Frank Joseph McCoy (March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1940) was an American

chiropractor Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of physical disorder, mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the vertebral column, spine. It is based on sever ...

and alternative health author, known for his book ''The Fast Way to Health'', as well as his nationally syndicated health- and nutrition-related newspaper columns and radio broadcasts. He was active between 1923 and 1940. His ideas were criticized by medical experts as

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Milan, Ohio Milan ( ) is a village in Erie and Huron counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,371 at the 2020 census. It is best known as the birthplace and childhood home of Thomas Edison. The Erie County portion of Milan is part of th ...

,''California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1959'' and received training in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, in chiropractic. He is referred to in publications as "Dr. Frank McCoy" but did not have an

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

degree. His book, ''The Fast Way To Health'', was first published in 1923 by the Times-Mirror Press. His first newspaper column "Health and Diet Advice" ran 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 ...

'' from 1927 to 1932 and was syndicated in other cities. During roughly this time, he also lectured and had a radio program in the Los Angeles area. Other newspaper columns he has authored include "How to Keep Well" and "Here's To Your Health." He died at the age of 52 in his home at the Uplifters Club in Southern California. His death was related to liver disease.

Criticism

McCoy was criticized for making dangerous pseudoscientific claims about

fasting Fasting is the act of refraining from eating, and sometimes drinking. However, from a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (before "breakfast"), or to the metabolic sta ...

.Malmberg, Carl. (1935)
''Diet and Die''
Hillman-Curl, Inc. pp. 44–46 For example, he stated that fasting could cure everything from

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. McCoy's book ''The Fast Way To Health'' developed a "Philosophy of Scientific Fasting" that was described by health writer Carl Malmberg as a "collection of misinformation". His opinions drew criticism in '' The American Journal of Public Health'' and in a 1934 ''

JAMA ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...

'' editorial which stated:

How long will newspapers and periodicals which share some responsibility for the public health continue to advise the uninformed in regard to infectious diseases in such ways as to encourage the spread and the virulence of these infections? It is not known how many newspapers print these daily discourses of Frank McCoy, pet of the ''Los Angeles Times''. Surely editors fail their readers when they continue to promulgate such superlative nonsense as emanates from McCoy and his ''Los Angeles Times'' associates.

Publications

''The Fast Way to Health''
(Los Angeles: Times-Mirror Press, 1923)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Frank 1888 births 1940 deaths Alternative cancer treatment advocates American chiropractors American columnists American health and wellness writers Fasting advocates Orthopaths People from Milan, Ohio Pseudoscientific diet advocates

Biography

Criticism

Publications

See also

References