Neal D. Barnard

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Neal D. Barnard is an American physician, author, clinical researcher, and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). An advocate of low-fat vegan diets, Barnard has written over a dozen books and published research papers on nutrition and its impact on human health. He has also conducted research into alternatives to animal experimentation and has been active in the animal rights movement. Barnard serves as president of The Cancer Project and heads the Washington Center for Clinical Research, a PCRM subsidiary.

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[edit] Background and research career

Barnard grew up in Fargo, North Dakota in a family of cattle ranchers and physicians.[1][2] He received his M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Barnard trained as a psychiatrist and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. For ten years he provided psychiatric services for the Calvary Shelter for Homeless Women in Washington, but then shifted his focus to research the impact of diet on human health, and towards finding alternatives to the use of animals in medical education, testing, and research. [2][3] Barnard has published his research in academic journals including 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.

In 2000, in a study conducted with Georgetown University, he demonstrated the role of diet in menstrual disorders,[4] and later conducted studies on diet, weight loss, and insulin sensitivity. [5] In 2002 he published a study showing that oral estrogens are still widely used suppress growth in adolescent girls. [6]

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, 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" [7] With colleagues at PCRM, he developed an insulin ELISA assay that utilizes monoclonal antibodies from hybridomas maintained in media free of animal products. [8] The test proved as effective as methods that use animal products, and is now produced commercially by Millipore. [9]

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. [10] He is now an adjunct associate professor of medicine at GWU and is also a life member of the American Medical Association. [11]

[edit] Books

Barnard has written more than a dozen books about nutrition that have, collectively, sold over two million copies. [1] These include The Power of Your Plate (1990), Food for Life (1993), Eat Right, Live Longer (1995), Foods That Fight Pain (1998), and Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007). He is also the editor-in-chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (2007).

Nutritionist Marion Nestle, while disagreeing with Barnard's vegan principles, noted he raises "provocative questions that deserve serious attention." [1] Dean Ornish has called Barnard "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.com praised his ability to promote a vegan diet "with such eloquence as to make the proposition sound almost inviting." [2]

Barnard's nutritional advice is described by Nature Medicine as "not exactly medical gospel," citing as an example his labeling of chocolate, sugar, meat and cheese as "addictive substances" in Breaking the Food Seduction, [14] but the journal also reports that he has "fans high in the medical ranks." [1]

[edit] Activism

In 1985, Barnard founded the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a group of physicians and others who expose medical and scientific practices that, in their view, are harmful to human health. [15] PCRM is based in Washington D.C., where a staff of seventy operate within a $7.2 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. [1] According to Salon.com, by 2001 over half of U.S. medical schools had stopped using live animals for teaching purposes,[2] and by 2006, 85% of schools had abandoned the practice. [1] Barnard also opposes the use of animals in biomedical research and promotes the use of alternatives. [15]

In 1991, he founded The Cancer Project, originally as a PCRM program. It became 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 sufferers throughout the U.S. [16]

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 claimed to have provided 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]

[edit] Links with animal rights groups

Until 2005 Barnard sat on the board of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection (which has since become known as The PETA Foundation after it became the legal entity that manages People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' assets). Collectively PETA and the Foundation have given more than $1.3m to PCRM.[1][20] Barnard also writes a column, called "Doctor in the House", for Animal Times, PETA's quarterly magazine. [1] Representatives from lobby groups, including the Center for Consumer Freedom, the American Council on Science and Health and Foundation for Biomedical Research, have accused PCRM of being a front organization for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activism.[1][3][21][22] In a 2004 article about connections between animal rights groups, The Observer described PCRM as a "quasi-scientific organisation part-funded by PETA." [20]

In a 2005 response to what PCRM called "attacks" by the food and tobacco industry, the group acknowledged PETA's support "in years past" but affirmed itself as an "entirely independent organization." [23] In 2006 Barnard told The Columbus Dispatch there are no current links between PCRM and PETA, though noted "I like the work they do, and I hope they keep doing it". [24][14]

