Neal Barnard | |
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Born | July 10, 1953 North Dakota, US |
Nationality | American |
Education | MD |
Alma mater | George Washington University School of Medicine |
Occupation | Doctor, psychiatrist, writer, musician |
Employer | Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, George Washington University |
Neal D. Barnard (born 1953) is an American doctor, author, clinical researcher, and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an international network of doctors, scientists, and laypeople. An advocate of a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet, he has also conducted research into alternatives to animal experimentation and has been active in the animal protection movement. As of 2015, he is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He founded the nonprofit Barnard Medical Center in 2016 to integrate the fields of nutrition and medicine for complete primary care. On April 4, 2016, Barnard was inducted as a fellow into the American College of Cardiology.
Both Barnard and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine have drawn criticism for the views on nutrition they promote.
Barnard grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. He received his M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine. He trained as a psychiatrist and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He provided psychiatric services at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and the Calvary Shelter for Homeless Women in D.C., then shifted his focus to researching the impact of diet on human health, and finding alternatives to the use of animals in research.
Barnard is an adjunct associate professor of medicine at GWU and is also a life member of the American Medical Association.
Later, Barnard led two studies with GEICO, looking at weight loss.
Barnard has written 17 books about nutrition, including the Dr. Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes and 21-Day Kickstart and Power Foods for the Brain. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Nutrition Guide for Clinicians (2007). Nutritionist Marion Nestle wrote that he raises "provocative questions that deserve serious attention."Dean Ornish has called him "one of the leading pioneers in educating the public about the healing power of diet and nutrition." and Henry Heimlich described his "tremendous influence on dietary practices in the United States."Salon praised his ability to promote a vegan diet "with such eloquence as to make the proposition sound almost inviting."