Vitality through Planned Nutrition

Adelle Davis - 1942

Adelle Davis was a notable American nutritionist and author of seven books on diet and nutrition. Her views, advocating unprocessed food and vitamin supplementation, were often controversial (Carstairs; McBean and Speckmann 1076). This textbook was written for high school students and recommended for the Alberta curriculum from 1946 to 1963. Its inscription—“16 Mar 50, Miss E. A. Hassie, g Ed”—suggests it was used by an education student. The contents reflect an obsession with vitamins, including the now-defunct vitamin P (citrin). The healthful properties of vitamins were first observed in the 1910s. By 1921, scientists had identified vitamins A, B, and C, and by 1940 they had a list of over forty; books, articles, and advertisements extolled their importance to readers (Apple 4). Industrial success, athletic prowess, and physical and social conformity (“healthiest people have the most fun”) are the ideals in this textbook. In addition to the “Touchdown for Wheat Germ” case study, the book recounts the (probably apocryphal) tale of Ellen B., who reversed the greying of her hair by taking B-complex vitamins.

With permission from the Adelle Davis Foundation: http://adelledavis.org/