An Addendum to the Hard-Wired Human Discord Model
Just drop the added sugars from your diet -- and give peace a chance
Recall that when previously discussing Desmet’s mass hypnosis/mass formation hypothesis,1 I presented psychological literature evidence that what showed up on the coattails of the COVID19 phenomenon – the vaxxed and masked turning rapidly and rabidly hostile toward the unvaxxed and unmasked – was just a single instance of a chronic human tendency that comes to open and active expression from time to time. Desmet, in contrast, believes this problem was the result of some kind of perfect storm of historical forces generating widespread psychological discomfort that was temporarily relieved by the opportunity to energetically respond to an apparent crisis in an emotionally satisfying way.
Psychological literature (not to mention human history itself) indicates that when pushed into an anxious corner by something unexpected and alarming, a good portion – Desmet’s 70% -- of humanity looks to its also alarmed neighbors and authority figures for ideas of what to do, and then reflexively follow the actions they suggest. Anyone who doesn’t also ‘get in line’ thereafter is ‘bad’. Hence, the rapid and rabid expression of mass hostility towards the now-called ‘bad’ -- along with the hurried initial group adoption of far less than optimal responses to an unfamiliar problem.
Extremely interestingly, multi-decade research led by Johnson into the root causes of modern obesity – research recently mentioned here – reveals an extremely strong and fundamental biochemical mechanism that could explain the COVID19-era group expression of aggressiveness, poor impulse control, and manic behavior labelled mass formation by Desmet. This same research also points to a reasonable explanation for the organized and persistent aggressive behavior of large groups of people over large periods of time in human history.
Talking of the behavioral effects of the human “survival switch” primarily turned on by the modern abundance of fructose (as in high fructose corn syrup), and sucrose (table sugar containing chemically bound molecules of both fructose and glucose) Johnson reports:
“As we’ve seen, when the survival switch is turned on in animals in the wild, it has multiple effects. It stimulates hunger and thirst, raises blood pressure, creates low-grade inflammation, and of course maximizes storage of fat. Another aspect of the switch is that it causes changes in behavior.
When a fasting animal runs out of fat, it must wake from its sleep or leave its nest and start foraging for food. If it does not find food, it will die —this is a desperate situation — and so the animal must be willing to enter new and unfamiliar areas in its search, which places it at risk from predators. Accordingly, it must be able to rapidly assess its environment, make fast decisions, and move quickly. There is no time for prolonged deliberation; the animal must be impulsive, for the longer it remains in an unfamiliar area, the more danger it is in. The animal cannot be timid, and if it runs into a predator, it may have to defend itself. Similarly, if it sees prey, it must attack even if there is a chance the prey might win. This cluster of behaviors — impulsivity, exploratory behavior, rapid decision-making, novelty-seeking, and risk-taking — is collectively referred to as the foraging response.
Fructose intake has been shown to trigger aspects of the foraging response. For example, a clinical study that compared the effects of drinking fructose versus glucose in healthy volunteers showed via MRI that, in comparison to glucose, fructose intake was associated with more immediate hunger and greater desire for high-calorie foods. Moreover, the area of the brain that controls willpower (that is, the prefrontal cortex) showed a decrease in electrical activity consistent with increased risk of giving in to temptation, decreased ability to say no, and a general decrease in willpower. These changes suggest fructose increases impulsivity, novelty-seeking, and risk-taking behaviors.
As you may recall, fructose metabolism results in the formation of uric acid, and there is evidence that uric acid stimulates the foraging response. For example, when blood uric acid levels are raised in laboratory rats, the animals initially become hyperactive. A study performed by Angelina Sutin at Florida State University reported that mice with high uric acid levels show stronger foraging behavior, including roaming over a greater area, being more excitable with spontaneous jumping, interacting more with novel objects presented to them, and showing more exploratory activity. Another study, led by Roy Cutler at the National Institutes of Health, confirmed that mice with high uric acid levels roamed much more widely over an open field than mice with normal levels, and showed more exploratory behavior. They also found that mice with higher uric acid levels had greater endurance on running wheels.
That’s mice. What about us? Dr. Sutin’s research group also evaluated the relationship of blood uric acid levels with personality traits in humans, based on two different community studies. Again, a higher uric acid level was associated with characteristics of foraging behavior, including impulsivity, novelty-seeking, risk-taking, and decreased ability to deliberate (think before acting).”
Speaking specifically of the heightened aggression associated with impulsivity that can be ‘switched on’ by ingestion of excessive dietary fructose and sucrose, Johnson further writes:
“Violent behavior often involves impulsivity, so the possibility that it sometimes might be triggered by excessive intake of fructose should not be dismissed.
Soft drink intake has been associated with violent behavior toward peers, family members, and intimate partners. For example, sugar intake in childhood has been linked to violent behavior in adulthood. In one study, 17,000 people were followed for more than twenty-five years, from age ten to thirty-five. Nearly 70 percent of those who developed violent behavior ate more than one sweet per day at age ten, compared to only about 40 percent of those that did not. Another study reported that drinking more than five soft drinks a week is associated with increased likelihood of carrying firearms. Similarly, elevated uric acid [raised by fructose ingestion] is associated with aggressive behavior. In one study of 106 individuals hospitalized following violent crimes, blood uric acid levels were significantly higher in those who committed the more violent acts compared to those who committed less violent offenses.”
In light of the above observations, now examine the following graph also taken from Johnson 2022. Note that the aggressive and exploratory British colonial period that began in the 1600s coincided with the rise of increased consumption of fructose in the UK through its accelerating consumption of table sugar (sucrose=glucose + fructose). Similarly, backward extrapolation of the US curve on the graph below suggests that the long (~15 year) period of social discord in the US (and the rapid expansion of the country’s national boundaries), that eventually culminated in the US Civil War, coincided with America’s historically steepest growth in per capita (sucrose-sourced) fructose consumption. The 1960s-1970s rise to power of the bellicose US neoconservative political movement, and its subsequent late 1960s to present international and internal misbehaviors, is likewise potentially related to group behavioral effects in America caused by the introduction of high fructose corn syrup as a new major component of the American diet.
Codevilla (2010)2 provides an exhaustive analysis and description of the many political, governmental, legal, and economic changes that would need to take place in the US in order to untangle and correct the maladaptive structural changes (“bugs”) that have developed within the nation’s operating system of self-government since its founding. Given the findings of the Johnson research group regarding the negative behavioral and health changes simply caused by a human “survival switch” that is always left turned to the “on” position by non-essential components of the American diet, it would seem that the first deliberate step in a national rectification process could be a simple dietary one. This minor, but fundamental change in the current order of things can be immediately effected on an individual and/or family basis — and without the aid of any costly outside assistance -- and without risking any perilous conflict with fellow citizens.
I’d have never seen Codevilla’s 2010 essay without first being able to read Chris Bray’s recent post, “Play Long” at: