Eat To Be Bad

Scientists have long debated the origins of violent behavior: is it nature or nurture, genes or upbringing? Are violent criminals born to be bad, or do they learn their evil ways from the people and situations that mold them throughout their lives? Now, researchers from the Health Research Institute in Illinois have proposed a third possibility—nutritional imbalances may lead to violent behavior.

In a recent study, scientists compared the blood tests of 135 assaultive men to those of 18 controls. The violent men had higher copper and lower zinc levels than the non-assaultive men, and the greater the nutritional imbalance, the more frequent was the aggressive behavior. When the violent men were treated for their copper overloads and their zinc deficiencies, their aggressive behaviors decreased significantly.

The exact role that these minerals might play in predisposing for violent behavior is not well understood, but high levels of copper have been linked to schizophrenia and hyperactivity, and zinc is known to be crucial to brain function.

Severe mineral imbalances are rare, but Americans are generally low in zinc because of the high consumption of processed and refined food. Foods especially rich in zinc include whole grains, legumes, eggs, meat and milk.

[Editor: Nutritionists working outside of the scientific mainstream have claimed for decades that nutrition was an important factor in criminal behavior.]  Based on information in: Psychology Today, Nov/Dec 1997