Food and Behavior

Barbara Reed Stitt is the author of a book called Food and Behavior. In 1963, Barbara went to work as a probation officer in Akron and very quickly discovered that most of the youthful offenders she dealt with were suffering from the ramifications of eating a junk food diet, and that it was one of the causes of their criminal behavior. She began prescribing a diet much like The Wellness Forum's diet, with a total ban on sugar, white flour, chemical additives, caffeine and alcohol. Many of the probationers were discovered to have heavy metals in their bloodstreams, and were referred for chelation therapy.

By 1973, her programs had become so successful that judges in the area were referring criminals to her for diet therapy with instructions to adopt and stick with her diet. On June 2, 1977, the Wall Street Journal featured a front-page article on her work. As a result of testifying before a legislative committee in Los Angeles County, California, all junk and processed foods were removed from the Los Angeles juvenile correctional facilities.

Barbara's work was based on the premise that a malnourished central nervous system will inevitably lead to serious physical and behavioral problems, which medication and the usual intervention methods will not change.

Common syndromes Barbara discovered while working with her charges were:

• Hypoglycemia. These people were eating such high amounts of refined sugar and went for such long periods of time without eating that reactive hypoglycemia was common. In severe cases this can lead to the brain cells literally being starved. As blood sugar drops, the cerebrum, the area of the brain responsible for thought, learning, and moral and social behavior, starts to shut down and the brain diverts its dwindling energy resources to the brain stem, which controls more primitive responses like the drive for food and sex, aggressive/defensive instincts, etc. Individuals in this state exhibit apprehension, trembling, sweating, vertigo, loss of coordination, irritability and amnesia. These symptoms can be a prelude to complete blackouts - the person may appear to function normally but have no recollection of what took place. Additionally, hypoglycemics can experience bizarre hallucinations and other sensory distortions.
• This can lead to alcohol abuse, another common denominator, because alcohol can lift blood sugar levels more quickly than any other substance. A research group determined in 1973 that 97% of all alcoholics are hypoglycemic, and that this may be one driving factor for this chemical dependency. This is important since studies show that over half of all juveniles are arrested while under the influence of alcohol.
• MIT researchers have determined that individuals with low blood levels of serotonin may suffer from depression, insomnia and unusually aggressive behavior. Diets that reduce meat consumption and increase vegetable and grain consumption tend to deliver more tryptophan to the brain than diets high in meat only. Complex carbohydrates are serotonin precursors as well.
• Milk allergies - milk consumption was very high among most offenders
• No breakfast
• Lots of junk foods

Barbara does not suggest that we ignore the fact that there is a social aspect of crime. She simply suggests that we would be prudent to look at treating the whole person when trying to get rid of criminal behavior, much in the way that I have been suggesting for years we treat the whole person when dealing with cancer, heart disease, and other disorders.

You can order this book by calling (800) 558-3535.