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Were Your Ancestors Mentally Ill?
As Americans, we love our holidays. Halloween is just around the corner and many of us can't wait to scare someone to death. Each year it seems that Halloween is becoming more and more popular. In fact, I saw a Halloween magazine at the book store the other day.
I find it interesting to look back in history and see where all our scary monsters, ghosts and sub-human creatures have come from. Did you know that many of the stories related to fairies, gnomes, goblins, hobgoblins, leprechauns, elves, and witches that we recognize today come from the darkest ages of Europe?
Why is that?
 With all these imaginary creatures, you'd think that our European ancestors were on drugs or something. Turns out they probably were...not by choice though. They were slowly poisoned over several months and years by hallucinogenic mold found on rye grass. During the middle ages from 850 AD to 1750 AD, there wasn't much human mental progress in Europe because the food supply was tainted with a poisonous mold called Ergot.
Rye bread was a staple of the poor and unfortunately, the psychotropic chemicals from the mold were not broken down by the baking process. So for almost 800 years, three quarters of Europe's population, especially France, England, and Germany were out of their minds literally. Thousands of people died from ergotism (ergot poisoning), and those that didn't either acted insane or found themselves fraught with seizures.
The interesting thing is you can map the surges of witch hunts with the outbreaks of ergotism almost perfectly during those years. Teenage children were the largest group affected by the poisoning. Since every meal they ate included a dose of mind altering mold, I'm sure that seeing ghosts, demons and fairytale creatures was somewhat of a common experience.
Makes you wonder about what we are ingesting today! With the increased occurrence of diabetes, autism, depression, and cancer, there is no telling what kind of chemicals are affecting our health and behavior. Drinking bottle plastics with bisphenol A (BPA) are on the suspect list for cancer. It is rumored that mercury and other heavy metals in our drinking water, vaccines, and fossil fuel polluted air may cause childhood autism and adult depression. High fructose corn syrup is being eyed as the cause of diabetes.
There is even a theory that lead poisoning of the ruling class caused the downfall of Rome. Sounds pretty scary right? Good my job is done here...Happy Halloween!
Seriously though, you are very lucky living in a generation that has the advantage of improved scientific research and communication. You can keep on top of the latest information through the Internet, but what happens when were not in front of a computer?
We can still rely on many magazines including Time, Scientific American, Science Illustrated, Health, and Prevention to learn about health related research on disease and nutrition. You can also find more historical facts like these in some great general knowledge magazines including National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Mental Floss.
Read more about the fascinating history behind ergot poisoning here...
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