In an article examining the relationships between animal rights organizations in the U.S. and U.K., The Observer criticized Barnard in 2004 for having co-signed a letter with Kevin Jonas of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty [20] — a campaign that has seen several of its leading members, including Jonas, jailed in connection with their activism. [25] PCRM responded that he co-signed "a polite and informative letter" many years before the incident that saw Jonas jailed, and that he had no further interaction with SHAC. [23]

[edit] Music

Barnard is also a musician (he plays the electric guitar and keyboards, and sings) and has released several recordings, including a CD with American and Vietnamese musicians, called Verdun (2004).[26] Previously, he played in the fusion jazz group Pop Maru,[27] and also played with the jazz group Quartet.[28]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Meredith Wadman, Profile:Neal Barnard, Nature Medicine, 12, 602, (2006)
  2. ^ a b c d Peter Brandt, A Conversation with Dr. Neal Barnard, Salon.com, March 12, 2001
  3. ^ a b Joe Sharkey, Perennial Foes Meet Again in a Battle of the Snack Bar,New York Times, November 23, 2004
  4. ^ Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Hurlock D, Bertron P. Diet and sex-hormone binding globulin, dysmenorrhea, and premenstrual symptoms. Obstet Gynecol 2000;95:245-50.
  5. ^ Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Turner-McGrievy G, Lanou AJ, Glass J. The effects of a low-fat, plant-based dietary intervention on body weight, metabolism, and insulin sensitivity. Am J Med 2005;118:991-997.
  6. ^ Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Bobela S. The current use of estrogens for growth-suppressant therapy in adolescent girls. J Ped Adol Gynecol 2002 ;15:23-6 PMID 11888806
  7. ^ Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJ, Turner-McGrievy G, Gloede L, Jaster B, Seidl K, Green AA, Talpers S, 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, 29(8), (2006), pp1777-83.
  8. ^ Megha S. Even, Chad B. Sandusky, Neal D. Barnard, Jehangir Mistry and Madhur K. Sinha, 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), pp98-103. PMID 17123500
  9. ^ Testing for insulin without the pitter-patter of little feet, Newsguide, 31 January, 2007
  10. ^ Washington Center For Clinical Research, idealist.org, retrieved November 17, 2007
  11. ^ Biographical Sketch, nealbarnard.org, retrieved 16 November, 2007
  12. ^ Barnard, ND. Foods that Fight Pain, Harmony Books, 1998
  13. ^ Barnard, ND. Food for Life, Harmony Books, 1993
  14. ^ a b Lois M. CollinsGotta have it? Psychiatrist-author believes four types of food are addicative, Deseret News, September 25, 2003
  15. ^ a b About PCRM, pcrm.org, retrieved November 16, 2007
  16. ^ Ask the expert, Neal Barnard, M.D., The Cancer Project, retrieved Novemver 17, 2007
  17. ^ atkinsdietalert.org, retrieved November 17, 2007
  18. ^ Mary Carmichael, Atkins Under Attack, Newsweek, February 2004
  19. ^ Tara Godvin, Doctor: Atkins Data Wasn't for Public, Newsday, February 13, 2004
  20. ^ a b c Jamie Doward & Mark Townsend. Beauty and the beasts, The Observer, August 1, 2004.
  21. ^ Ruth Kava,Physicians' Committee for Responsible Medicine: Not So Responsible, American Council on Science and Health press release, February 14, 2005
  22. ^ Anthony J. Nocella, Steven Best, Terrorists Or Freedom Fighters?: Reflections on the Liberation of Animals, Lantern Books, 2004, p321. ISBN 159056054X
  23. ^ a b A Response to Food/Tobacco Industry Attacks, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine press release, June 28, 2005
  24. ^ Dennis Fiely, Activist doctor touts benefits of meatless diet, The Columbus Dispatch, November 9, 2006
  25. ^ David Kocieniewski, Six Animal Rights Advocates Are Convicted of Terrorism, The New York Times, March 3, 2006
  26. ^ Verdun
  27. ^ BandToBand.com : Hot Rockin!
  28. ^ Verdun

[edit] See also

[edit] External links