along with doctors, psychologists, and lawmakers.

[kebaldwin]

I wish they would feed them a low carb diet and supplements, including fish oil. They would all be choir boys then :-)

[Duparc]

Another interesting study which indirectly serves to prove the same point is Pottenger's personal notes on his observations of his cat's study (but not solely on cats). His family continue to provide the information for a small charge but, my apologies, as I do not have the URL to hand. Briefly, he shows that the modern diet not only causes health problems but also behavioural, emotional, and physical changes and which affects subsequent generations.

Regretfully, many of those related studies have been judiciously ignored and, almost predictively, this current one too will end at the bottom of the garbage-heap unless, of course, there is some profit to be made from it by the food conglomerates.