Neal Barnard | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | 10 July 1953
Nationality | American |
Education | George Washington University School of Medicine (M.D.) |
Occupation(s) | Non-profit executive, author, medical researcher |
Known for | Founder and President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine |
Neal D. Barnard (born 10 July 1953) is an American animal rights activist, author, psychiatrist and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). [3] Barnard is an advocate of whole food plant-based nutrition.
Barnard's views on reversing diabetes with a low-fat vegan diet have been criticized by diabetologists as misleading as Type 1 diabetes can not be reversed. [4]
Barnard was born and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota.[ citation needed ] He received his medical training at George Washington University School of Medicine, [5] where he began to explore vegan diets. [6] He is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, [7] a fellow of the American College of Cardiology [8] and a lifetime member of the American Medical Association. [9]
Barnard is an activist for animal rights. [3] He is associated with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and has written for their magazine Animal Times. [3]
Barnard founded Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in 1985 to promote preventive medicine. [10] By 2016, the Washington D.C.-based PCRM had 150,000 members, including 12,000 physicians and reported revenues of more than $20 million. [11] [12] He appeared in the documentaries Forks Over Knives (2011), [13] [14] PlantPure Nation (2015), [15] and What the Health (2017). [13] Since 2003, [16] Barnard has served as an adjunct professor of medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine. [17] In January 2016, [18] Barnard founded the Barnard Medical Center in Washington, D.C., [19] which provides primary care with a focus on nutrition guidance. [20]
In his active practice, Barnard works with patients with diabetes, obesity, and other conditions in clinical research protocols. He plays cello, guitar, and keyboards, and has been a member of the bands Pop Maru, Verdun, and Carbonworks. [21] [22] Alec Baldwin once called Barnard ‘Eddie Van Halen with a medical degree.’ [23]
In 2011, Barnard was inducted into the Vegetarian Hall of Fame of the North American Vegetarian Society during its summer conference, where he has occasionally spoken. [24]
Barnard is the author of the 2009 book Dr Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes. [4] It argues that a low-fat vegan diet can stabilize blood sugar and insulin function and minimise medication within weeks. [4] Jim Mann has commented that "there is nothing new in the suggestion that a low-fat vegan diet, which helps to promote weight loss, can be very helpful for managing diabetes. My main concern, however, is that some of the claims made by the author are over-rated; in particular, to imply that Type 1 diabetes can be reversed is mischievous". [4]
Elaine Rush stated that although the book does include some sound advice, "not all diabetes can be reversed and therefore the title of this book is misleading". She also suggested that Barnard's low-fat vegan diet would not be suitable for children or pregnant women without expert support. [4]
Peter Lipson of Science-Based Medicine has criticized Barnard's views on low-fat vegan diets reversing type 2 diabetes as based on only one study, commenting "this is not a study on which to hang an entire medical philosophy". [25] According to Lipton, weight loss is more important than a specific type of diet in determining improvement of diabetes and the idea that a particular diet is a panacea is untrue. [25]
Barnard plays cello, guitar, and keyboards, and has been a member of the bands Pop Maru, Verdun, and Carbonworks. [28] [29]
Joel Fuhrman is an American celebrity doctor who advocates a plant-based diet termed the "nutritarian" diet which emphasizes nutrient-dense foods. His practice is based on his nutrition-based approach to obesity and chronic disease, as well as promoting his products and books. He has written books promoting his dietary approaches including the bestsellers Eat to Live, Super Immunity, The Eat to Live Cookbook, The End of Dieting (2016) and The End of Heart Disease (2016). He sells a related line of nutrition-related products.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. Plant-based diets encompass a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. They do not need to be vegan or vegetarian, but are defined in terms of low frequency of animal food consumption.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is a non-profit research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. According to Charity Navigator, the organization works for "compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion."
Thomas Colin Campbell is an American biochemist who specializes in the effect of nutrition on long-term health. He is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University.
Dean Michael Ornish is an American physician and researcher. He is the president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. The author of Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease,Eat More, Weigh Less and The Spectrum, he is an advocate for using diet and lifestyle changes to treat and prevent heart disease.
A diabetic diet is a diet that is used by people with diabetes mellitus or high blood sugar to minimize symptoms and dangerous complications of long-term elevations in blood sugar.
Caldwell Blakeman Esselstyn Jr. is an American physician, author and former Olympic rowing champion.
John A. McDougall is an American physician and author. He has written a number of diet books advocating the consumption of a low-fat vegan diet based on starchy foods and vegetables.
Vesanto Melina is a Canadian Registered Dietitian and co-author of books that have become classics in the field of vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods nutrition, have sold almost a million copies in English and are in nine additional languages. She has presented talks and workshops on various aspects of vegetarian, vegan and raw foods and nutrition for dietitians, health professionals, and vegetarian associations in 17 American states and 9 Canadian provinces, and in 10 countries.
Michael Herschel Greger is an American physician, author, and professional speaker on public health issues, best known for his advocacy of a whole-food, plant-based diet, and his opposition to animal-derived food products.
Michael A. Klaper is an American physician, vegan health educator, conference and event speaker, and an author of articles and books of vegan medical advice. Graduating from medical school in 1972, Klaper became a vegan ten years later and subsequently became active in the area, publishing three books advocating veganism and serving as a founding director of the Institute of Nutrition Education and Research.
Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, and phytochemicals; and lower in calories, saturated fat, iron, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.
Charles Raymond Attwood was an American board-certified paediatrician and vegetarianism activist who promoted a low-fat diet.
Mark Adam Hyman is an American physician and author. He is the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center and was a columnist for The Huffington Post. Hyman was a regular contributor to the Katie Couric Show until the show's cancellation in 2013. He writes a blog called The Doctor’s Farmacy, which examines many topics related to human health and welfare. He is the author of several books on nutrition and longevity, including Food Fix, Eat Fat, Get Thin, and Young Forever.
Eating You Alive is a 2018 health documentary film about why Americans are suffering from chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune disease, among other diseases, and whether the outcome can be changed.
Elmer Lee was an American physician and advocate of natural hygiene and vegetarianism. He was the founder and editor of the health magazine Health Culture.
Joel K. Kahn is an American cardiologist, integrative medicine practitioner and promoter of whole food plant-based nutrition. He has been criticized for promoting anti-vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation.
Susan Marie Levin was an American registered dietitian, advocate of plant-based nutrition and veganism activist. She was one of the authors of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position on vegetarian diets in 2016.
Brenda Davis is a Canadian registered dietitian and advocate of plant-based nutrition. She has co-authored several popular books on vegan diets.
Hans Diehl was an American physician and Seventh-day Adventist, best known for his advocacy of lifestyle medicine and whole food plant-based nutrition. He was the founder of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP).