Hilary Burrage

Animal and land husbandry are rich with examples of how scientific research doesn’t always mix easily with politics.
Extraordinary intervention excepted, we are about to see the hugely controversial beginning of massive badger culls authorised by DEFRA to in an attempt to eradicate Bovine (cattle) TB – aka bTB – across parts of the English countryside which some see as our enduring, unchanging birthright, where contented cows, cosy badger setts and comfortable farmers all happily co-exist….

A similar version of this post has also been published in The Huffington Post.

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Abuse, Trauma and Dissociation: Understanding And Working Towards Recovery

Facilitated by Jacqui Dillon and Eleanor Longden

26th-27th November 2012, Carlton Hill Meeting House, LEEDS.

A rare opportunity to work with trainers with both personal and professional experience, awareness and skills in the understanding and treatment of complex trauma.

Demand is expected to be high so please book early to avoid disappointment.

The cost for two days’  training  (lunch not included)  is £190

A limited number of reduced rate places are available for those on a low income.  Please e-mail for more details

Payment is due 7 days prior to the event and cancellations under 10 days will be required to pay in full

To book a place, or for more information, please contact

Jacqui Dillon  jacquidillon333@aol.com (0795 163 5033)

Eleanor Longden  eleanorlongden@gmail.com (0782 455 3926)

Stop The Badger Cull

Responsible department: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I urge  the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to STOP  the planned cull of badgers.

· Over 70% of the badger population in large areas of the country will be killed – many of them healthy.

· Independent scientific studies have shown that culling would be of little help in reducing bovine TB, and even suggest that it could make things worse in some areas.

The government needs to  stop the cull and implement the more sustainable and humane solution of both a vaccination programme for badgers and cattle, along with improved testing and biosecurity.

Please sign Dr Brian May CBE‘s e petition by clicking here https://submissions.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257

A Roundup of the latest from Food and Behaviour Research

What’s in the News?

Amino Acid Supplements may offer autism promise

Intake of common nutritional supplements containing amino acids could help to combat a unique form of autism, according to new research published in the journal Science. 

Source:  Nutraingredients – 7 Sept 2012 – Read this article here.

See abstract and link to paper here:  Novarino et al 2012 – Mutations in BCKD-kinase Lead to a Potentially Treatable Form of Autism with Epilepsy

Increased intake of Omega-3 fatty acids improves children’s reading and behaviour

A new study by the University of Oxford has shown that daily supplements of omega-3 fatty acids (Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) improved the reading and behaviour of underperforming children in mainstream primary schools. The researchers worked with children aged between seven and nine who had underperformed in standardised reading tests.

Source:  FAB Research – 6 Sept 2012 – Read the full article here.

See abstract and link to freely-available paper here: Richardson et al 2012 – Docosahexaenoic Acid for Reading, Cognition and Behavior in Children Aged 7–9 Years: A Randomized, Controlled Trial (The DOLAB Study)

Researchers uncover how green tea compound boosts brain power

The green tea compound epigallocatechin-3 (EGCG) provides benefits to memory and special learning by boosting the production of important neural cells, say researchers from China. Source:  Nutraingredients – 6 Sept 2012 – Read this article here.

Sugar junkies take note: a calorific diet isn’t just bad for your body, it may also trigger Alzheimer’s disease

Suzanne De La Monte’s rats were disoriented and confused. Navigating their way around a circular water maze – a common memory test for rodents – they quickly forgot where they were, and couldn’t figure out how to locate the hidden, submerged safety platform. Instead, they splashed around aimlessly. “They were demented. They couldn’t learn or remember,” says de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Source:  SOTT.net  (New Scientist) – 3 Sept 2012 – Read the full article here.

Obesity bad for the brain by hastening cognitive decline

Being overweight is not just bad for waistlines but for brains too, say researchers who have linked obesity to declining mental performance. Experts are not sure why this might be, but say metabolic changes such as high blood sugar and raised cholesterol are likely to be involved.

Obesity has already been tipped as a risk factor for dementia. 

Source:  BBC News – 21 Aug 2012 – Read this article here.

See abstract and link to paper here:  Singh-Manoux et al 2012 – Obesity phenotypes in midlife and cognition in early old age: The Whitehall II cohort study

Kids’ Diet Can Impact IQ

A new Australian study suggests that a healthy diet during childhood may influence a child’s intelligence quotient (IQ).  Researchers compared kids who were fed healthy diets in early age to those who had a dietary intake that included more junk food.

Source:  PsycheCentral – 8 Aug 2012 – Read this article here.

