Neal D. Barnard

Neal Barnard
Born	Fargo, North Dakota
Nationality	American
Education	M.D.
Alma mater	George Washington University School of Medicine
Occupation	Physician, psychiatrist, writer
Employer	Founder, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University
Website
nealbarnard.org

Neal D. Barnard is an American physician, author, clinical researcher, and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an international network of physicians, scientists, and laypeople who promote preventive medicine, conduct clinical research, and promote higher standards in research. An advocate of low-fat vegan diets, he has also conducted research into alternatives to animal experimentation and has been active in the animal rights movement. As of 2011, he is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, serves as president of The Cancer Project, and heads the Washington Center for Clinical Research, a PCRM subsidiary..^[1]

Barnard is the author of several published research papers on vegan nutrition and its impact on human health, and several books, including Breaking the Food Seduction (2003), Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007), The Cancer Survivor’s Guide (2008). He is also a musician. On May 4, 2009, his composition, "Dream of the Black Horse," was played on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at the conclusion of the Library of Congress's "Journey to Freedom" weekend about the Vietnamese boat people.^[2]

Background

Barnard grew up in Fargo, North Dakota in a family of cattle ranchers and physicians. He received his M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine.^[1] He trained as a psychiatrist and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. For ten years he provided psychiatric services to the Calvary Shelter for Homeless Women in Washington, then shifted his focus to research the impact of diet on human health, and finding alternatives to the use of animals in research.^[3] He has published his research in several 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. He became vegetarian in his first year of medical school and vegan in the mid 1980s.^[4]

Research

He conducted a study with Georgetown University in 2000 regarding the role of diet in menstrual disorders,^[5] and in 2005 another on the effects of a low-fat vegan diet on weight loss and insulin sensitivity.^[6] In 2002 he published a study on the use of oral estrogens to suppress growth in adolescent girls.^[7]

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." ^[8] With colleagues at PCRM, he developed an insulin ELISA assay that utilizes monoclonal antibodies from hybridomas maintained in media free of animal products.^[9] The test proved as effective as methods that use animal products, and is now produced commercially by Millipore.^[10]

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.^[11] He is now an adjunct associate professor of medicine at GWU and is also a life member of the American Medical Association.^[12]

Books

Barnard has written more than a dozen books about nutrition that have collectively sold over two million copies.^[1] He is also the editor-in-chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (2007). In Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes he writes that the disease can be reversed in three steps: Set aside animal products; keep vegetable oils to a minimum, including olive oil; and favor foods with a low glycemic index.^[13] Nutritionist Marion Nestle, while disagreeing with Barnard's vegan principles, wrote that he raises "provocative questions that deserve serious attention."^[1] Physician Dean Ornish has called him "one of the leading pioneers in educating the public about the healing power of diet and nutrition."^[14] and Henry Heimlich described his "tremendous influence on dietary practices in the United States."^[15] Salon praised his ability to promote a vegan diet "with such eloquence as to make the proposition sound almost inviting."^[1]

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

In 1985, Barnard founded the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). The organization is opposed to some medical and scientific practices that it considers harmful to human health, and promotes the health benefits of a vegetarian and vegan diet.^[16] 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. According to Salon.com, by 2001 over half of U.S. medical schools had stopped using live animals for teaching purposes, and by 2006, 85 percent of schools had abandoned the practice.^[1] Barnard also opposes the use of animals in biomedical research and promotes the use of alternatives.^[16]

In 1991, Barnard 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.^[17]

Up until 2005, Barnard also sat on the board of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection (the PETA Foundation). PETA and the Foundation donated over $850,000 to PCRM between 1988 and 2000. Barnard also writes a medical column for Animal Times, PETA's magazine.^[1] PCRM affirmed itself in 2005 as an "entirely independent organization" from PETA.^[18]

Criticism of the Atkins diet

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.^[19] In 2004, he approved the release by PCRM of a medical report on the death Robert Atkins.^[20] The New York City medical examiner's office said the report had been "inappropriately obtained" by a cardiologist, who said he had provided it 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.^[21]

Films

The documentary feature film Forks Over Knives, released to theaters in mid-2011, traces the research work of Barnard, T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn. Barnard also features on the film A Delicate Balance - The Truth. He has a companion video to his book, Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes.

