Recent research suggests that an excess of omega-6 fatty acid coupled with a lack of omega-3 fatty acid, a combination common in the typical highly-processed Western diet, could be causing significant development problems in brain structures, resulting in aggressive and violent behavior.
An American researcher, Joseph Hibbeln, has conducted experiments in the United States. Other researchers have completed similar studies at a maximum security prison in the United Kingdom in which prisoners convicted of violent crimes were administered a series of supplements, chief among them omega-3 fish oils. The result has been that assaults and violent incidents in the prison decreased by 26 percent (Felicity Lawrence, "Omega-3, Junk Food and the Link Between Violence and What We Eat," The Guardian, Oct. 17, 2006).
Hibbeln's research suggests that omega-3 oils are essential to proper brain function. The effective functioning of serotonin and dopamine seem especially critical, as they must work efficiently to avoid depression. When a person is without enough omega-3, he or she is more susceptible to violence and aggression.
Over the past century, the modern Western diet has achieved an excess of omega-6 oils (destructive to brain function) through the excessive use of soy, corn and sunflower oils in foods, and a corresponding lack of consumption of fish, fish oils and green leafy vegetables with omega-3 oils.
