Rasmus Larssen Alsaker (1883 – June 14, 1960) was a Norwegian American physician and alternative health writer.
Rasmus Larssen Alsaker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1883 |
| Died | June 14, 1960 |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, writer |
History
editAlsaker was born in Norway.[1] He obtained his M.D. from Bennett Medical College of Chicago in 1910.[2] He received his licenses to practice medicine in Illinois and Colorado (1910) and in Missouri (1915).[1]
He was Health Director at the Sun-Diet Health Foundation in East Aurora, New York; he was William Howard Hay's successor in the position.[3] Alsaker wrote a series of books teaching the "Alsaker Way" for health.[2] Alsaker believed that his dietary method could cure practically all diseases. Medical experts warned that Alsaker was misleading the public to self-diagnose and self-treat diseases of the heart.[2] A review noted that his views were near quackery and consist of "5 per cent banalities of elementary science and 95 per cent pseudo-scientific buncombe."[1]
Alsaker was the medical director for Bernarr Macfadden's Health Service Bureau and was an editor of the Health Culture magazine.[4][5] He also edited The Key to Health magazine.[6] Alsaker retired and moved to Florida in 1956. He was an amateur malacologist and collected volutidae shells.[4][5] He died on June 14, 1960, at St. Petersburg, Florida.[5]
Selected publications
edit- Conquering Consumption (1917)
- Curing Constipation and Appendicitis (1917)
- Dieting, Diabetes and Bright's Disease (1917)
- Getting Rid of Rheumatism (1917)
- How to Live on 3 Meals a Day (1917)
- Curing Diseases of Heart and Arteries (1918)
- Maintaining Health (1920)
- Eating for Health and Efficiency (1921)
- Outwitting Old Age (1926)[7]
- Adventures in Cooking (1927)
- The Master Key to Health (1932)
- Health Via Food (William Howard Hay, edited and revised by Rasmus Alsaker, 1934)
- Eat Well--Live Long! (1939)
- Your Heart and Arteries: How to Avoid Sudden Death (1939)
- Victory Over Arthritis (1956)
- Conquering Colds and Sinus Infections (1967)
References
edit- ^ a b c Anonymous. (1923). Some Quasi-Medical Institutions. Prepared and Issued by the Propaganda Department of the Journal of the American Medical Association. pp. 5-8
- ^ a b c Cramp, Arthur J. (1936). Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine. Press of American Medical Association. pp. 52-53
- ^ Cramp, Arthur J. (1936). Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine. Press of American Medical Association. p. 155
- ^ a b "Naples Shell Find Said Only One of Its Kind". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, FL. August 5, 1941. p. 21. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Abbott, Robert Tucker.(1975). American Malacologists: A National Register of Professional and Amateur Malacologists and Private Shell Collectors. American Malacologists. p. 511
- ^ Todd, Jan; Roark Joe; Todd, Terry. (1991). A Briefly Annotated bibliography of English Language Serial Publications in the Field of Physical Culture. 1 (4): 25-40.
- ^ "On Staying Young: Outwitting Old Age. By R. L. Alsaker". The New York Times.
