eat fruit to lose weight?

Neal Barnard, M.D.

Neal Barnard, M.D., is a nutrition researcher, an author, and the founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a nationwide organization of physicians and laypersons that promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition, and addresses controversies in modern medicine, including ethical issues in research.

As president of PCRM, Dr. Barnard directs numerous innovative programs to promote healthy eating. He has conducted numerous studies of the ability of nutritional interventions to treat high cholesterol levels, hormone imbalances, diabetes, and other conditions, and has published groundbreaking findings in journals such as The American Journal of Cardiology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Preventive Medicine. One recent study, conducted with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, shows how a low-fat, vegan diet helps diabetes patients reduce and even eliminate their medication.

Neal Barnard, M.D., has been instrumental in reforming federal dietary guidelines. In his published reports, he has shown how meat-based diets not only cause health problems, but also are responsible for up to $60 billion every year in health care costs. In 2000, PCRM won a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the influence of the meat and dairy industries on federal diet guidelines.

Dr. Barnard's interest in healthy eating evolved over many years. His family background includes both doctors and cattle ranchers?-two groups that often butt heads over health issues. Before going to medical school, Dr. Barnard worked as an autopsy assistant, where he observed heart disease and other deadly effects of a bad diet firsthand.

Neal Barnard, M.D., is also a rigorous opponent of unethical research practices. Since founding PCRM in 1985, he has spearheaded many successful campaigns to promote alternatives to the use of animals in medical research and education. PCRM also promotes higher standards in human research, and has fought against unethical human experiments, including a U.S. government study in which healthy short children were given a genetically engineered growth hormone.

Dr. Barnard is the author of eight books, including Food for Life; Foods That Fight Pain; Eat Right, Live Longer; and Turn Off the Fat Genes. He is also the editor-in-chief of Good Medicine and the author of hundreds of articles in magazines such as Scientific American and newspapers such as The New York Times. A regular guest on network talk and news shows and a busy public speaker, Dr. Barnard lives in Washington, D.C.

Neal Barnard, M.D., is also an adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University.