Nutrition and Mental Health
Dr. Price found that indigenous people living on traditional diets weren't just physically healthy, they also tended to have a low crime rate and smile a lot. In contrast, he observed that people living off of modern processed foods were not only physically weaker and more prone to disease, they also had more problems with crime, depression, anxiety and other “mental” health problems.
Dr. Price's research isn't the only research showing that nutrition affects mental health. One can see a similar pattern in the research of Dr. Francis Pottenger, who conducted experiments feeding different diets to various groups of cats.
In Dr. Pottenger's experiments, cat’s fed a healthy diet were not only fairly disease free with healthy bones and teeth, they were also emotionally well-adjusted, playful and easy to approach. In contrast, cats fed nutritionally deficient diets developed problems with teeth and bones, were prone to parasites and diseases and exhibited major behavioral changes.
Cats fed only cooked milk or meat scraps often became aggressive and unapproachable, or extremely docile. Cats fed sweetened condensed milk, which contains sugar, developed anxiety and other neurological problems.
Another example of the affect nutrition has on mental health as well as physical health is found in Ann Wigmore’s book, Why Suffer? She tells of a man who raised mice for pet stores. A restaurant owner convinced him to feed his mice left overs from the restaurant to save money. Within weeks the mice were not only getting sick, they were killing each other! When he switched back to natural foods, the mice became healthy again. He pointed out that this was food that people are eating every day!
Look around at the high rates of crime, depression, anxiety, obsession and other problems in modern society that obviously involve a lack of mental and emotional well-being. It's pretty obvious that our "junk food" diets are leading to "junk food" brains.
Steven Horne