See abstract and link to paper here:  Smithers et al 2012 – Dietary patterns at 6, 15 and 24 months of age are associated with IQ at 8 years of age

Upcoming Events

19-20 Sept 2012 – Chicago, US – The Social Determinants of Urban Mental Health: Paving the Way Forward

Organised by:  The Adler School of Professional Psychology, Institute of Social Inclusion, Chicago

Today, more than half of all global humanity lives in urban areas. That figure is projected to grow to more than 60 percent by 2050. Although cities possess conditions that promote good mental health, they also possess conditions – poverty, conflict, and social isolation – that are harmful to mental health. In fact, research demonstrates that city living is linked to increased risk for mental health problems.  More information here.

10 Oct 2012 – Human nutrition through the ‘seven ages’ – Royal Society of Medicine, London

Organised by: The Royal Society of Medicine
This event will follow the varying nutritional needs, stage by stage through the lifecycle: preconception to infancy, childhood and puberty, performance and adulthood into later life.  Note the basic differences between demands of body and brain. Look for ways of generating lifecycle health.  More information here.

18 Oct 2012 – Mental Illness In The 21st Century – Truro, Cornwall

Organised by: The Chy Sawel Project  – A registered charity
Chy-Sawel is a Charity. This will be their 6th Conference, an event they now aim to hold annually.

Mental illness, in its many guises, is the country’s major medical problem – past and current research shows that an holistic, nutrition-based treatment approach is the way forward – a theme our speakers will emphasize. We are dedicated primarily to making this information available to all but with an ultimate goal of opening our own Treatment Centre”.

More information here.

The Bookstore

Please save our Amazon web-links in your ‘Favourites’ or ‘Bookmarks’.  Using these for any and all of your on-line shopping from Amazon will help to support FAB Research *at no cost to you*.  If just 10% of the visitors to our website were to use our links for their book purchases only over the coming year (let alone their other shopping), the revenue would allow FAB Research to run two additional conferences each year for parents, teachers and health professionals – so please bookmark those links NOW!  You’ll find these at the FAB Research Bookstore.

Food Rules – An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan

For thousands of years, humans have eaten well and stayed healthy without nutritional scientists or even knowing what an antioxidant is.  So which of the modern world’s hundreds of rules do we actually need?  Eat Food.  Not Too Much.  Mostly Plants.  Check it out here.

Devil In The Milk. Illness, health and politics – A1 and A2 Milk by Keith Woodford

This groundbreaking book is the first to be published internationally that examines the link between one of the proteins in the milk we drink and a range of serious illnesses, including heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, autism and schizophrenia. These health problems are linked to a tiny protein fragment that is formed when we digest A1 beta-casein, a milk protein produced by many cows in New Zealand, Australia and other western countries.  More information here.
They Are What You Feed Them by Dr Alex Richardson

As popular as ever since first published in 2006, Dr Alex Richardson exposes the truth about what children eat – or fail to eat – and the impact of this on their behaviour, learning and mood.  She explains why common culprit foods can be so damaging – and so irresistible – and shows how to bring the best choices into your child’s diet. A few simple changes can be all it takes to make the world of difference.  Purchase your copy here.

This E-News Alert gives only a few highlights from the hundreds of online resources available at http://www.fabresearch.org.  These include News articles, Research papers, Books, Handouts, Fact Sheets, Events and links to other websites.  Please use the search box (or the filters we’ve provided) to find what’s most useful to you.  Our website is updated regularly with new information for everyone interested in how nutrition and diet can affect behaviour, learning and mood.

 

Best wishes

Fiona O’Fee | Business Administrator

E-mail:  fiona@fabresearch.org

Food and Behaviour Research

The Green House | Beechwood Business Park | Inverness | IV2 3BL

Tel:  01463 667318 

Web:  www.fabresearch.org

Scottish Registered Charity No:  SC 034604

the void

Benefit bashers are likely to be shocked that the annual cost of the Queen dwarfs the amount spent on benefits for long term unemployed people – but the figures reveal it to be the truth.

In January 2011 just 4,200 people had been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for over 5 years, representing 0.3% of the total number of unemployed claimants and costing around £14 million a year.  Astonishingly Britain’s biggest benefit scrounger, the Queen, costs over £38 million a year, almost three times the amount spent on long term claimants.

The total annual cost for long term claimants per person is staggeringly low, at just 28 pence – less than a penny a week.  Whilst every penny does indeed count at the moment, is this really worth the endless hours spent deriding and denouncing benefit scroungers?  You must be a right tight-arsed bastard if you think so.

Cunning Daily…

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Sugar found near two-star system | COSMOS magazine

Sugar found near two-star system | COSMOS magazine.