However, involuntary exposure to a defective diet and other environmental behaviour-modifying factors raises inconvenient but important legal questions concerning individual responsibility and guilt. Such questions have yet to be addressed by legal authorities. The title of this essay in intended to raise the question whether some criminals are suffering subtle forms of malnutrition or poisoning. Maternal alcohol drinking during pregnancy is a voluntary act, but the offspring is not responsible for the resulting hyperactivity which may predispose to criminal behaviour in later life. The seeds of crime may indeed be sown before birth.
Important interactions occur between various nutritional and toxic factors.
For example, alcohol hinders absorption of dietary zinc and promotes its excretion. The serious behavioural symptoms of severe alcoholism can be effectively treated by zinc, a micronutrient liable to be seriously deficient in many modern diets. Lead is an antinutrient which hinders the utilization of magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B, inter alia . Several studies have reported raised lead burdens in antisocial individuals. Broadly similar findings have been reported from the United States and for London children.