Neal D. Barnard

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Neal Barnard
Born Fargo, North Dakota
Nationality American
Education M.D.
Alma mater George Washington University School of Medicine
Occupation Physician, psychiatrist, writer
Employer Founder, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University
Website
www.nealbarnard.org

Neal D. Barnard is an American physician, author, clinical researcher, and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an international network of physicians, scientists, and laypeople who promote preventive medicine, conduct clinical research, and promote higher standards in research. An advocate of a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet, he has also conducted research into alternatives to animal experimentation and has been active in the animal protection movement. As of 2013, he is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.[1]

Barnard is the author of more than 50 published research papers on nutrition and its impact on human health, and more than 15 books, including Power Foods for the Brain (2013), The 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart (2011), Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007), and Breaking the Food Seduction (2003).

Background

Barnard grew up in Fargo, North Dakota in a family of cattle ranchers and physicians. He received his M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine.[1] He trained as a psychiatrist and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He provided psychiatric services at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the Calvary Shelter for Homeless Women in D.C., then shifted his focus to researching the impact of diet on human health, and finding alternatives to the use of animals in research.[2] He has published his research in several academic journals, including Diabetes Care, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Lancet Oncology and the American Journal of Cardiology, and is an invited peer reviewer for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

Research

He conducted a study with Georgetown University in 2000 regarding the role of diet in menstrual disorders,[3] and in 2005 another on the effects of a low-fat vegan diet on weight loss and insulin sensitivity.[4] In 2002, he published an exposé of the common medical practice of using oral estrogens to suppress growth in adolescent girls.[5]

In 2003, he was awarded a US$350,000 research grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the effect of a low-fat vegan diet on diabetes. The study results, published in Diabetes Care, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that "both a low-fat vegan diet and a diet based on American Diabetes Association guidelines improved glycemic and lipid control in type 2 diabetic patients," but "these improvements were greater with a low-fat, vegan diet." [6] These studies are now cited by the American Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Recommendations and in the policy statements of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. With colleagues at PCRM, he developed an insulin ELISA assay that utilizes monoclonal antibodies from hybridomas maintained in media free of animal products.[7] The test proved as effective as methods that use animal products, and is now produced commercially by Millipore.[8]

Barnard headed two clinical trials testing the effects of plant-based diets in the workplace, working with GEICO. Results published in 2010 and 2013 showed significant reductions in body weight, blood sugar, and absenteeism.

In 2004, he formed The Washington Center For Clinical Research, a nonprofit subsidiary of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine that aims to conduct research into the role of nutrition in health.[9] He is now an adjunct associate professor of medicine at GWU and is also a life member of the American Medical Association.[10]

Books

Barnard has written more than a 15 books about nutrition that have collectively sold over two million copies.[1] He is also the editor-in-chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (2007). In Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes he writes that the disease can be improved or even reversed in three steps: Set aside animal products; keep vegetable oils to a minimum, including olive oil; and favor foods with a low glycemic index.[11] Power Foods for the Brain presents a program for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Nutritionist Marion Nestle, while disagreeing with Barnard's vegan principles, wrote that he raises "provocative questions that deserve serious attention."[1] Physician Dean Ornish has called him "one of the leading pioneers in educating the public about the healing power of diet and nutrition."[12] and Henry Heimlich described his "tremendous influence on dietary practices in the United States."[13] Salon praised his ability to promote a vegan diet "with such eloquence as to make the proposition sound almost inviting."[1]

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

In 1985, Barnard founded the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The organization is opposed to some medical and scientific practices that it considers harmful to human health, and promotes the health benefits of a vegetarian and vegan diet.[14] PCRM is based in Washington D.C., where a staff of seventy operate within a $9 million budget.[1] With PCRM, Barnard has successfully campaigned against live-animal teaching labs for medical students, something he refused to take part in himself when he was studying medicine. According to Salon.com, by 2001, over half of U.S. medical schools had stopped using live animals for teaching purposes, and by 2012, 94 percent of schools had abandoned the practice.[1] Barnard also promotes the use of alternatives to animals in medical research.[14]

In 1991, Barnard founded The Cancer Project, originally as a PCRM program. It became an independently incorporated organization in 2004, with Barnard as president, aiming to educate the public on diet’s role in cancer prevention and survival by providing nutrition and cooking classes for cancer patients throughout the U.S.[15]

In 2009, PCRM erected a series of billboards at Washington’s Union Station Metro calling for healthier school lunches. The images depicted an 8-year-old Florida girl saying “President Obama’s daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don’t I?” suggesting that vegetarian options should not be reserved for those who can afford the $29,000-a-year tuition at Washington’s Sidwell Friends School. The White House was not amused and insisted that the billboards be removed. Dr. Barnard refused and called on the White House to support reforms to school lunches.[16] The billboards remained, and Congress later passed modest improvements to school meals.

