
All-Corn Diet Turns Hamsters into Cannibals - svenfaw
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/28/frances-wild-hamsters-being-turned-into-crazed-cannibals-by-diet-of-corn
======
vmarsy
> "Improperly cooked maize-based diets have been associated with higher rates
> of homicide, suicide and cannibalism in humans"

Maybe it's a huge shortcut to say this but could this be a reason the ancient
American civilizations (Mayas, Aztecs, Inca) had violent rituals? Their diet
was very focused on corn.

~~~
tcj_phx
Corn was traditionally treated with lime to make it more nutritious:

    
    
      Nixtamalized maize has several benefits over 
      unprocessed grain: it is more easily ground; its 
      nutritional value is increased; flavor and aroma 
      are improved; and mycotoxins are reduced. Lime 
      and ash are highly alkaline: the alkalinity helps 
      the dissolution of hemicellulose, the major 
      glue-like component of the maize cell walls,
    

\-
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixtamalization)

Modern commercial corn tortillas are also treated with lime.

