Eugene Christian (May 30, 1860CHRISTIAN, Eugene
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' (vol. 14, 1926 edition), p. 451–1930) was an American

naturopath Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult ...

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and Human nutrition, nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disci ...

and

raw foodism Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include ...

writer.

Biography

Eugene Christian School of Applied Chemistry

Christian was born in

McMinnville, Tennessee McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,788 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It was named after Governor Joseph McMinn. Geography McMinnville is locate ...

. He worked in manufacturing and sales until 1900.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. Similar to George J. Drews, Christian was one of the pioneers of the

movement in America.Berry, Rynn. (2007). "Raw Foodism". In Andrew F. Smith. ''The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink''. Oxford University Press. pp. 493-494. Christian authored the raw food book ''Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them'', in 1904. 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. It was widely reviewed in health journals. Medical experts accused Christian of promoting a

fad diet A fad diet is a diet that is popular, generally only for a short time, similar to fads in fashion, without being a standard scientific dietary recommendation, and often making unreasonable claims for fast weight loss or health improvements; ...

and called him the "dean of American food faddists".Cramp, Arthur J. (1936)
''Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine, Volume 3''
Press of American Medical Association. pp. 57-59 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 The New York County Medical Society is a professional membership organization for physicians who live or work in the borough of Manhattan. As such, it is part of the larger network of medical organizations which includes the American Medical As ...

for practicing medicine without a license. In 1907 after an appeal, the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

concluded that no crime was committed and that Christian was improperly convicted. Christian did not prescribe medicine. The Supreme Court decided that a "food scientist" does have the right to diagnose or treat illness by prescribing diet. Christian then advertised himself as a "hero" and "vindicated by the supreme court". Christian believed that

cooking Cooking, also known as cookery or professionally as the culinary arts, is the art, science and craft of using heat to make food more palatable, digestible, nutritious, or Food safety, safe. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from ...

food destroyed

nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

s. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he appealed to the

Surgeon General Surgeon general (: surgeons general) is a title used in several Commonwealth countries and most NATO nations to refer either to a senior military medical officer or to a senior uniformed physician commissioned by the government and entrusted with p ...

to change the army's rations to a raw food diet. 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. He charged $100 for a diploma course in which an 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. 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 through a dietetic system. The Society sold

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack ...

products such as the "Vaco Reducing Cup", that was alleged to remove fat. His products were described as "pseudo-scientific buncombe" by the Bureau of Investigation of the

American Medical Association The American Medical Association (AMA) is an American professional association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students. This medical association was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Membership was 271,660 ...

. Christian recommended

raw egg Humans and other Hominidae, hominids have consumed Egg, eggs for millions of years. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especially chickens. People in Southeast Asia began harvesting chicken eggs for food by 1500 BCE. Eggs of oth ...

as a good source of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

. He commented that "an egg should never be cooked". 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 to maintain the balance as to protein." Christian promised his followers that they could live a hundred years on his recommended diet but died at the age of 69.Anonymous. (1930)
''More Funny Advice on Longevity''
''Journal of the American Medical Association'' 94 (20): 1604-1605. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

.''A Dietist and His Theory''. ''

Charleston Daily Mail The ''Charleston Daily Mail'' was a newspaper based in Charleston, West Virginia. On July 20, 2015, it merged with the '' Charleston Gazette'' to form the '' Charleston Gazette-Mail''. Publishing history The ''Daily Mail'' was founded in 1914 ...

''. (March 12, 1930). p. 6 In medical literature, Christian was cited as an example of a quack.

Selected publications

''Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them''
(1904)
''Suncooked Food''
(1909)
''250 Meatless Menus and Recipes''
(1910)
''Encyclopedia of Diet''
(5 volumes, 1914) *''How to Live 100 Years'' (1914)
''Eat and Be Well''
(1916) *''Eugene Christian's Course in Scientific Eating'' (24 volumes, 1916)
''Little Lessons in Corrective Eating''
(2 volumes, 1916)
''Meatless and Wheatless Menus''
(1917)
''Why Die''
(1928)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Eugene 1860 births 1930 deaths American health and wellness writers American nutritionists American vegetarianism activists Deaths from pneumonia in California Naturopaths Orthopaths Pseudoscientific diet advocates Raw foodists Vegetarian cookbook writers

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References