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Adelle DavisImage:ADAVIS1.jpg Daisie Adelle Davis (1904-1974), popularly known as Adelle Davis, was a pioneer in the fledgling field of nutrition, and an outspoken advocate of the dominant role that nutrientsplay in maintaining healthand preventing disease, and in restoring health after the onset of disease: "Research shows that diseases of almost every variety can be produced by an under-supply of various combinations of nutrients....[and] can be corrected when all nutrients are supplied, provided irreparable damage has not been done; and, still better, that these diseases can be prevented." [{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_quote1] Davis is best known as the authorof a series of educational books publishedin the United States between 1947 and 1965. One of her books, Let's Have Healthy Children (Signet 1981, revised edition) states that Davis prepared individual dietsfor more than 20,000 people who came to her or were referred to her by physicians during her years as a consultant. Her published works were criticized and discredited by some members of the scientific and medical communities at that time, but ongoing medical and nutritional research has corroborated much of her nutritional guidelines of yesteryear, and brought her a measure of posthumousacclaim.
Background and educationBorn to Charles and Harriette Davis in the farmlandsof central Indiana, USAon February 25, 1904, Adelle attended Purdue Universityfrom 1923 to 1925, and received her Bachelor of Artsdegree from the University of California at Berkeleyin 1927. In New York, after dietetic training at Bellevueand Fordham Hospitals, she became supervisor of nutrition for YonkersPublic Schools from 1928 through 1930. From 1931 through 1938 Davis was a consulting nutritionist in Oaklandand Los Angeles, California, did postgraduatework at Columbia Universityand the University of California at Los Angeles, and received her Master of Sciencedegree in Biochemistryfrom the University of Southern California. In October of 1943 Adelle married George Edward Leisey, and sometime thereafter they adopted their two children, George and Barbara. In 1962 she was a guest on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson". From 1948 until 1974 she was a consulting nutritionist in Palo Verde, California, and a frequent speaker at universities and other venues. Published worksImage:DavisLER.jpg Adelle's earliest writing, Optimum Health, was published in 1935 by Stationers' Hall in London, England, as was her second in 1939, You Can Stay Well. In 1942, Vitality Through Planned Nutrition, the most assertive of Davis's works of the period, was published by The Macmillan Company, and subsequently re-published twice (once as revised) in the following years. Davis's popularity in the United States began with the release of the first in her series of "Let's" titles, Let's Cook it Right, published in 1947. The series would eventually include four titles, all of which became best sellers. In 1951 Let's Have Healthy Children became the second, followed in 1954 by Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit, and in 1965 the series ended with the final book, Let's Get Well. The series was published originally by Harcourtof New York. Some of these works included numerous accounts of the dietary recommendations that were made during consultations, and the results that were obtained by those who followed her advice. Her personal analyses of the published reports of clinical studiesof humans and laboratorytests of animals were also the basis for some of the dietary advice contained therein, and a multitude of referencesto these reports was included. Davis also wrote a classic of psychedelicliterature, Exploring Inner Space: Personal Experiences Under LSD-25, under the psuedonymJane Dunlap, which was also published by Harcourt in 1961. According to the book's dust jacket, "Dunlap" volunteered to be the subject of a medically supervised study employing lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD-25, and to record in detail her visions while under the drug's influence. ControversyAn article in Time magazine (Dec. 18, 1972) characterized Davis, whose books had sold about 7 million copies by that time, as "the high priestess of a new nutrition religion, [who] preaches a gospel that many scientists and academicians find heretical", and stated that "millions regard her as an oraclewhere eating is concerned". The article went on to say that, as "one of the earliest supporters of the natural-food movement, she follows a diet of fruit, home-grown vegetables, raw milk, eggsand cheese, makes her own cerealfrom oatmeal, almondsand wheat germ. She also fortifies her diet by taking no fewer than six vitamins and supplements after each meal?to make up for any nutrients missing from her foods or destroyed in their preparation". The article also stated that "Dr. Edward H. Rynearson, professor emeritus of the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine of the University of Minnesota....has conducted a careful study of her books, [and] claims to have found hundreds of errors of fact and interpretation. Says he: 'Any physician or dietitian will find the book larded with inaccuracies, misquotation and unsubstantiated statements.'" A letter, published in 1978 in the Journal of the American Medical Associationand written by Charles V. Wetli, M.D. and Joseph H. Davis, M.D. of the University of MiamiSchool of Medicine, relates the following account about an infant named Ryan Pitzer:"A 2-month-old 4.8-kg boy had 'colic.' The mother, following directions in a popular health book [footnote: Davis A: Let's Have Healthy Children, ed 3. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc, 1972, p. 242], mixed 3,000 mg of potassium chloridewith her breast milkand administered it to the baby in two divided doses. The symptomswere relieved but recurred the next morning. In the same manner, 1,500 mg of potassium chloride was fed to the child. A few hours later the baby became listless and cyanotic, stopped breathing, and was rushed to a hospital. The initial serum potassium level was 10.1 mEq/liter and remained elevated until he died 28 hours later despite intensive treatment."On page 242 of the above-footnoted publication, Davis had made the following statement: "In a study of 653 babies, every infant with colic had low blood potassium. 'Improvement was dramatic,' and the colic disappeared immediately, when physicians gave 500 to 1,000 milligrams of potassium chloride intravenouslyor 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams by mouth. These doctors found that most babies needed 3,000 milligrams of potassium chloride (2/3 teaspoon) before colic was corrected. They suggested that potassium be given to prevent colic, especially during diarrhea, when much of this nutrient is lost in the feces." The parents of Ryan Pitzer filed suitand settled out of court for a reported $160,000, which was paid by Adelle Davis's estate, the book's publisher, and the manufacturerof the potassium product. The book itself was removed from circulationand subsequently revised by Marshall Mandell, M.D. and republished in 1981. In his introductionto the revised edition, Mandell strongly advised parents: "I wish to stress that you, the reader, must not make important decisions concerning your child's nutrition or medical needs without first consulting with your nutrition-oriented pediatrician, family practitioner, or internist." Tributes"Adelle Davis was a pioneer in the health movement," according to Dr. Linus Pauling, recipient of two Nobel Prizesand author of several books on vitamin C. "She came to see me about 20 years ago. I had quite a good impression of her. She was essentially correct in almost everything she said." Image:ADAVIS2.jpg Thus began a 1990 article in Natural Food and Farming magazine which examined Adelle Davis's teachings in the light of more recent medical research. The article concluded that "Today's scientific findings both substantiate and expand upon a number of her teachings", and that "Today's research shows that she was indeed ahead of her time....and largely right as well". In support of consumers who raise questions about the safety of food in the United States, Senator Patrick Leahyof Vermont, who was chairmanof the U.S. SenateCommittee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry at the time, included the following statement in a press releasein 1998:"One of the pioneers of the movement toward healthier eating ? Adelle Davis ? raised many food safety and health issues based on her own research. Her views were not accepted by the scientific community at the time. Now the weight of medical evidence ? including former Surgeon GeneralKoop's Report on Nutrition and Health ? has vindicated her views." [{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_quote2] Adelle Davis todayThe Adelle Davis Foundation, whose mission is to "support a program of education and developmental activities relative to the field of nutrition", is located in Santa Barbara, California, and is represented in the online community. This organization provides scholarshipsfor qualified students whose chosen field is related to nutrition. The president of the foundation, Eloise Dilling, has stated that they are currently planning to have Adelle Davis's books re-published in the near future. References
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Categories: Nutrition| Writers| 1904 births| 1974 deaths
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