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Nutrition

The Early Deaths Of Health And Nutrition Gurus

Following the footsteps of popular health and nutrition gurus could be the most unhealthy thing you ever attempted to do.

Do As I Do – Better Not

For all they tell us they know about healthy eating, many diet, nutrition and health gurus have a very bad track record of living to ripe old age.

This afternoon I sat down and checked how some of the more popular ones fared. You would expect them to reach at least 90, given what they promise us.

Not so, unfortunately. Check how they compare to the average US life expectancy for men (77) and women (82).

K. Dun Gifford (-6)

Mr. Gifford was a prominent supporter of the popular Mediterranean Diet, that is supposed to protect you from Alzheimer’s disease, colon cancer and  heart disease.

If Gifford faithfully adhered to the olive oil filled advice, it didn’t work for him: he died at 71 from a heart attack.

Dr. Stuart M. Berger (-37)

Berger was behind books like Forever Young — 20 Years Younger in 20 Weeks, whose premise was that supplementing vitamins and minerals are at the heart of live long and prosper.

He died of a heart attack at age 40.

Maureen Salaman  (-12)

For more than 30 years Salaman was a formidable crusader in the name of alternative cancer treatments. Among her many books were Foods That Heal and Nutrition: The Cancer Answer.

She died at age 70 of, well, cancer.

Dr. Roy Walford (+2 or -41)

Walford was a longevity researcher writing books with colorful titles such as The 120 Year Diet: How to Double Your Vital Years. An army of faithful followers emulated Walford’s methods, whose main approach was severe calorie restriction.

He left our world at age 79, 41 years short of the goal. The cause of death was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Instead of following his intuition, and as a proper scientist himself, he should have heeded research showing that caloric restriction hastens death from ALS.

Robert E. Kowalski (-12)

Kowalski was originally a medical journalist, but rose to fame through his best-selling book The New 8-Week Cholesterol Cure. In it, he advocated a heart health program that included megadoses of vitamins.

He died at age 65 from a pulmonary embolism.

“Dr.” Paavo Airola (-14)

“Dr.” (the pedigree of the title is unclear) Airola published many books, but his most popular one was How to Keep Slim, Healthy, and Young with Juice Fasting. Juice fasting, he told readers, cures everything from arthritis, cancer and asthma to obesity, diabetes, and heart illness.

His cause of death was a stroke, which he succumbed to at 63.

Adelle Davis (-12)

During the 1960s and 1970s Adelle Davis was America’s most popular nutritionist, whose main idea of healthy nutrition was a diet  consisting of raw foods, vitamin supplementation and drinking plenty of milk. She claimed she had “never seen anyone die of cancer who drank a quart of milk per day,” like she did.

Her death at age 70 came from cancer.

Almon Glenn Braswell (-14)

Braswell was considered the most successful single supplement seller of the US. With his company Gero Vita, Inc. he marketed colorful products such Gerovital H3, supposed to hold “the secret of eternal vigor and youth.” He also published the Journal of Longevity, full of enchanting tips on how to stay on this planet just that bit longer.

But longevity and Gerovital H3 didn’t work for Mr. Braswell. He died at age 63.

Where Are They Now?

Yes, they are dead, but their companies and books keep on selling. One would think that for an audience that believes anecdotal is much more important than scientific evidence, the person behind the theories dying early would be a pretty big turn off.

But not so. Here’s Braswell’s company GeroVita happily doing business and here are people still believing in Salaman’s books.

Picture courtesy of “Fairy Heart“.

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Latest Comments

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9 Comments

  1. CindyB says:
    August 18, 2014 at 8:40 pm

    I would think making a living trying to sell your ideas on health would be a pretty stressful way of life. I wonder how long the big meditation/yoga gurus live? Is the idea of an old man meditating on a mountain top myth or reality?

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      August 19, 2014 at 1:06 am

      Isn’t it strange that you can find true enlightenment only at some places it takes weeks to travel to and never on your own couch?

      Reply
  2. Steve says:
    August 18, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    > 1/4GOMAD = say goodbye to your health.
    < 1/4GOMAD = say goodbye to your health.
    1/4 GOMAD? Live fo'eva.
    Apparently, a quart a day for health is comparable to 5 reps on a novice program for max gains.

    If only she knew that the true panacea is B17!

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      August 19, 2014 at 1:06 am

      Haha, I think she’d have wholeheartedly agreed to the GOMAD approach 🙂

      Reply
  3. Erik Arnesen says:
    August 18, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    I thought the real mind behind the Mediterranean Diet was Ancel Keys, who lived to 100. 🙂

    And you forgot to mention J. I. Rodale. Under an interview, he said he had decided to live to 100. The next minute he had a heart attack and died …

    Reply
    • evilcyber says:
      August 19, 2014 at 1:05 am

      Thanks for the correction about Ancel Keys; I changed it accordingly.

      And I didn’t know that about J. I. Rodale. Quite macabre, wasn’t it? 🙂

      Reply
  4. Jim Turner says:
    June 6, 2018 at 7:01 am

    Jack Lalanne lived to be almost 97 years old. Dr. Norman Walker (the juice doctor) lived to be 99 on a raw food diet. Paul Bragg was 96. We live in a poison world. We don’t have all the answers about nutrition yet, but we are learning. Much of what these early “gurus” taught has now been proven false. As science continues, someday we will have more answers to longevity. Live each day like it is your last day and enjoy the time we have. Be a good person and do good towards others.

    Reply
  5. David Cavall says:
    October 9, 2021 at 6:36 am

    Hey fools– Paavo Airola died of an aneurysm so that negates all the truths he wrote about?
    That was his cause of death not a heart attack–not a stroke–you even know what an aneurysm is?

    Reply
  6. Vivian says:
    October 11, 2023 at 2:13 pm

    You underestimate the evil of big pharma. They will stop at nothing to remove threats to their agenda-to keep people hooked on their medical system.

    https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-11-15-77-holistic-practitioners-now-dead-since-2015-this-is-beyond-strange-they-are-dropping-like-flies-and-msm-ignores-them.html

    In 2019 a rash of murders happened to many who proved they had cures for the panic big pharma launched about the hyped Corona virus later dubbed CV19.

    Event 201 held in Oct 2019 laid out their plans which they followed. Those who had natural ways out are killed and it made to look “normal”

    Before you roll your eyes, Jack Ruby when in jail panicked and begged them not to let anyone visit him because the 3 letter agency beginning with C had the ability to give him cancer overnight to kill him.

    Visitors were let in. He was dead of cancer WITHIN A DAY OR SO.

    Reply

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