Page 14 - Fall2012

Caustic Commentary

ers about the potentially harmful effects these energy-saving These bulbs also contain mercury, which can escape if the
bulbs can have on the skin. Conducted by Stony Brook Univer- bulbs are broken. So much for the argument that these bulbs
sity and New York State Stem Cell Science, the study found are environmentally friendly. By the way, skin damage was
that UV light emitted from the bulbs can cause skin damage. further enhanced when low dosages of TiO2 nano particles
The researchers found that cracks in the fluorescent bulbs' were introduced to the skin cells prior to exposure. TiO2 is a
phosphor coatings yielded significant levels of UVC and UVA chemical found in sunblock (Photochemistry and Photobiol-
in all of the bulbs. Skin damage from exposure to the bulbs ogy 20 Jul 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2012.01192.x).
was consistent with harm caused by ultraviolent radiation.

IS PELLAGRA THE ROOT CAUSE OF VIOLENT SHOOTING RAMPAGES?

Why don’t more public health experts examine the root causes of the mass violence incidents happening across
America and around the world? School shootings, church shootings, and now a theatre massacre. Are they too readily
accepting these outbreaks of madness-induced mayhem?
The medical system gets the blame for not “catching” these perpetrators before they strike. The gun lobby gets criti-
cized for fighting tougher regulations. Violent video game producers feel the heat of stinging criticism.
But what if the solution is right under our noses? If only someone would bother to sniff it out!
What if our heavy reliance on processed and fast foods is leading to widespread nutrient imbalances?
Dr. Weston A. Price found that primitive tribes eating a whole foods natural diet high in animal foods and animal fat
had no need for prisons. The moral character of these isolated people was strong. They were not incapacitated mentally or
physically. In his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Price describes his travels around the globe, and he marveled
at the stellar character of these people who had no access to modern manufactured foods.
Could the cause of this violence be niacin deficiency? Consider the fact that while pellagra was being investigated as
an interesting curiosity in Europe, it was becoming a way of life in the southern United States. The general diet consisted
of cornmeal and grits, soda biscuits, corn syrup and salt pork; and even when they had enough food, the southerners
developed sore skin and mouths, became thin and listless, and suffered from depression, hallucinations, irritability and
other mental disorders. The clinical description of the typical poor southerner any time between about 1900 and 1940
comes alive in the novels of William Faulkner—the brooding sullenness, suddenly shattered by outbursts of irrational anger,
persecution mania, the feeling of people living in a cruel and demented world of their own. Doctors knew very well that
diet was at the bottom of all the misery they saw around them and that disease could be kept at bay by a balanced food
supply.
Compare the modern junk-food diet to the diet of poor southerners: cereals, food bars, corn chips, crackers and the
high fructose corn syrup found in energy drinks and sodas. Not too dissimilar! Vitamin B or niacin deficiency is the cause
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of pellagra.
Google "pellagra" and "violence" and you will find a letter to a U.S. senator by Barbara Stitt, an author who once
worked as a probation officer. She found that changing the diet of ex-offenders eliminated the hostility and other symptoms
that would lead them to act in a criminal fashion. Her book is aptly titled Food & Behavior: A Natural Connection and her
work seems to confirm the findings of Dr. Price on nutritional injury and the role it plays in juvenile delinquency and adult
crimes.
A review of Barbara’s book mentions her concern about reactive hypoglycemia, sub-clinical pellagra and vitamin B
deficiencies being at the root of violent actions. She writes, “The startling part of sub-clinical pellagra, like hypoglycemia,
is that the symptoms also mirror those of schizophrenia, a problem so widespread that those who suffer from it occupy
one out of every four hospital beds in the United States.”
As Stitt points out, the symptoms of neuropsychiatric disorders are similar to those of vitamin B deficiency: fears, fa-
tigue, depression, paranoia, confusion, anger, hostility, rage, suicidal tendencies and anxiety. B deficiencies, for example,
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are well known for causing mental disturbances such as paranoia, mental confusion and dementia.
by Kimberly Hartke, the publicist for the Weston A. Price Foundation. Visit her website at hartkeisonline.com.
14 Wise Traditions FALL 2012 FALL 2012 Wise Traditions

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