| Walter L. Voegtlin | |
| Birth Date: | March 4, 1904 |
| Birth Place: | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Death Date: | 1975 |
| Occupation: | Gastroenterologist, writer |
Walter Lyle Voegtlin (March 4, 1904 – 1975) was an American gastroenterologist and pioneer of the Paleolithic diet.
Voegtlin was born at Des Moines, Iowa.[1] He was educated at West Des Moines High School and Broadway High School.[1] [2] He studied at the University of Washington (1926–1929) and Northwestern University Medical School (1929–1933).[1] He obtained his BA from Northwestern University in June, 1932.[1] Voegtlin's Master of Science thesis at Northwestern University was titled Evacuation of the Gall Bladder with Cholecystokinin as Studied by Duodenal Drainage.[3] He received his M.D. in 1935.[4]
In the 1930s, Voegtlin and psychiatrist Frederick Lemere at the Shadel Sanatorium (now Schick Shadel Hospital)[5] in Seattle promoted the use of aversion therapy to treat alcoholics.[6] [7] Between 1936–1950 the facility treated over 5000 patients.[8] It has been described as the first successful treatment for alcoholism based on scientific principles.[9] In 1950, Voegtlin and Lemere reported that based on data from 4096 patients over 14 years there was a 60% abstinence at the 1-year point, 51% for two years, 38% for five years, and 23% for 10 years.[10] [11]
Voegtlin was the first to publish a book The Stone Age Diet, based on the supposed principles of Paleolithic nutrition, in 1975.[12] The book has been cited as pioneering the Paleolithic diet.[12] [13] [14]
Voegtlin argued that humans are predominately carnivorous and should eat an animal-based diet of fat and protein with a minimum of carbohydrate. He stated that humans are anatomically closer to the carnivorous dog than the herbivorous sheep.[13] It was an eccentric book, in which Voegtlin advocated the mass slaughter of dolphins and tigers.[12] Food historian Adrienne Rose Johnson has commented that "Paleo leaders today have largely disavowed Voegtlin for his white supremacist, eugenicist, and generally unpalatable politics."[12] Sylvia R. Karasua, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry has noted that "Voegtlin believed humans were “strictly carnivorous” until 10,000 years ago, something we now know to be patently false."[14]
Voegtlin emphasized the importance of meat in the diet with a very low percentage of carbohydrates and no raw vegetables.[14] Voegtlin who promoted an early version of the Paleo diet did not oppose consumption of all dairy products and legumes.[15] [16] In an appendix to the book, Voegtlin promoted a low-carbohydrate diet consisting of meat, eggs, fish, cooked fruits and vegetables, green beans, cheese and sour cream.[15]
Voegtlin married his wife Elene in 1932. Elene C. Voegtlin (1907–1962), died age 54.[17]
Voegtlin was in the US Navy and was on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay during the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945.[4]
He was a medical officer at the hospital on Pearl Harbor.[18] A flag from the USS Arizona was given to Voegtlin by a wounded seaman. Voegtlin gave it to his son Karl F. Voegtlin and it was donated to the Naval Station Everett.[18]
His son Karl F. Voegtlin is also a gastroenterologist.[4]