Bill,
Weston Price's book Nutrition and Physcial Degeneration
www.price-pottenger.org is a classic of interest to all paleodiet
people. In
it he states that "suicide has never been heard of, excpet for one
case that
was related to toothache (the toothache being inferred to have
resulted from
eating imporeted (Neolithic) foods! Written in 1939, some of it is
quite
outdated, but given the current state of knowledge and prevailing
attitudes,
it was a fantastic achievement. Perhaps if the war hadn't come,
everyone
would ahve been taking his advice long ago.

Nutrition has multiple dimensions, and all are important, especially
for the
brain. Regarding depression, omega3 intake and omega 6/3 balance are
critical www.teleport.com/~jor . Diet may take many months to help
mood.
Diet from foetal times on has effects on the STRUCTURE of the brain
which
cannot be changed.

As the brain has the highest nutritional requirements of any organ and
paleodiet has the most nutrients of all diets, paleodiet should be a
good
choice for mood disorder,


Ben Balzer


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Date:    Wed, 27 Sep 2000 14:09:16 -0700
From:    Bill Dooley <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Suicide

Sorry to raise such a morbid topic, but I've been wondering and
haven't found any information on point.

Suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S. (especially my current
home state of Nevada) and in Japan. Is suicide known at all among
traditional hunter-gatherer societies? If so, what is the incidence?

Even the ancient Greeks described melancholia, so it's not strictly a
feature of modern life. However, it may be a feature of a structured
society, where everyone _must_ find a place within the structure. I
suspect that modern life is so structured that many more people break
under the strain. Perhaps in an HG society, just about everyone can
fit in one way or another.

Bill

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