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Prison staff were the first to notice the decrease in violence, says Gesch, while the inmates themselves did not perceive any differences in their behavior. The Dutch Ministry of Justice was so impressed by the findings that in 2004 to 2005 it led its own pilot study of 221 prisoners and found a 47 percent decrease in disciplinary offenses.
Though the research is promising, the use of vitamins remains far from widespread because there has still been no hard evidence of their direct impact on the brain, says Peter Rogers, a professor of biological psychology at the University of Bristol. “While nutrition will surely have some impact on behavior, I am personally doubtful that, in the well-nourished population of the UK, feeding nutrients could make such a difference,” he says. “But I would love to be proven wrong, because if the hypothesis were true, it would surely be groundbreaking.”
Gesch, who is now coordinating the Wellcome Trust study, has a preliminary explanation for the results. “The law tends to assume that criminal behavior is entirely a matter of free will. But how can you exercise free will without involving your brain, and how can your brain function properly without proper nutrients?” he says. “The brain is a fatty organ, and our modern diet does not provide enough nutrients for it.”
Because of the brain’s composition, fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 could play a crucial role. Ultimately, if the hypothesis is confirmed, says Gesch, this will serve to highlight that more emphasis should be put on making diets in schools, prisons, and workplaces healthier and more balanced so that we can make these places more harmonious and productive.
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