Dr. McDougall

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wfMNNr3ak

This link is a video of Dr. John McDougall on a Ted Talk podcast in 2012.    I was acquainted with Dr. McDougall because I had decided to go on a 30 day medically supervised water fast, and Dr. McDougall happened to supervise my fast at a clinic in Santa Rosa, California in 2014.  I was trying to recover from rheumatoid arthritis and had been told by a local doctor that a 30 water fast might help.  I thought Dr. McDougall was kind, warm, charming, and encouraging.  He had a habit of pinching my arm as a friendly gesture.  This was unique for my doctor experiences.  And I mean pinch.  

I happened to see a video a few days ago about Dr. McDougall in my Youtube feed, so I clicked on it.  Sadly, the video was a tribute to him after his recent death at age 77.  

After seeing this video, I became vaguely aware that there was more to the Dr. McDougall story than I knew.  He was an author, with a best seller on the New York Times bestseller list.  He had a Youtube channel, inviting viewers to "Ask me anything."  He had had a stroke at age 18 due to a congenital disorder.  I think probably this had impacted his lifestyle.  

It turns out Dr. McDougall was the inventor of the vegan diet.  His book was about his diet recommendations, which was a high starch diet, and plant based.  Very low fat.  I imagine I would have read his book if I had been aware of the fact that he wrote it, and I may still read it.  It's unlikely to cause me to change my ways though because starch and I aren't friends.  I read a book once that recommended a rice based diet, and I ate nothing but rice for four terrible days.  And that was the end of that.  

I saw videos of Dr. McDougall on his Youtube channel from 2020.  He wasn't looking as well I when I met him.  Just looking at him, he seemed to have muscle wasting, which happens with age sometimes, but had it been that long?  He looked more than six years older.  This was puzzling, and I wondered if the high starch diet had taken a toll on him.   On the other hand, what about my friends at the Seventh Day Adventists,  Brother Melvin and Sister Cecelia?  They were rabid vegetarians and lived to both be 94, and then each passed away at nearly the same time.   Of course, genetics plays a large role in aging, and Dr. McDougall had become a health guru partly due to a congenital disorder.  There was no information on his cause of death, except to say that he died peacefully in his sleep.  

Rest in peace Dr. McDougall.