The influence of food on behaviour
Yesterday I saw a documentary about the influence of food on behaviour, in both people and animals.
This research is done on animals, because aggressive animals is a serious loss to the industry. Fast carbohydrates are the biggest problem. If these have released their energy, and the animal has to wait until the next meal, it becomes aggressive, because the lack of energy makes the brain function 'abnormally'. Therefore they should give them slow carbohydrates. A lack of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is also a problem.
The same applies to people. Giving prisoners better food - fruit and vegetables instead of junk food and candy - made them less aggressive, an effect that lasts about 10 days. A double blind study showed that children who daily got a pill with micronutrients, were 50% less aggressive, and studied 100% faster (which I find almost unbelievable, but that's what they said). If this becomes a standard practice, this might make children a lot smarter and nicer - see also my previous post! I'm afraid some parents will object to this, saying that pills "aren't necessary", that they should eat fruit instead, but these pills are cheaper, more effective and safe.
I wonder how hard it would be for fastfood chains to add micronutrients to their food, they have a lot of customers. I don't think the cost is big, considering the price of the pills in stores, and the price to add them en masse is probably even less. But small margins probably matter to these companies, and the somewhat addictive effect of junkfood even more, so the sugar probably won't be taken out.
This research is done on animals, because aggressive animals is a serious loss to the industry. Fast carbohydrates are the biggest problem. If these have released their energy, and the animal has to wait until the next meal, it becomes aggressive, because the lack of energy makes the brain function 'abnormally'. Therefore they should give them slow carbohydrates. A lack of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is also a problem.
The same applies to people. Giving prisoners better food - fruit and vegetables instead of junk food and candy - made them less aggressive, an effect that lasts about 10 days. A double blind study showed that children who daily got a pill with micronutrients, were 50% less aggressive, and studied 100% faster (which I find almost unbelievable, but that's what they said). If this becomes a standard practice, this might make children a lot smarter and nicer - see also my previous post! I'm afraid some parents will object to this, saying that pills "aren't necessary", that they should eat fruit instead, but these pills are cheaper, more effective and safe.
I wonder how hard it would be for fastfood chains to add micronutrients to their food, they have a lot of customers. I don't think the cost is big, considering the price of the pills in stores, and the price to add them en masse is probably even less. But small margins probably matter to these companies, and the somewhat addictive effect of junkfood even more, so the sugar probably won't be taken out.
posted by Mark VP at
9:41 AM
2 Comments:
Top 10 Most Practical Blogs for Entrepreneurs
Anita Campbell looks at the latest trends affecting small businesses and entrepreneurs ... Sacred Cow Dung - There are a number of really good blogs out there by venture capitalists about the VC market, entrepreneurship, and so on, but Christian Mayaud's blog is for me the one that most consistently provides content that is actionable, ...
Find out how to buy and sell anything, like things related to georgia highway construction on interest free credit and pay back whenever you want! Exchange FREE ads on any topic, like georgia highway construction!
By
Anonymous, at 10:08 AM
: )
By
High Power Rocketry, at 11:56 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home