Junk Food to be Taken off Prison Menus
in a Bid to Reduce Violence
By Auslan Cramb

Chips, pies and sweets are to be taken off the menu at three prisons during a study intended to reduce violence.

Initial trials last year at a prison in Aylesbury, Bucks, suggested that raising the levels of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids in the diet of teenage prisoners reduced anti-social behaviour.

The charity Natural Justice will now carry out more detailed trials for the Home Office and the Scottish Prison Service at jails including Polmont young offenders institute in central Scotland to discovere which elements in the diet determine behaviour.

Bernard Gesch, a physiologist of Oxford University, is leading the study, which will take palce this summer. He said "Research suggests that we may have seriously under-estimated the importance of nutrition for our social behaviour. "Since the 1950s there has been a ten-fold increase in offences. How else an we explain that but by diet? "It is not down to genetics. The main change over that period has been in nutrients".

The £2 million project will involve participants being prevented from eating large amounts of high fat, high carbohydrate foods, sweets and sugary products. They will eat more fruit and vegetables and will take nutrient capsules.

Last year a team led by Mr Gesch carried out a study that suggested inmates, who took supplements, committed 26 percent fewer disciplinary offences than those who unknowingly took placebo pills.

I hope that this study is carried out properly, with effective nutrition and supplements, unlike the one Roche did recently with the resulting headlines in the papers "vitamin supplements are useless!!"

I work with young men who are constantly drinking coke, Dr. Pepper, and Lucozade and it definitely affects their behaviour. Of course, I have done my best to educate them and in fact one 18 year old showed me that he had bought a carton of fresh orange juice one morning instead, but it didn't last long, I think he was missing the kick he got from these other drinks (which are often addictive).

I am also working with two people who have cancer and again I am trying my best and I have succeeded with one of them of whom I heard last week is eating apricot kernels (I have yet to find out what else he is doing as he has been off). However, most of the staff think I am rather "odd" as they are completely out of touch with what is going on and all this is new to them. It is quite a challenge working with young men (I am being educated myself in more ways than one (not necessarily good!).
The Daily Telegraph, Feb 2003