Criticism of the Atkins diet

As president of PCRM, Barnard has been at the forefront of criticism of the high-fat Atkins diet. He runs a website advising of potential health consequences, and warning of the possibility of legal liability for doctors who prescribe the diet.[17] In 2004, he approved the release by PCRM of a medical report on the death Robert Atkins.[18] The New York City medical examiner's office said the report had been "inappropriately obtained" by a cardiologist, who said he had provided it to PCRM for research purposes only. Barnard said the cardiologist was aware the report would be released and justified it to expose the effect of the diet on Atkins' health.[19]

Films

He appears in the 2011 documentary feature film Forks Over Knives, a film that traces the careers of T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn. Barnard also features in the film Super Size Meand Mad Cowboy: The Documentary. He has hosted three PBS programs focused on the themes of his books Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes, The 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, and Power Foods for the Brain.

Bibliography

  • The Power of Your Plate (1990)
  • A Physician's Slimming Guide (1992)
  • Food for Life (1993)
  • Eat Right, Live Longer (1995)
  • Foods That Fight Pain (1998)
  • The Best in the World, volumes I, II, and III (1998, 2000, and 2010)
  • Turn off the Fat Genes (2001)
  • Breaking the Food Seduction (2003)
  • Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007)
  • A Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (1st edition 2007, 2nd edition 2009)
  • The Cancer Survivor’s Guide (2008)
  • The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook (2010)
  • 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart (2011)
  • Power Foods for the Brain (2013)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Wadman, Meredith. "Profile: Neal Barnard", Nature, 206, 12: 602.
  2. ↑ Sharkey, Joe. "Perennial Foes Meet Again in a Battle of the Snack Bar",The New York Times, November 23, 2004.
  3. ↑ Barnard, N; Scialli, AR; Hurlock, D; Bertron, P (2000). "Diet and sex-hormone binding globulin, dysmenorrhea, and premenstrual symptoms". Obstetrics & Gynecology 95 (2): 245–50. doi:10.1016/S0029-7844(99)00525-6. PMID 10674588. 
  4. ↑ Barnard, N; Scialli, A; Turnermcgrievy, G; Lanou, A; Glass, J (2005). "The effects of a low-fat, plant-based dietary intervention on body weight, metabolism, and insulin sensitivity". The American Journal of Medicine 118 (9): 991–7. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2005.03.039. PMID 16164885. 
  5. ↑ Barnard, N; Scialli, AR; Bobela, S (2002). "The Current Use of Estrogens for Growth-Suppressant Therapy in Adolescent Girls". Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology 15 (1): 23–6. doi:10.1016/S1083-3188(01)00135-8. PMID 11888806. 
  6. ↑ Barnard N.D. et al. "A low-fat vegan diet improves glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in a randomized clinical trial in individuals with type 2 diabetes", Diabetes Care, 2006, 29(8), pp. 1777–1783.
  7. ↑ Even, Megha S. et al. "Development of a novel ELISA for human insulin using monoclonal antibodies produced in serum-free cell culture medium", Clinical Biochemistry, Volume 40, Issues 1-2, (2007), pp. 98–103. PMID 17123500
  8. ↑ Testing for insulin without the pitter-patter of little feet, Newsguide, January 31, 2007.
  9. ↑ Washington Center For Clinical Research, idealist.org, accessed February 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Biographical Sketch", nealbarnard.org, accessed February 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ Barnard 2007, pp. 40–57
  12. ↑ Barnard, N.D. Foods that Fight Pain. Harmony Books, 1998.
  13. ↑ Barnard, N.D. Food for Life. Harmony Books, 1993.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "About PCRM", PCRM, retrieved November 16, 2007
  15. ↑ Ask the expert, Neal Barnard, M.D., The Cancer Project, retrieved November 17, 2007
  16. ↑ "White House Decries Physicians Committee's Poster, Which Mentions Obama Girls", Washington Post, retrieved April 27, 2012
  17. ↑ "Legal Alert". Atkinsdietalert.org. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  18. ↑ Mary Carmichael, Atkins Under Attack, Newsweek, February 2004
  19. ↑ Tara Godvin, "Doctor: Atkins Data Wasn't for Public", Newsday, February 13, 2004.

Further reading

  • Freston, Kathy (2011). Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World. Weinstein Publishing. pp. 73ff. ISBN 1-60286-133-1. 

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