Throughout my life, I have served people who have severe behavior problems. I spoken at great length with those who have stolen cars or other goods, dealt drugs, assaulted others, sexually offended, or even murdered. Even with extensive treatment, a great number of those who perform such deeds return to crime and show little remorse for their actions. As a result, many treatment providers feel ineffective with this kind of problem. During a seminar I attended,
the presenter who was a psychiatrist admitted that medical interventions do not help those who manifest serious behavior problems, though a tranquilizer may “slow down” the offending behavior. Often the medical approach is the primary initiative, and if it fails, we believe that the person is hopeless because no other method can compete with psychiatry. Contrast the medical approach to a little publicized, yet fascinating study that focuses on effects of nutrition on behavior problems.
Gesch, Hammond, Hampson, Eves, and Crowder (2002) examined whether nutritional supplements lowered occurrences of behavior problems in a young-adult prison population. These researchers solicited 231 volunteer inmates and randomly assigned them into either control or experimental groups. The experimental group received a supplement that contained 27 micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, and the control group received a gelatin capsule that resembled the supplements capsules. The prison staff and the inmates did not know the group assignments. The study’s participants completed assessments for mental health issues and intelligence. The control and experimental groups did not differ in previous criminal behavior, problem behavior during imprisonment, or mental health issues. In comparison to the untreated group, the supplement group committed 26.3% fewer behavioral infractions. Then, these researchers compared number of behavioral infractions prior to supplementation with those after the treatment and found 35.1% decrease, while the control group behavioral infractions only dropped 6.7%. The greatest change occurred in regard to serious incidents – a reduction of 37% occurred among the supplemented group.
In sum, Gesch et al (2002) found that micronutrient supplementation led to a significant decrease in prisoners’ behavioral infractions, even in an environment that is not conducive for behavior change. In this study, nutritional supplements attained what other approaches have not. The nutritional approach supplies what the body needs to carry out cognitive, emotional, sensing, and response functions. I encourage you, my reader, to seek building your body’s health through nutrition before using the commonplace approaches that accentuated weaknesses rather than build strength.
References
Gesch, C., Hammond, S., Hampson, S., Eves, A., & Crowder, M. (2002). Influence of supplementary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids on the antisocial behaviour of young adult prisoners: Randomised, placebo-controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 181, 22-28. doi:10.1192/bjp.181.1.22.