Musical interests

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). Previously, he played in the fusion jazz group Pop Maru, and also played with the jazz group Quartet.^[22] On May 4, 2009, his composition, "Dream of the Black Horse," was played on the National Mall in Washington, DC, at the conclusion of the Library of Congress’ Journey to Freedom weekend events commemorating the Vietnamese boat people.^[2]

Bibliography

• 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health (2011)
• The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook (2010)
• The Cancer Survivor’s Guide (2008)
• Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007)
• Breaking the Food Seduction (2003)
• Turn off the Fat Genes (2001)
• The Best in the World (1998)
• Foods That Fight Pain (1998)
• Eat Right, Live Longer (1995)
• Food for Life (1993)
• A Physician's Slimming Guide (1992)
• The Power of Your Plate (1990)

See also

• Caldwell Esselstyn
• Michael Greger
• Michael Klaper
• Vegan nutrition

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Wadman, Meredith. "Profile: Neal Barnard", Nature, 206, 12: 602.
   • Also see Brandt, Peter. "A Conversation with Dr. Neal Barnard", Salon, March 12, 2001.
2. ^ ^{a b} "Verdun", verdunmusic.com, accessed February 6, 2011.
   • MacMichael, Ryan A. "An Interview with Verdun's (and PCRM's) Dr. Neal Barnard", Verdun, accessed February 6, 2011.
3. ^ Sharkey, Joe. "Perennial Foes Meet Again in a Battle of the Snack Bar",The New York Times, November 23, 2004.
4. ^ "An interview with Dr. Neal Barnard", SPECTRUM, issue 24, May/June 1992.
5. ^ Barnard, N; Scialli, AR; Hurlock, D; Bertron, P (2000). "Diet and sex-hormone binding globulin, dysmenorrhea, and premenstrual symptoms". Obstetrics & Gynecology 95 (2): 245–50. doi:10.1016/S0029-7844(99)00525-6. PMID 10674588. 
6. ^ Barnard, N; Scialli, A; Turnermcgrievy, G; Lanou, A; Glass, J (2005). "The effects of a low-fat, plant-based dietary intervention on body weight, metabolism, and insulin sensitivity". The American Journal of Medicine 118 (9): 991–7. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2005.03.039. PMID 16164885. 
7. ^ Barnard, N; Scialli, AR; Bobela, S (2002). "The Current Use of Estrogens for Growth-Suppressant Therapy in Adolescent Girls". Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology 15 (1): 23–6. doi:10.1016/S1083-3188(01)00135-8. PMID 11888806. 
8. ^ Barnard N.D. et al. "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, 2006, 29(8), pp. 1777–1783.
9. ^ Even, Megha S. et al. "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), pp. 98–103. PMID 17123500
10. ^ Testing for insulin without the pitter-patter of little feet, Newsguide, January 31, 2007.
11. ^ Washington Center For Clinical Research, idealist.org, accessed February 6, 2011.
12. ^ "Biographical Sketch", nealbarnard.org, accessed February 6, 2011.
13. ^ Barnard 2007, pp. 40–57
14. ^ Barnard, N.D. Foods that Fight Pain. Harmony Books, 1998.
15. ^ Barnard, N.D. Food for Life. Harmony Books, 1993.
16. ^ ^{a b} "About PCRM", PCRM, retrieved November 16, 2007
17. ^ Ask the expert, Neal Barnard, M.D., The Cancer Project, retrieved November 17, 2007
18. ^ "A Response to Food/Tobacco Industry Attacks", Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine press release, June 28, 2005.
    • Fiely, Dennis. Activist doctor touts benefits of meatless diet, The Columbus Dispatch, November 9, 2006.
19. ^ atkinsdietalert.org, accessed November 17, 2007.
20. ^ Mary Carmichael, Atkins Under Attack, Newsweek, February 2004
21. ^ Tara Godvin, "Doctor: Atkins Data Wasn't for Public", Newsday, February 13, 2004.
22. ^ Verdun and Pop Maru - BandToBand.com.

Further reading

• Neal D. Barnard, M.D.
• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
• The Cancer Project
• Atkins Diet Alert
• Neal Barnard is interviewed by Dr Oz, how to reverse diabetes with a vegan diet, Oprah.com, accessed February 5, 2010.
• Freston, Kathy. Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World. Weinstein Publishing, 2011; for Neal Barnard on diabetes, see p. 73ff.

Persondata
Name	Barnard, Neal D.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Fargo, North Dakota
Date of death
Place of death