Crime and violence are increasing, especially among young people. Yes despite the best intentions of rehabilitation workers, counseling and attempts at reform are often futile. Some people seem destined to say in trouble with the law all their lives.

A few doctors and scientists now take the view that much crime, particularly violent crime, is caused by some biological malfunction of the criminal’s brain – sometimes triggered by food allergies and chemical exposure. Not that sociological factors do not play a role.

But biological factors such as allergy have been ignored too long, say the researchers. In a speech to the California Commission on the Prevention of Crime and Violence, Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., said that because traditional approach to rehabilitation of criminals haven’t been very successful, it's time to examine the influence and correction of other factors, specially:

• Food allergies,
• Food additives,
• Excess sugar intake,
• Pesticides and herbicides inadvertently added to food and water,
• Fumes from industrial and other environmental sources and
• Alcohol use.

Interestingly enough, many of those same factors have been found to be responsible for allergy induced hyperactivity, learning problems and aggression, which are often directly related to criminal behavior. Dr. Rimland described the brain as a ”soggy computer” – a compact information and control center that’s 85 percent water by weight.

Doctors already know that if an individual takes in too much of a toxic metal like lead, or too little of an essential nutrient like thiamine, something will go wrong. By the same token, if the person eats a food or breathes a substance which is basically harmless but to which he or she happens to be allergic – wheat, pollen, aspirin or whatever – the brain will act up.

The result can be distortions of judgment and control that can easily lead to antisocial and criminal behavior. ”It's well known that allergies may cause such symptoms as hay fever, asthma and hives,” says Dr. Rimland.

”Since it is so widely recognized that the nasal membranes, the lungs and the skin can be affected by a food or other substances to which some individuals are intolerant, (it's not surprising that) the brain, the most intricate and biochemically complicated organ in body, could also be effected by allergies.”

”Individuals who have cerebral (brain) allergies to wheat, beef, milk, corn and other common foods are likely to experience chronic problems such as headaches, feelings in violence or, surprisingly, specific compulsions such as to steal or commit arson,” says Dr. Rimbaland.

”Individuals who are allergic to or who cannot tolerate substances (which they eat or encounter less frequently) such as oysters, walnuts or formaldehyde, may experience unexpected and uncontrolled episodes of aberrant behavior with intervening periods of trouble free behavior. ”The ’brain allergy’ concept has important implication for correcting criminal behavior through diet,” says Dr. Rimland.

As it happens, many of the dietary changes designed to improve criminal behavior have involved the elimination of nonnutritive items such as sugar and foods additives. Alexander Schauss, a noted criminologist, reports the following sequence of events as a military prison in Seattle. On November 1, 1978, white flour was replaced with whole wheat.

On February 3, 1979, sugar was eliminated – including all pastries, cakes, ice cream, soft drinks and Kool-Aid. Records subsequently showed that after the menu changes, discipline problems among the inmates were down 12 percent from the same period a year before (Diet, Crime and Delinquency, Parker House, 1980).

But removing any incriminated allergens can correct criminal behavior. Doris J. Rapp, M.D., an allergist in Buffalo, New York, tells of one uncooperative young man who had a history of stealing. During the nine months that Dr. Rapp treated his allergies, the stealing stopped.

When therapy was discontinued (at his mother’s request), stealing resumed. Three other patients in Dr. Rapp’s care had a recurrence of stealing when allergy treatment was discontinued (Journal of Learning Disabilities, November, 1979). ”One wonders how many children and adults have been drugged and placed in institutions because of violent behavior related to adverse food reactions,” says Schauss.

Because 90 percent of delinquents have reading difficulties and other learning problems, we suggest that parents of troublesome children also read the entry on Learning Disorders. The entries on Aggression and Hyperactivity may also be helpful.