Blake F. Donaldson

Blake Ferguson Donaldson (6 May 1892 – 19 February 1966) was an American physician, hunter and early advocate of a meat-only diet, which later became known as the carnivore diet.

Career

Donaldson was a physician at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn in 1913. In May 1917, he was assigned to duty at Governors Island.

Donaldson was resident physician at New York Post-Graduate Medical School. In 1921, Donaldson examined a large number of children from the East Side of New York and found that syphilis is not a great factor in the causation of heart disease. In 1925, Donaldson was Clinical Instructor in Medicine at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School. He was former chief medical officer at the City Hospital of New York.

Strong Medicine

Donaldson authored Strong Medicine which was published by Doubleday in 1962. The book advocated fresh fat meat, water and exercise to treat allergies, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, gallstones and obesity. The book described "the big bad seven" foods: milk, cream, ice cream, eggs, cheese, chocolate and flour which should be eliminated from the diet.

Donaldson's Strong Medicine was criticized by physician Morris Fishbein who commented that the "book is hardly scientific, so presumably what the physician was taught in his youth he has forgotten in his later years." Donaldson's extreme dietary views were classified by Fredrick J. Stare as "food faddism". Stare cited Donaldson as an example of a physician with no training or real understanding of modern nutrition.

Personal life

Donaldson was the son of postmaster William W. Donaldson and Helen Scott Donaldson. He married Harriott Cate. They had a son Blake Donaldson, who died age 51 in 1977.

Donaldson died from a heart attack at his home in Hauppauge, New York. He was 73.

Selected publications

Syphilis in Children of School Age With Heart Disease (New York State Journal of Medicine, 1921) Strong Medicine (Doubleday, 1962)

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