Page 13 - Fall2011

Caustic Commentary

identify the ingredients. Xian, one of the oldest cities in or spring, a team of scientists and doctors at the Queensland
China, is located at the eastern terminus of the Silk Road Brain Institute looked at routine blood samples from Dan-
(www.thirdage.com/news, December 13, 2010). ish babies. The study found that babies with low levels of
vitamin D had twice the risk of developing schizophrenia as
LOW CHOLESTEROL AND IMPULSIVITY did babies in the healthy control group (Archives of General
Low cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk Psychiatry 2010;67(9):889-894). The study reminds us of the
for attentional impulsivity in patients with mood symptoms, Inuit condition called pibloktoq. Occurring in late winter or
according to a recent study carried out at the University of early spring, the disorder involves several days of irritability
Rome. "Impulsivity is directly mentioned in the . . . diagnostic or withdrawal, a sudden excitation wherein the victim flees
criteria for several disorders and is implied in the criteria for the camp and engages in irrational and dangerous behavior,
others, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, per- convulsive seizures, a twelve-hour period of coma or stupor-
sonality disorders, mania, and substance abuse/dependence," ous sleep, and a return to normal. The best explanation for
writes study author Alfonso Troisi in the journal Psychiatry this schizophrenic behavior is vitamin D deficiency (http://
Research. Troisi notes that "evidence linking impulsivity westonaprice.org/mental/emotional-health/the-pursuit-of-
and cholesterol levels to suicide risk attests to the clinical happiness).
relevance of studying the relationship between cholesterol
levels and impulsivity." In the study of three hundred one SENIORS BENEFIT FROM HIGH CHOLESTEROL
patients in psychiatric institutions, after accounting for factors A Finnish study, reported in the Scandinavian Journal of
such as age, gender, diagnosis and current mood symptoms, Primary Health Care (2010;28:121-127), has found that the
the researchers found that lower total cholesterol levels were general health status of seniors with high cholesterol far ex-
significantly associated with increased attentional impulsiv- ceeds that of their counterparts having low cholesterol. The
ity, particularly among patients with levels below 165 mg/dl. study population consisted of four hundred ninety seniors
Troisi concludes: "The current study adds to the growing who lived on their own or with relatives. In every marker of
body of evidence pointing to the association between serum health and morbidity measured—mortality, strokes, myocar-
cholesterol and mental health. . . . Considering that attentional/ dial infarction, infectious disease or dementia—the seniors
cognitive impulsivity is a demonstrated risk factor for suicide, with the highest cholesterol fared far better. Nevertheless, the
patients presenting with low cholesterol and mood symptoms study’s authors concluded that is was not possible to make any
may warrant increased clinical attention and surveillance” conclusions about the benefits and harms of lipid-lowering
(www.medwire-news.md, June 9, 2011). But who is telling in the elderly, claiming that “the scientific evidence strongly
patients that lowering cholesterol by diet or drugs may have supports lipid lowering for primary and secondary prevention
these dire consequences? of coronary heart disease in the general population.” Which
just goes to show that old paradigms die hard!
LOW VITAMIN D
Another mental illness linked with modern dietary advice DOUBLE CAUSTIC
is schizophrenia, a disorder characterized by hallucinations, It’s hard not to be doubly caustic with the continuing examples
delusions and paranoid behavior. Schizophrenics may have of political correctness that pass for science in our universities
trouble maintaining jobs and social relationships. Researchers and in the media. “Fats stimulate binge eating” was the title
in Australia have found that newborn babies with low levels of a report in Science News on a study with rats carried out at
of vitamin D—due most likely to mom avoiding animal fats the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, Italy. Research-
and sunlight—are more likely to develop schizophrenia later ers fed rats one of four liquid diets: “fat” in the form of corn
in life. Following on previous research showing that people oil (technically an oil, but the article calls it a “fat”), protein,
with schizophrenia are more likely to be born in the winter sugar, or a “nutrition” shake combination of fat, protein and

Wise Traditions FALL 2011 FALL 2011 Wise Traditions 13

82725_WAPF_Txt.indd 13 9/15/11 2:01 PM