Much attention is now being given to the "mind-body connection" but in many cases it might better be described as the "body-mind connection". An unhealthy condition of the body will be reflected in a person's thought patterns and emotional reactions.

Significant information is already available about violence as related to vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Vitamin/mineral supplementation may in fact reduce violent tendencies in some cases. However, there is a more profiund dietary source of violence which has not been properly addressed.

Many violent acts can be attributed to mood swings. Modern nutritional studies point to allergic/addictive food reactions and excessive intake of sugar as two major sources of mood swings. Remember the "Twinkie" defense successfully used in the Harvey Milk episode some years ago.

Allergic/addictive food reactions can create a constant state of inner tension which radiates throughout the nervous system. An individual experiencing this high level of tension is like a loaded gun ready to go off at any moment.

Moderate to severe depression also result from allergic/addictive reactions to food. For example, it has been noted in numerous research papers that people who have an allergy to wheat can enter a depressed state within a few hours or even days after ingesting it.

Most of us are certainly aware of the "sugar blues!" Processed sugar and sugared products artificially raise the body's blood sugar level. The high is followed by an inevitable drop. When the drop occurs, an idividual may experience severe irritability, frustration, anger and depression.

Another possible dietary source of violence is our increased reliance on fast foods. Fast foods are almost always cooked and processed; therefore they lack the living enzymes which the body needs in order to feel really satisfied. In other words, as the amount of fast food increases, the amount of fresh, raw food usually decreases. Fresh, raw foods are needed to supply the body with essential elements not available in cooked, processed food.

This modern phenomenon produces a physical state which is described as "cellular starvation." No matter how much cooked, processed foods we eat, we still feel severely depleted and dissatisfied. Since our emotional and physical states are closely linked, this physical dissatisfaction communicates itself emotionally through frustration, anger and irritability. People who feel constantly dissatisfied have a low "flash point."

I believe that most violence stems from anger, and that most anger can be traced to frustration. The most basic, and yet invisible, frustration comes from feeling continuously dissatisfied at the cellular level. Add this to the negative emotional states resulting from allergic/addictive reactions and you have an ongoing potential for violence.

Many mental and emotional problems have been related to dietary intake. Manic depression (bipolar disorder), schizophrenia and some apparently psychotic disorders have responded favorably to dietary intervention. Who knows how many violent acts towards others could have been avoided if the dietary connection had been known.

Individuals suffering from manic depression can become extremely violent, even uncontrollably homicidal, during the manic phase of their cycle. At the other end of the cycle, the depressive phase, they can become equaly suicidal.

A toxic person generally has an acid pH level which results from the ingestion of animal proteins, refined sugars and cooked fats. These foods are porly digested and create toxic residues which are then absorbed into the bloodstream. Conversely, the more alkaline the body, the more serene or calm the individual. Increased intake of living foods helps to create an alkaline pH level.

Why has it taken so long to recognize a possible link between diet and mental illness? One reason is the heavy emphasis which medical science has placed upon the treatment of symptoms rather than causes. This tendency to emphasize treatment of symptoms has created a massive medical education system. The system pays surprisingly little attention to diet, particularly its relation to both physiological and psychological illnesses.

Interestingly enough, dietary intervention strategies can often simultaneously remedy physical and psychological problems. By dealing with the underlying physiological causes, the symptoms of emotional and mental illness often reverse themselves to a significant degree.

Trying to deal with the subject of violence as a symptom of a general societal illness is not likely to produce a satisfactory resolution of the problem. Instead, we must reach back to the actual source of violence in each individual. Sick, toxic people have a built-in proclivity for violence. Healthy people with a feeling of overall well-being are much less prone to violent acts toward others and toward themselves.

Recent experiments with living food dietary intervention in relation to physical and psychological illness have been conducted on a small scale and produced amazing results. When the amount of cooked, processed food is decreased and the amount of fresh, raw food is increased many chonic or non-responsive mental and physical symptoms can often be significantly reduced or even reversed.

It only makes sense that the increased use of living food in the individual diet would assist in reducing violent tendencies. At the cellular level, the body feels well fed, nourished and satisfied. An alkaline pH level produces a sense of calmness and contentment. These improvements in the the physical condition are reflected in the overall psychological state.

Likewise, when certain foods which may be allerginic to a given individual are removed or controlled, the typical related addictive reactions do not occur. When allergic/addictive substances are withheld, the individual is often no longer subject to uncontrollable mood dswings which can result in violent behavior.

According to recent surveys, the average American diet consists of less than 18% fresh, raw foods. The percentage of living foods consumed by a given society may well be related to the level of violence in that society.

Cooked, processed foods do not possess the nutrients needed to satisfy human enzyme requirements. Their increased use results in toxic, devitalized and violence-prone individuals. By increasing the amount of freash, raw foods in the diet, and reducing the intake of toxic, allergenic and acid-producing foods, each person can experience a much more positive, non-violent emotional state.

American Living Foods Institute
1147 E. Broadway
Suite 188
Glendale, CA 91205