|
 John Harvey Kellogg (February 26, 1852 �
December 14, 1943) physician, surgeon, a great showmen, health food
promoter, and inventor was a larger than life character in the wellness
movement.
"Kellogg was a dynamo of human energy, a
personification of the work ethic, who needed only 4 to 5 hours of
sleep a night, went cycling or jogging every morning, dictated 25 to 50
letters a day, adopted and reared 42 children, wrote nearly 50 books,
edited a major magazine, performed more than 22,000 operations, gave
virtually all of his money to charitable organizations, loved human
service, generally accomplished the work of ten active people, and
lived in good health to age 91."[2]
John was born into a large devout Seventh-day Adventist
family in Tyrone, Michigan who lived on a 160-acre farm . And, moved
four years later in 1856 to Battle Creek, Michigan. Adventists were
strict vegetarians who believed in following Genesis literally. He
would soon embraced his religion's approach to healthy living. After
having worked for James and Ellen White, two of the founding members of
the Adventist Church, as a teenager he was selected by them to become a
real physician in order to give legitimacy to their views on health.
He initially studied medicine at the Hygeio-Therapeutic
College, run by Russell T. Trall, for twenty weeks. Then at the
Michigan State Normal School (since 1959, Eastern Michigan University).
And finally graduated from the New York University Medical College at
Bellevue Hospital in 1875 with a degree in medicine. In 1876
biomedicine is offically born. His graduation thesis, "What is
Disease?," clearly reflected the natural hygiene beliefs of Russell
Trall.
Before graduating he started editing the Adventist's Health
Reformer newsletter in 1872, which had been operating since 1866.
Upon graduating from medical school, Kellogg began working at the
Adventist's Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek, Michigan. He
became the superintendent of it in 1876 when he was only 24 years old.
And, renamed it the Battle Creek Sanitarium (Sans) in 1878 because it
was a place where people could learn how to stay well. Under his
direction, the Sans soon became a luxurious amusement center for the
rich and famous to visit. He, also, took over editorial control of the Health
Reformer and renamed it the Good Health magazine.
In 1902 he rebuilt the Sans after it was completely
destroyed by fire. John Harvey Kellogg begins dressing all in white
which was soon to become a trade-mark of his. In 1907, the Adventist
church broke ties with Kellogg. In 1927, at its height of success, the
Battle Creek Sanitarium had treated more than 7,000 patients. Then the
Battle Creek Sanitarium went into debt in order to expand its
facilities for a gigantic new fifteen-story tower, just as the Great
Depression was to hit. Its patronage soon dropped off drastically. The
over expanded Sans went into receivership in 1933. The Sanitarium,
however, continued to operate on a scaled back basis, even as late as
1942 when the US Army purchased the main building.
Michigan suffered from overcast skies which motivated
Kellogg to invent his electric light bath. So, over the years he had
received numerous offers to combine the Battle Creek diet and
treatments along with Florida's warmer climate and sunshine. In 1931
Kellogg finally established the Miami-Battle Creek Sanitarium at Miami
Springs, Florida. He spent most of his remaining years at this 100 bed
facility.
John Harvey Kellogg died at the end of 1943 at the age
of 91 years and 10 months, after suffering through 3 days of pneumonia.
The list of Kellogg's accomplishments seemingly can go
on forever. He was an accomplished surgeon and a member of many
different medical associations, including the AMA. He invented a number
of instruments and devices which he got 30 patents for, including the
electric blanket, the electric light bath and the universal dynamometer
for testing the strength of the muscles. Founded the American Medical
Missionary College and the Battle Creek College. Organized a School of
Home Economics as well as a School of Physical Education. And, made
seven trips abroad to further his medical education.
Who was John Harvey Kellogg?
Kellogg called his system of health biologic living.
His health program consisted principally of a
grain-based vegetarian diet. He wrote that natural "foods abound in
vitamins, and vitamins are the real elixir of life discovered at last
in this twentieth century."[3] Kellogg, also, strongly opposed alcohol,
tobacco, caffeine, sugar, condiments and spices. Biologic living
also advocated exercise, hydrotherapy, fresh air and sunshine, good
posture and dress. According to Kellogg the benefits of biologic
living were "health, comfort, efficiency, long life" and "good
digestion, sound sleep, a clear head, a placid mind, content and joy to
be alive."[3] Which largely parallels natural health's interest in
the mind and in stress reduction.
Kellogg claimed to be a scientific physician who
advocated scientific feeding with an unwavering belief in the power of
whole grain foods. But, much of his ideas on biologic living
were based upon the writings of Seventh-day Adventist prophet Ellen
White, who reportedly got her inspirations from over 2,000 visions with
god. Nevertheless, Kellogg also strongly believed in conducting
experiments. Many of Kellogg's treatment methods could be viewed simply
as good holistic nursing that was in many cases effective, especially
for a time period when antibiotics generally were not available.
A very common health problem during Kellogg's time
period was dyspepsia, colitis, and biliousness because the masses
generally ate a very bad diet. It would be no exaggeration to state
that Kellogg specialized in treating these types of gastric
disturbances. Thus, it is very reasonable to assume that many of
Kellogg's rules for Biologic Living were designed to prevent
these types of gastric problems.
