David R. Reuben (born November 29, 1933) is a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

, and author. He is most famous for his book '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)''.

Early life

Reuben was born in Chicago, and entered the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, at 15. Reuben was graduated from

University of Illinois College of Medicine The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, and formerly Champaign–Urbana metropolitan ...

, at 25. He had only one year of a psychiatric residency, and no record of further training or specialty certification.

Career

He worked at

Cook County Hospital The John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County (shortened ''Stroger Hospital'', formerly Cook County Hospital) is a public hospital in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Cook County Health, along with Provident Hospital of Cook Cou ...

, then the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, then opened a clinic in

La Presa, California La Presa (Spanish for "The Dam") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the East County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The population was 35,033 at the 2020 census, up from 34,169 at the 2010 census. La Presa belonged ...

. He let his California license lapse in 1976. Reuben was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show'' with

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

's "Everything you always wanted to know about Jack Benny, but were afraid to ask" featured Reuben. The

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

filed a $35-million libel suit against Reuben.

Works

He changed his name, from Rubin to Reuben. shortly before writing ''Everything'', published in 1969. That book inspired a film by

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

, '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)'' (1972). Reuben also authored other books about sex, such as ''Any Woman Can!'' and ''How to Get More out of Sex'', as well as about diet and nutrition. These books suggest we should live by these three principles: Eat no refined sugar, eat no white flour, and do not take vitamin pills or other supplements. His book ''The Save Your Life Diet'', promoted a high-

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

diet. Reuben suggested that a healthy diet involved the intake of natural fiber and reduction of

cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...

.Starker, Steven. (2009). ''Oracle at the Supermarket: The American Preoccupation With Self-Help Books''. Transaction Publishers. p. 132. He also authored ''The Save Your Life Diet High-Fiber Cookbook'', and ''Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nutrition''. The last book was written in the same style as his famous book ''Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex''.

Personal life

In 1999, Reuben and his wife Barbara lived in Costa Rica. In 1999, they were married for 37 years and had five children.

References

External links

CNN article about Reuben from 1999
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reuben, David 1933 births American relationships and sexuality writers American male non-fiction writers Diet food advocates High-fiber diet advocates Living people United States Air Force officers