Eugene Christian

Christian was born in McMinnville, Tennessee. He worked in manufacturing and sales until 1900.^[2] Similar to George J. Drews, Christian was one of the pioneers of the raw foodism movement in America.^[3] Christian authored the raw food book Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them, in 1904.^[3] The book was popular and went through five editions in 1904. It went through ten editions through 1924 and was printed up until the late 20th century.^[4] It was widely reviewed in health journals.^[5][6][7][8] Medical experts accused Christian of promoting a fad diet and called him the "dean of American food faddists".^[9]

Christian had no medical qualifications, advertised himself as a "food scientist" and practiced diet therapy. In 1905, he was arrested and prosecuted by the New York County Medical Society for practicing medicine without a license.^[10] In 1907 after an appeal, the New York Supreme Court concluded that no crime was committed and that Christian was improperly convicted.^[11] Christian did not prescribe medicine.^[12] The Supreme Court decided that a "food scientist" does have the right to diagnose or treat illness by prescribing diet.^[2] Christian then advertised himself as a "hero" and "vindicated by the supreme court".^[13] Christian believed that cooking food destroyed nutrients. During World War I, he appealed to the Surgeon General to change the army's rations to a raw food diet.^[14][15]

Christian was the owner of the "Christian Natural Food Company", he also operated a mail-order school, the Eugene Christian School of Applied Food Chemistry.^[9] He charged $100 for a diploma course in which an F. S. D. degree (Doctor of Food Science) was awarded. The school faded and he formed the Christian Dietetic Society and School of Scientific Eating.^[9] He sold a "Course in Scientific Eating" for $10. The organization merged into the Corrective Eating Society. The Society offered a course for $3 which promised to teach people how to cure disease through a dietetic system. The Society sold quack products such as the "Vaco Reducing Cup", that was alleged to remove fat.^[9] His products were described as "pseudo-scientific buncombe" by the Bureau of Investigation of the American Medical Association.^[16]

Christian recommended raw egg as a good source of protein. He commented that "an egg should never be cooked".^[17] He promoted a raw vegetarian diet. However, in volume eleven of Eugene Christian's Course in Scientific Eating, he wrote that "eggs and, once a week, a small service of fish or fowl, may be eaten to maintain the balance as to protein."^[18] Christian promised his followers that they could live a hundred years on his recommended diet but died at the age of 69.^[19] He died of pneumonia in San Diego, California.^[20][21] In medical literature, Christian was cited as an example of a quack.^[9][19]

• Uncooked Foods and How to Use Them (1904)
• Suncooked Food (1909)
• 250 Meatless Menus and Recipes (1910)
• Encyclopedia of Diet (5 volumes, 1914)
• How to Live 100 Years (1914)
• Eat and Be Well (1916)
• Eugene Christian's Course in Scientific Eating (24 volumes, 1916)
• Little Lessons in Corrective Eating (2 volumes, 1916)
• Meatless and Wheatless Menus (1917)
• Why Die (1928)

• St. Louis Estes
• John and Vera Richter