Meatless Wonders: John Harvey Kellogg and Nathan Pritikin

.
Meatless Wonders:
John Harvey Kellogg and Nathan Pritikin
.

John Harvey Kellogg was a medical doctor, an entrepreneur and one of the earliest promoters of "health food." Some people called him a quack, some a genius. Quack or genius, few would deny that Dr. Kellogg was a true innovator in the field of health and nutrition. He was born in Tyrone, Michigan in 1852. At the age of 24 he became the staff physician at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health facility that was originally owned by the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Kellogg was among the large percentage of Seventh Day Adventists who adhere to a vegetarian diet. Decades ahead of his time, a low-calorie vegetarian diet was an important part of his healthcare regime. He also advocated daily exercise and identified smoking as a cause of lung cancer long before that link was studied and confirmed.
.

Some of Dr. Kellogg's medical practices such as hydropathy, electropathy, mechanotherapy and radium cures, were considered questionable by his colleagues but his surgical skills were viewed as exceptional by other members of the profession.
.

Kellogg believed that 90% of all illness originated in the stomach and intestines. He was a firm believer in cleansing of the bowel to restore and maintain health. A diet high in fiber was one of the recommended ways of keeping the digestive tract in good working order.
.

John Harvey and his brother, William Keith Kellogg, experimented with various "health foods" for the patients at the sanitarium and in the process Kellogg's Corn Flakes were invented. Will went on from there to develop the W.K. Kellogg Company which, as we know is still producing breakfast cereal today. Interestingly, one of the patients at the sanitarium, C.W. Post, also developed a breakfast cereal company and the two giants of the dry breakfast cereal industry remain major competitors to this day.
.

John Harvey Kellogg's controversial reputation was not without some justification.. His fascination with the bowel resulted in radical treatments such as a 15 gallon enema that was reportedly administered in a matter of seconds. Although he believed firmly in the healing potential of a healthy diet and exercise regime, Kellogg was not opposed to surgical intervention when other treatments failed. He was known to perform up to twenty operations a day.
.

After years of disagreement, John Harvey Kellogg broke with the Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1907, taking the Battle Creek Sanitarium with him. Despite many setbacks, including a fire that destroyed the facility in 1902, Kellogg brought the Medical and Surgical Sanitarium to world fame while playing an important role in developing an awareness of the critical relationship between diet and health.
.

When, at the age of 40, Nathan Pritikin was diagnosed with heart disease it might as well have been a death sentence. The year was 1957 and the common belief among the medical profession was that heart disease was mainly caused by stress. Coronary artery insufficiency, such as Nathan Pritikin had, was considered incurable. If he took his prescribed medication and lived a sedentary life, avoiding any kind of stress, he might be lucky enough to add a few more years to his life. But Pritikin, an engineer by profession, who had long been fascinated by that most amazing of machines - the human body, was not ready to accept his sentence.
.

Many years previously Pritikin had participated in a study involving the incidence of heart disease during WWII. The study had determined (much to the researchers surprise) that during the most severe period of rationing in several European countries, the incidence of fatal heart attacks had dropped by about 50%. The foods that were the most difficult to come by during that time were meat, eggs, and dairy products, those that are high in fat and cholesterol. Upon recalling this study after receiving his diagnosis, Pritikin determined to learn more. His research revealed that during a thirteen year period after the war, when people went back to their old eating habits, the incidence of fatal heart attacks immediately increased and continued to rise dramatically. These were also the years when the great health benefits of eating high protein animal foods were being lauded by government funded "scientific" studies.
.

Against his doctor's advise, Pritikin decided to conduct his own scientific study and eliminate these foods from his diet . Within a year and a half of beginning his extremely low-fat diet, he had managed to reduce his cholesterol level from almost 300mg/dl to 110, a very healthy level.
.

Combining the-fat diet with a self-prescribed exercise program (also against his doctor's advise) Pritikin managed to eradicate any signs of heart disease from his body. He started taking his program to other people - family, friends and friends of friends - and found that his was not an isolated case of success. Then, in 1975, with the cooperation of a doctor at the local Veteran's Administration Hospital, Pritikin and his son, Robert, tested the program on 38 seriously ill heart patients. The results were dramatic, with the people on Pritikin's program showing a loss of weight, a lowering of their cholesterol and blood pressure levels, an increased ability to exercise and, in many cases, the elimination of chest pain.
.

When Pritikin took his program to the people, publishing an account of his experience and eventually opening two "Longevity Centers", one in Santa Monica, California and a second in Miami Beach, Florida, the medical and scientific communities were up in arms. How could this layperson, with no medical background, claim to have found an effective treatment for heart disease where they had failed? But the tens of thousands of people that the Pritikin Plan has helped to reclaim their lives over the past thirty years cannot be ignored.
.

Since Nathan Pritikin's death his son, Robert, has taken over the work began by his father. The Longevity Centers continue to offer people with heart and circulatory problems a new lease on life as well as giving healthy people a program that will help them stay that way for years to come. The connection between diet, exercise and the prevention and management of heart disease is now so well accepted that health insurance companies have begun offering coverage. And, since convenience is such a valued commodity in our society, there are now canned and packaged foods that bear the Pritikin label.
.

The concept of convenient health food, initiated by John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will in the 19th century, has continued to develop right into the new millennium. Although it is commonly understood that fresh food is far superior to anything processed or packaged, our hectic lifestyle will probably continue to provide a market for such products. At any rate, we have Dr. Kellogg, Nathan Pritikin and other innovators like them to thank for showing us the connection between what we eat and the state of our health.
.

This article is intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in this publication is intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical diagnosis and advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or health-care provider before starting any new diet or procedure involving your health. Prompt professional medical guidance is recommended for any health problem.