Insomnia incorporated.

[Merry]

Up early after being up late after going to sleep too early from being tired. Time to switch to decaf. I got up to write down my thoughts about the current trends in our economy and what that means for the average person in terms of nutrition. My baby sis who is struggling to remain middle class and working hard to single parent said that her teeth have started cracking. OK so she likes to be skinny but how much is too much? Buy some vitamins , I said. They're expensive , she said. Not as expensive as doctors and dentists , I said. Her friend is a science teacher in high school and is wondering why riots almost break out in the hallways at school sometimes. And we're all being reminded that people with mental illness cannot be trusted to act with good , sound judgement with regard to the safety of others.

I tried to go back to sleep after filling the pellet stove back up for the second part of the night. I really tried. But I couldn't help thinking and thinking and thinking. Yep, had too much to think again. UMMMManyway, ultimately what I came up with is this. Is there any relationship between the current outbreaks of violence done by the mentally ill and the current trends for people to skimp on nutrition in order to stay middle class. I've read that people can become border line mentally ill because of nutritional deficiencies. Should we put children in danger of going hungry on a vitamin regiment when they come into school in the morning? ( I know , I for one am planning on donating fresh veggies to the local food shelf this year.) So again what I'm wondering is how much vitamin deficiencies have to do with mental illness. Should I be donating children's vitamins too?

[Mother Sanity (JackieRodzinski)]

Many illnesses are correlated with malnutrition. And, malnutrition comes in multiple forms. While it is true that someone may be missing their vitamins due to their prohibitive cost, a body sometimes also has trouble absorbing certain vitamins, or, integrating them in their biochemical processes.

There are many ways we can donate to the welfare of our society, but if you are interested in mental heath, I personally accept paypal donations for my daily vodka allowance...

[Merry]

I bought some vitamins for my niece and told my sister to start taking them too. Most of her day is spent in the call center on the computer. I've had some very nice gardens and they take a bit of work to get going but around August there's more bounty than I can deal with. I bought one of those vacuum sealers and will probably use that this year. I know what you're saying Mandy and that's how my Dad's side of the family survived the Depression. I can handle eating brown rice and beans just fine with a minimum of meat but others start pounding down the hot dogs and baloney. Hello yuck!

And Perri, I'm wondering if they should check the crazy shooters for malnutrition , I just can't imagine anyone doing that kind of crap without some kind of stressors including their diets. Not that it's all diet but how much does that contribute to it.

[Mandy Muffin]

I don't think the cost of maintaining a healthy diet is prohibitive even in this bad economy.  It is a matter of priorities on where you spend your money, even if it is scarce.  However, my observation is that people under stress are likely to eat more food that is not good for them, as it assuages their anxiety.  I grew up poor, in the throes of the Depression, and had the healthiest diet of my life, as my parents grew nearly 100% of their own food. We raised chickens and caught fresh fish from the ocean.  The diet was full of fruits and vegetable right from the garden.  To provide for the winter season, much of the produce was canned for future use.