John A. McDougall

John A. McDougall
Born	May 17, 1947 (1947-05-17) (age 69)
Nationality	American
Education	Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (M.D.)
Occupation	Physician, author
Known for	Treating degenerative diseases with a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based/vegan diet
Notable work	The McDougall Plan (1983), The Starch Solution (2011)
Website	http://www.drmcdougall.com

John A. McDougall (born May 17, 1947) is an American doctor and author who has written that degenerative disease can be prevented and treated with a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based vegan diet—especially one based on starches which excludes animal foods and added vegetable oils.^[1] McDougall's diet—The McDougall Plan—has been categorized as a fad diet that carries some disadvantages, such as a boring food choice and the risk of feeling hungry.^[2]

Early years education and career

He was born on May 17, 1947.^[3]

McDougall is a graduate of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine.^[4] He performed his internship at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1972 and his medical residency at the University of Hawaii.^[4] He is certified as an internist by the Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners.

In 1965, at age 18, McDougall suffered a massive stroke, which he attributed to his high animal product diet.^[5]

Between 1973 and 1976, McDougall worked as a physician at the Hamakua Sugar Plantation on Hawaii Island. Between 1986 and 2002, he launched a vegetarian dietary program at St. Helena Hospital in the Napa Valley, California. Between 1999 and 2001, he ran a dietary program for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[5]

McDougall is on the advisory board of Naked Food Magazine, for which he is also a regular contributor of articles espousing a plant-based diet.^[6]

Diet programs and products

In 2002, McDougall began the McDougall Program at the Flamingo Resort in Santa Rosa, California. The McDougall Program is a 10-day residential treatment program based in Santa Clara, California which features a low fat starch based diet.^[4][7]

McDougall is the co-founder and chairman of San Francisco based Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Inc., which produces dried and packaged soups, and is manufactured by the SF Spice Co.^{[4][8][9][10]} He is also a member of the advisory board of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)^[11][12] In 2016, McDougall was one of four named plaintiffs in a lawsuit by the PCRM alleging improper industry influence on establishing cholesterol recommendations.^[13][14]

McDougall Plan criticism

McDougall's namesake diet, The McDougall Plan, has been categorized as a fad diet with possible disadvantages including a boring food choice, flatulence, and the risk of feeling hungry.^[2] Reviewing McDougall's book, The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, nutritionist Frederick J. Stare and epidemiologist Elizabeth Whelan criticized its restrictive regime and "poor advice", concluding that the diet's concepts were "extreme and out of keeping with nutritional reality".^[15]

Select bibliography

McDougall has written several books, with his wife Mary contributing recipes, that sold more than 1.5 million copies as of 2008.^[7][16] As of 2012 six books remained in print:^[17]

• McDougall, John; McDougall, Mary (4 June 2013). The Starch Solution. Book Pub Co. ISBN 9781570671845. 
• McDougall, John (2006). Dr. McDougall's Digestive Tune-Up. New Century Publishers. ISBN 9780832904073. 
• McDougall, John (1 August 1991). The McDougall Program: 12 Days to Dynamic Health. Penguin. ISBN 9781101645116. 
• McDougall, John; McDougall, Mary (1 April 1995). The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss. Penguin. ISBN 9781101645123. 
• McDougall, John; McDougall, Mary (1 January 1997). The New McDougall Cookbook. Plume. ISBN 9780452274655. 
• McDougall, John; McDougall, Mary. The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook. Penguin. ISBN 9781101119174. 

References