Davis, Adelle

Davis, (Daisie) Adelle (1904–74) nutritionist, author; born in Lizton, Ind. After taking a graduate degree in biochemistry from the University of California Medical School, she continued her training in dietetics at hospitals in New York City, then settled in California to work as a consulting nutritionist, planning diets for thousands of individuals suffering from various diseases and ailments. In 1954 she published Let's Eat Right to Keep Fit, which quickly gained a devoted following for her emphasis on a proper diet as the crux of both emotional and physical well-being. What particularly distinguished this and her subsequent books from most popular books on food—in addition to her footnotes and citations of scientific studies—was her claim that one's diet, especially one rich in vitamins and minerals, could actually prevent or cure diseases. For this she was often criticized and even derided by the medical establishment and she died not long before her broad views, if not all her details, began to be accepted by many in the fields of medicine and health.