Dan Dale Alexander (July 18, 1919 – June 15, 1990) was an American nutrition influencer, famous for his eccentric beliefs about

cod liver oil Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of Atlantic cod (''Gadus morhua''). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vita ...

curing arthritis. He became known as the "Codfather".

Career

Alexander was born in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...

. He was educated at

Norwich Free Academy The Norwich Free Academy (NFA), founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a coeducational independent school for students between the 9th and 12th grade. Located in Norwich, Connecticut, the Academy serves as the primary high school for Nor ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

but failed to obtain any degree as he dropped out.Don Alexander; Health Ideas Stirred Furor
Los Angeles Times. Alexander had no medical credentials. Lasagna, Louis. (1963). ''The Doctors' Dilemmas''. Harper & Brothers Publishers. p. 211Deutsch, Ronald M. (1961)
''The Nuts Among the Berries''
Ballantine Books. pp. 194-198 He obtained a Ph.D. from an obscure diploma-mill which he received in the mail from St. Andrew's Ecumenical College,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He sent a check for $100 to the college as appreciation for receiving it. Alexander is best known for ''Arthritis and Common Sense'', which sold more than one million copies. He was president of Witkower Press of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, who published the book. He believed that drinking

mixed with

orange juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As ...

could cure arthritis. He appeared on ''

The Johnny Carson Show ''The Johnny Carson Show'' is a 1955–56 half-hour primetime television variety show starring Johnny Carson. While working as a staff writer on ''The Red Skelton Show'', local Los Angeles television comedian Carson filled in as host when Ske ...

'' and ''

The Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 1 ...

'' to promote his ideas. His ideas were uncritically accepted in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' and on radio stations.

Reception

Alexander's statements about cod liver oil curing arthritis have been described by the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

and medical health experts as deceptive, false, misleading and

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...

. Barrett, Stephen; Victor, Herbert. (1994). ''The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry is Selling America a Bill of Goods''. Prometheus Books. pp. 146-147. The Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation complained that Alexander's statements were false advertising and unsupported by scientific evidence.

Stephen Barrett Stephen Joel Barrett (; born 1933) is an American retired psychiatrist, author, and consumer advocate best known for his work combatting health fraud and promoting evidence-based medicine. He founded Quackwatch, a network of websites that cri ...

and

Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and co ...

have written:

lexanderconcluded that the basic cause of arthritis is "poorly lubricated joints" and that dietary oils (particularly cod liver oil) relieve arthritis by lubricating the joints. This theory is ludicrous. The lubricating fluid within the joints is not oil but a fluid that resembles blood plasma and is secreted by the tissue lining the joints. Moreover, dietary oils can't reach the joints intact because they are broken down into simple substances by the digestive process.

In 1956 the FTC issued an order for Witkower Press to cease falsely advertising ''Arthritis and Common Sense'' as reliable treatment for any kind of arthritis or related condition.Federal Trade Commission. (1962)
''In the Matter of Witkower Press, Inc, Et Al.''
In ''Federal Trade Commission Decisions. Volume 57''. United States Government Printing Office. pp. 145-222 There were 35 hearings in the case and 3,000 pages of testimony were received. In 1960, Alexander appealed the order without success.Walrad, Ruth. (1960)
''The Misrepresentation of Arthritis Drugs and Devices in the United States''
Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation. pp. 104-106

Publications

''Arthritis and Common Sense''
(1950)
''Good Health and Common Sense''
(1960) *''Healthy Hair and Common Sense'' (1969) *''The Common Cold and Common Sense'' (1971) *''Dry Skin and Common Sense'' (1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Dan Dale 1919 births 1990 deaths People from Norwich, Connecticut Pseudoscientific diet advocates