John Harvey Kellogg's list of health foods developed and
marketed included Granola (1877 a mixture of oatmeal and corn meal,
baked into biscuits, then ground to bits), peanut butter (1892),
Granose (1894 a flaked-wheat cereal), corn flakes (1897), caramel
cereal coffee, and Bulgarian yogurt. In addition, Kellogg developed
America's first meat analogs, and meat substitutes Protose and Nuttose,
as well as the first acidophilus soymilk
Kellogg' Less Memorable Ideas
Kellogg, also, managed to achieved notoriety for his
views on sex, autointoxication which he believe was the source of most
illness, his use of a daily enema regimine at the Sans, and for his
interests in eugenics.
Was Kellogg Right?
This is really the wrong question to be asking. No
wellness pioneer was ever completely correct or wrong.
Strong Points
Kellogg was right, in many cases, for what he advised
people to do in order to live longer. Many of the things advocated by
Kellogg would later be shown by scientific research to be on a path to
good health and longevity. Kellogg suggested that lifestyle can
affect your longevity. And, advocated all of the key elements of
natural health: concern with eating a healthy diet, exercise, vitamins,
and reducing stress. Kellogg was clearly interested in exploring the
use of non-drug treatment methods.
Weak Points
He was wrong for the most part, however, when he tried
to justify why. Kellogg started out with divine revelations as
his primary justification. But, once he became a physician he turned to
the biomedicine of his time period that was obsessed with fighting
germs for support of his biologic living ideas. In other words,
Kellogg, the scientific physician, following the then current germ
theory fad incorrectly attributed the cause of most lifestyle diseases
to autointoxication or the "infection of the intestine by
introducing poison-forming bacteria."[3]
As a historical figure, it is all too easy to forget
that much of what Kellogg wrote about the evils of meat was written
during a time period when meat processing plants were not regulated for
health and safety by the Federal government. And, ice boxes were how
most people refrigerated their meat.
Look Towards Research for Answers
Scientific research would eventually show the that the
causation of lifestye diseases is an extremely complex issue. That some
health issues, like IBS, can in some cases be caused by excess
bacteria. And, that some cancers can be caused by viruses. So, by
merely modernizing Kellogg's terminology it would not be exaggerating
to claim that he liked to treat patients suffering from IBS by managing
their symptoms, and perhaps in some cases even curing the disease, with
his infamous yogurt enemas.
So, Kellogg's biologic living ideas were not
really as bad as most of his critics have suggested. And, John
Harvey Kellogg deserves more than any other person to be called the
father of natural health.
Authored Over 50 Books - Many of which are still in
print.
- 1876 Uses of Water in Health and Disease - Covers the
therapeutic uses of water, or rational hydrotherapy. Appears to be as
effective a method of holistic nursing today, as it was back then,
especially when antibiotics are not available. Tepid baths, for
example, are effective at lowering body temperature when properly
applied for some health conditions, such as fevers and sunstroke.
Covers a surprisingly large number of techniques that would be of
interest to both mothers and holistic nurses.
- 1877 Plain facts for old and young - This book is
often used to justify totally ignoring Kellogg's place in history for
his views on the evils of sex. But, the book does manage to conclude
with two chapters on health related topics: General Health Hints and Quotes on Health.
- 1879 Dyspepsia, Its Causes, Prevention and Cure
- 1887 First Book in Physiology and Hygiene - Presents
the laws of healthful living, and the subjects of physiology, and
hygiene to young children.
- 1896 The Stomach: Its Disorders and How to Cure Them
- 1897 Pork or The Dangers of Pork-Eating Exposed,
Booklet
- 1903 Rational Hydrotherapy
- 1910 Light Therapeutics
- 1913 Dr Kellogg's Lectures on Practical Health Topics
- 1915 Health Habits--HSPH
- 1916 Ideas
- 1915 Colon Hygiene
- 1915 Constipation--How to Fight It
- 1916 Neurasthenia or Nervous Exhaustion, 2 pages
- 1921 The Simple Life in a Nutshell--Rules for Right
Living, 16 pages - Booklet on 60 rules for Biologic Living. Kellogg
stole the title of his booklet from a French cleric named Charles
Wagner, who wrote The Simple Life (1901), whose tract was a
failure in France, but an instant success in America. In his rules
for right living, Kellogg dropped his obsession with the evils of sex
and officially launched his ideas on biologic living. His
formal assertion that lifestyle affects longevity marks the birth of
natural health in 1921.
- 1922 Autointoxication or Intestinal Toxemia
- 1922 Tobaccoism, or How Tobacco Kills - Kellogg's
exposé on the dangers of smoking tobacco was reprinted in the Am
J Public Health. 2002 Jun;92(6):932-4.
- 1923 Battle Creek Sanitarium Health Ladder, Columbia
Records - A set of five 78 rpm phonograph records that promoted a
series of twenty physical exercises that was accompanied with a 50 page
booklet. Music was used as a means to reduce the boredom of the
physical exercises.
- 1923 Natural Diet of Man
- 1927 The New Dietetics
- 1928 Habits in Relation to Longevity, 15 pages
- 1929 Art of Massage
- 1930 The Biologic Life: Rules for "Right Living," 30
pages
- 1932 How to have good health: Through biologic living
Organizations that are carrying on the work started by
John Harvey Kellogg
- Lifestyle Laboratory - A web site that at least
talks abut the health principles of Biologic Living.
References
- Richard W. Schwarz, John Harvey Kellogg, M.D.,Andrews
University Press, Berrien Springs, MI, 1981.
- William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and Battle Creek Foods: Work
with Soy, Unpublished Manuscript
- John Harvey Kellogg, The Simple Life in a Nutshell, 1905.
- Gerald Carson, Cornflake crusade, Rinehart & Company, Inc.,
New York, 1957.
|
