Eugene Christian

Eugene Christian (1860-1930) was an American naturopath, nutritionist and raw foodism writer.

Eugene Christian
Born1860
McMinnville, Tennessee
Died1930
San Diego, California
OccupationNaturopath, nutritionist, writer

Biography
Eugene Christian School of Applied Chemistry

Christian was born in McMinnville, Tennessee. He worked in manufacturing and sales until 1900.[1] Similar to George J. Drews, Christian was one of the pioneers of the raw foodism movement in America.[2] Christian authored the raw food book Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them, in 1904.[2] The book was popular and went through five editions in 1904. It went through ten editions through 1924 and was printed up until the late 20th century.[3] It was widely reviewed in health journals.[4][5][6][7] Medical experts accused Christian of promoting a fad diet and called him the "dean of American food faddists".[8]

Christian had no medical qualifications, advertised himself as a "food scientist" and practiced diet therapy. In 1905, he was arrested and prosecuted by the New York County Medical Society for practicing medicine without a license.[9] In 1907 after an appeal, the New York Supreme Court concluded that no crime was committed and that Christian was improperly convicted.[10] Christian did not prescribe medicine.[11] The Supreme Court made the decision that a "food scientist" does have the right to diagnose or treat illness by prescribing diet.[1] Christian then advertised himself as a "hero" and "vindicated by the supreme court".[12] Christian believed that cooking food destroyed nutrients. During World War I, he appealed to the Surgeon General to change the army's rations to a raw food diet.[13][14]

Christian was the owner of the "Christian Natural Food Company", he also operated a mail-order school, the Eugene Christian School of Applied Food Chemistry.[8] He charged $100 for a diploma course in which a F. S. D. degree (Doctor of Food Science) was awarded. The school faded and he formed the Christian Dietetic Society and School of Scientific Eating.[8] He sold a "Course in Scientific Eating" for $10. The organization merged into the Corrective Eating Society. The Society offered a course for $3 which promised to teach people how to cure disease by a dietetic system. The Society sold quack products such as the "Vaco Reducing Cup", that was alleged to remove fat.[8] His products were described as "pseudo-scientific buncombe" by the Bureau of Investigation of the American Medical Association.[15]

Christian recommended raw eggs as a good source of protein. He commented that "an egg should never be cooked".[16] He promoted a raw vegetarian diet. However, in volume eleven of Eugene Christian's Course in Scientific Eating, he wrote that "eggs and, once a week, a small service of fish or fowl, may be eaten in order to maintain the balance as to protein."[17] Christian promised his followers that they could live a hundred years on his recommended diet but died at the age of 69.[18] He died of pneumonia in San Diego, California.[19][20] In medical literature, Christian was cited as an example of a quack.[8][18]

Selected publications

See also

References
  1. Hoolihan, Christopher. (2001). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 1. University of Rochester Press. p. 187. ISBN 1-58046-098-4
  2. Berry, Rynn. (2007). "Raw Foodism". In Andrew F. Smith. The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. Oxford University Press. pp. 493-494. ISBN 978-0-19-530796-2
  3. Hoolihan, Christopher. (2008). An Annotated Catalogue of the Edward C. Atwater Collection of American Popular Medicine and Health Reform, Volume 3. University of Rochester Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-58046-284-6
  4. Anonymous. (1905). Reviewed Work: Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them by Eugene Christian. The Journal of Education 61 (23): 636.
  5. Anonymous. (1905). Reviewed Work: Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them: A Treatise on How to Get the Highest Form of Animal Energy from Food by Mrs. Eugene Christian, Eugene Christian. American Journal of Nursing 6 (2): 97.
  6. Anonymous. (1905). Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them. A Treatise on How to Get the Highest Form of Animal Energy from Food, with Recipes for Preparation, Healthful Combinations and Menus. Journal of the American Medical Association 44 (17): 1385.
  7. Anonymous. (1905). Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them. Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette 21: 256.
  8. Cramp, Arthur J. (1936). Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine, Volume 3. Press of American Medical Association. pp. 57-59
  9. Anonymous. (1905). Unlicensed Practitioner Arrested. Journal of the American Medical Association 45 (3): 202.
  10. Mills, Charles H. (1908). People V. Christian. Supreme Court-App. Division-First Department, Dec., 1907. The People v. Eugene Christian. New York Criminal Reports, Volume 21. pp. 577-578
  11. Anonymous. (1908). A Judicial Blow at the Tyrannical Medical Monopoly. The Arena 39: 356-357.
  12. Anonymous. (1908). Eugene Christian, the Hero. The Columbus Medical Journal 32: 123.
  13. Hill, Fredric W. (1978). The American Institute of Nutrition: A History of the First 50 Years, 1928-1978 ; And, The Proceedings of a Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Journal of Nutrition. American Institute of Nutrition. p. 72
  14. Grover, Kathryn. (1989). Fitness in American Culture: Images of Health, Sport, and the Body, 1830-1940. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 96. ISBN 978-0870236822
  15. Anonymous. (1923). El Zair: Quackery's Latest Offer of an Elimir of Life. Journal of the American Medical Association 81: 768.
  16. Wrangham, Richard W. (2010). Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human. Profile Books. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-84668-286-5
  17. Christian, Eugene. (1916). Eugene Christian's Course in Scientific Eating, Volume 11. Corrective Eating Society. p. 8
  18. Anonymous. (1930). More Funny Advice on Longevity. Journal of the American Medical Association 94 (20): 1604-1605.
  19. Eugene Christian, Author and Dietitian, Dead. Gastonia Daily Gazette. (March 10, 1930). p. 9
  20. A Dietist and His Theory. Charleston Daily Mail. (March 12, 1930). p. 6
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