Neal D. Barnard
Template:Alib Neal D. Barnard is an American physician, author, clinical researcher, and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). An advocate of low-fat vegan diets, Barnard has written over a dozen books and published research papers on nutrition and its impact on human health. He has also conducted research into alternatives to animal experimentation, and is a regular contributor to Vegetarian Times, Animal Times, and other publications. Barnard serves as president of The Cancer Project, heads the Washington Center for Clinical Research, and is a former board member of the Foundation to Support Animal Protection.
Background and research career
Barnard grew up in [[Fargo, North Dakota].[1][2] He received his M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He is now an adjunct associate professor of medicine at GWU and is also a life member of the American Medical Association. [3]
Barnard trained as a psychiatrist and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, [citation needed].[2][4] Currently, he focuses on research into the impact of diet on human health, and towards finding alternatives to the use of animals in medical education, testing, and research.
In 2000, in a study conducted with Georgetown University, he demonstrated the role of diet in menstrual disorders,[5] and later conducted studies on diet, weight loss, and insulin sensitivity. [6] 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" [7]
With colleagues at PCRM, he developed an insulin ELISA assay that utilizes monoclonal antibodies from hybridomas maintained in media free of animal products. [8] The test proved as effective as methods that use animal products, and is now produced commercially by Millipore. [9]
In 2006 he formed The Washington Center For Clinical Research, a nonprofit research organization.
Books
Barnard has written more than a dozen books about nutrition that have, collectively, sold over two million copies. [1] These include The Power of Your Plate (1990), Food for Life (1993), Eat Right, Live Longer (1995), Foods That Fight Pain (1998), Breaking the Food Seduction (2003), and Dr. Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes (2007). He is also the editor-in-chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (2007).
Activism
In 1985 Barnard founded the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which describes itself as a group of "doctors and laypersons working together for compassionate and effective medical practice, research, and health promotion." [10]
As president of PCRM, Barnard has been at the forefront of criticism of the high protein Atkins diet. He fronts a website advising of potential health consequences, and warning of the possibility of legal liability for doctors who prescribe the diet.[11]
Barnard has also successfully campaigned against live-animal teaching labs for medical students. Approximately 85% of U.S. medical schools, have stopped using live animals for teaching purposes.[2] In 1991 Barnard founded The Cancer Project, originally as a PCRM program. In 2004 it became independently incorporated organization, 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 survivors throughout the U.S. [12]
Barnard is also a musician (he plays the electric guitar and keyboards) and has released several recordings, including a CD with American and Vietnamese musicians, called Verdun (2004). [citation needed]
References
- ^ a b Meredith Wadman, Profile:Neal Barnard, Nature Medicine, 12, 602, (2006)
- ^ a b c Peter Brandt, A Conversation with Dr. Neal Barnard, Salon.com, March 12, 2001
- ^ Biographical Sketch, nealbarnard.org, retrieved 16 November, 2007
- ^ Joe Sharkey, Perennial Foes Meet Again in a Battle of the Snack Bar,New York Times, November 23, 2004
- ^ Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Hurlock D, Bertron P. Diet and sex-hormone binding globulin, dysmenorrhea, and premenstrual symptoms. Obstet Gynecol 2000;95:245-50.
- ^ Barnard ND, Scialli AR, Turner-McGrievy G, Lanou AJ, Glass J. The effects of a low-fat, plant-based dietary intervention on body weight, metabolism, and insulin sensitivity. Am J Med 2005;118:991-997.
- ^ Barnard ND, Cohen J, Jenkins DJ, Turner-McGrievy G, Gloede L, Jaster B, Seidl K, Green AA, Talpers S, 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, 29(8), (2006), pp1777-83.
- ^ Megha S. Even, Chad B. Sandusky, Neal D. Barnard, Jehangir Mistry and Madhur K. Sinha, 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), pp98-103. PMID 17123500
- ^ Testing for insulin without the pitter-patter of little feet, Newsguide, 31 January, 2007
- ^ About PCRM, pcrm.org, retrieved November 16, 2007
- ^ atkinsdietalert.org, retrieved November 17, 2007
- ^ Ask the expert, Neal Barnard, M.D., The Cancer Project, retrieved Novemver 17, 2007