18th January 1998

Eating makes us, what we are

By Tharuka Dissanaike

We are, what we are, because of what we eat. Think about that. Priyantha Peiris, an engineer, has been thinking of it for the past 20 years and is convinced that our food will dictate our lives. Not just individually but as a country. He believes that underdevelopment in South Asian countries, especially in Sri Lanka, can be directly attributed to the faulty diet we consume.

If that sounds strange, wait- there's more. Peiris believes that the general Sri Lankan attitude, lack of enthusiasm, laziness, even being late for appointments and postponing work is all due to what we eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Further, he says that irrational behaviour, violence and terrorism are all due to wrong diet- insufficient nutrients for proper brain cell development.

On closer inspection, though, Peiris's theory is not all that way out as it sounds. He maintains that he has scientifically researched the connection between diet and actions and attitudes for the past twenty years and puts forward a comprehensive theory about how diet can make or break a person or country. In that respect, Peiris wants to draw the attention of the country's policy makers to this fact. Government authorities must consider proper nutrition as a priority, he said. Good nutrition has to be seen as a means of development not as an end result. It is useless to have housing projects, irrigation schemes, free education, health systems if the basic nutrition factor is ignored.

Peiris frequently quotes the example of Japan. He says that after Japan's defeat in the second world war the country took a good hard look at itself and wondered why the Americans were stronger, physically and mentally. How was it that their brains were more developed and they could produce something like the atom bomb and fast attack aircraft when their own technology was much inferior. Peiris said that in the post war period, Japan changed their dietary patterns quite drastically, reducing the consumption of rice and increasing milk products, eggs, fruits and raw vegetables. Today Japanese people are known for their technology and very active lifestyle.

Peiris said that he was first interested in this study when as a young graduate he began working as an engineer in a state corporation. " I wanted to do things methodically and systematically, and I found that I could not do so. It was not merely my own inability to keep my schedules but also the inefficiency of various others I had to work with." He says, "When you ask a mechanic to do a job of work, he'll promise to have it ready by afternoon, but when the time comes, he will throw up his hands and say, I'll give it by tomorrow morning. This is a common attitude anywhere in the country. People are never punctual, they are not efficient, even a small job of work takes a long while, it is never done satisfactorily, people are lazy and lethargic to act and they are selfish, they think of little but their own gain. Then there is the irrational behaviour, the unprovoked violence, the ill health and sadistic terrorist activity, all can be traced to bad diet."

According to Peiris, there are certain fundamental faults in our diet. We consume white bread, white rice and white sugar, he said. These foods are refined and have in the process lost valuable nutrients that the body needs for proper brain function. He said that the biggest mistake the public makes is in consuming white bread in large quantities and white rice both of which is just fodder, not nutrition. Another mistake we make is cooking vegetables. Vegetables, in addition to vitamins and minerals essential to brain function, has enzymes which closely relate to the neuro transmitters which help in passing messages in the brain cells.

Peiris said that when vegetables are boiled above 85 degrees all these enzymes are destroyed and the food is rendered useless where nutrition is concerned. Making hot curries out of vegetables totally destroys the food value. He said that certain enzymes found in raw vegetables are very close in composition to the neurotransmitters like norpineprine and serotonin and when consumed can be translated into neuro transmitters very quickly in the body. Also as a country the protein intake of the populace is minimal. People do not eat meats, fish, eggs, dairy products like milk ,cheese and yoghurt enough. There are foods with high micro- nutrients which are especially important for brain function ignored in our diet, like nuts, grains and seeds. All these have led to deficient diet resulting in low development and slow function of the brain in the average Sri Lankan. Peiris said this is the reason that our country has not produced its share of researchers, scientists, economists and dynamic public servants.

Deficient diet, especially at foetal stage while the child is developing in the womb and in the first three years will result in retardation of brain development and stunting of brain cells. The higher functions of the brain which involves thinking power, memory power, creativity, reading and writing power will not develop to full potential unless the brain is fed properly.

The motor and pre motor parts of the brain are malfunctioning in most of us due to the inadequate supply of proper proteins and micro nutrients, and we little realise that this is the cause for inefficiency and lack of civic mindedness in our public. We are used to making excuses for our behaviour and claim that it's due to living in a third world country.

But Peiris's idea of a balanced diet is not entirely rice, wheat free. One must eat rice and wheat in unrefined state whenever possible. These are necessary to provide the essential carbohydrates which fuels the brain function. But the diet should also contain high protein pulses, vegetables and fruits, meat, fish, eggs and nuts.

Red rice and brown sugar is recommended for those who love their rice and sweet tea.

Peiris's theory has been accepted by Dr. Arthur C. Clarke and publicly commended by former politician W. Dahanayake. But his attempts at bringing it to the notice of the present authorities have been deemed unsuccessful. He had sought an audience with the President in order to present his views, but the letter had been referred to the Health Ministry and had no answer thereafter.

Peiris claims that he is ready to offer his services to the government to try eradicate this type of malnourishment, which he stoutly claims is the root cause of all the problems and malaise of the country.

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