William Brady

William Brady (March 26, 1880 February 25, 1972) was an American physician and pioneering medical columnist.

Biography

Brady was born in Canandaigua, New York. He obtained his M.D. from the University of Buffalo in 1901.

In 1914, Brady started the first syndicated medical column "Personal Health Service" in the Elmira Star-Gazette, which he wrote until his death in 1972. Brady was "America's oldest columnist, in age and in number of years of syndication." It was syndicated in daily newspapers throughout the United States. In this column, Brady supported the consumption of saccharin. He recommended it as a substitute for "stout people who are trying to reduce and those who wish to avoid accumulating more slacker flesh". In 1946, he commented that there was "ample scientific evidence" to suggest that anyone could consume up to five grains of saccharine a day. In his 1961 book, Brady admitted he held "strange notions" that were based on a "lifetime of sometimes unorthodox observation and practice are geared to keeping patients out of doctors' offices." He died of uremia at his home in Beverly Hills, California.

A 1946 article in the Journal of the American Dental Association noted that:

The Southern California State Dental Association accused Brady of misinforming his readers on specific dental ailments.

Selected publications

An 80 Year Old Doctor's Secrets of Positive Health (1961)