|
|
|
|
|
By Jasmine Arborio on Monday November 26, @08:06AM
from the Hey, wait a minute dept.
HANOI (JNS) _ Bread, long believed to be the staff of life, is actually an addictive, pernicious narcotic, researchers at the Mekong Delta Institute reported Friday.
A study of 15,000 adult males over four years in six Western European countries found more than 99 percent were addicted to various forms of highly processed, fermented wheat.
While long used in its less dangerous whole form by indigenous tribes who cultivated small plots for personal consumption, the cultivation, processing and marketing of bleached, refined wheat is now controlled by several huge cartels, the researchers reported Friday.
Among their findings:
_ Half of all bread eaters score below average on standardized tests.
_ 95 percent of all crimes occur within a day of eating bread.
_ Most addicts feed their habits three-to-four times daily, leaving little time to do anything other than sleep off their fix.
In addition to violent behavior, long-term use can lead to obesity, diabetes, lethargy, brain damage and fetishism, particularly a fascination with the female breast.
More funding is needed for research and public awareness and education campaigns, the researchers said.
The study was funded by the Kato Institute, a joint program of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, the Pan-Vietnamese Economic Development Corporation and Uncle Ben's.
Posted by Alex at November 26, 2001 08:06 AM