Dr. John Harvey Kellogg

In 1876, at age 24, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg became the staff physician at the Battle Creek Sanitarium (The San), a position he would hold for 62 years. Kellogg was not a true quack. His surgical skill was admired by the Doctors Mayo. A vegetarian, he advocated low calorie diets and developed peanut butter, granola, and toasted flakes. He warned that smoking caused lung cancer decades before this link was studied. Kellogg was an early advocate of exercise and "biologic living."

Nonetheless, Dr. Kellogg engaged in questionable medical practices. The San offered hydropathy, electropathy, mechanotherapy and radium cures. For a time, Kellogg promoted "Fletcherizing" or chewing food until it slithered down the throat. He changed his mind about Fletcherizing when he decided that excessive chewing destroyed the fiber content of the food. Kellogg opposed sexual activity from masturbation to marital intercourse. A doctor, he never made love to his wife!

Kellogg 's great obsession was the bowel and elimination. According to Josh Clark :