Wasn't Dr. Blackburn the inventor of the "Protein Sparing Modified Fast"?

Here is the blurb from "The Woman Doctor's Diet For Women" c. 1977 by Dr. Barbara Edelstein.

" I met Dr. Blackburn at a conference on Nutrition and Adolescence. As usual, the major speakers were men, all well-known and full of the traditional pap and platitudes. It was a ho-hum meeting that offered nothing new until Dr. Blackburn appeared and told us about a revolutionary and exciting new concept call the Protein Sparing Diet, or starvation with the addition of protein.

Dr. Blackburn and his colleagues at the Center for Nutritional Reseach at M.I.T. had done extensive work in the field of human obesity, and had observed that obese people make poor dieters but good fasters. Fasting has many advantages; primarily, of course, it accomplishes quick weight loss. However, Dr. Blackburn, a short, decisive man with a staccato voice, said that even though fasters lose weight quickly, they lose too much body protein in the process. Fat can supply total body energy just as effectively as sugar, but it will neither protect nor replace body protein (as found in muscle and organs). Even the brain, which has been thought to utilize only sugar, does very well using fat. Therefore, the Center had been working on a plan for giving people betweem 1 and 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily, or just enough protein to maintain lean body mass (which is the approximate weight of your bones, muscles, organs and essential fat). The Center recommended as the source of protein lean meat and fish. This diet must be supplemented with vitamins, calcium, and potassium. After the first few days of dieting, the high levels of ketones acts as an appetite depressant (as supposedly also happened with Dr. Atkin's Diet).

No one actually attacked Dr. Blackburn after his presentation, although you could see the disapproving glances and feel the shock at one who had dared to upset the apple cart of the traditionalists. But Dr. Blackburn remained impervious; his credentials were spotless and his data were impressive.

Several weeks later I went to Boston to meet Dr. Blackburn and to study his PSMF Diet (Protein Sparing Modified Fast). In person, on a one-to-one basis, he was a typical, no-nonsense type of surgeon who had a remarkable understanding of the physical and psychological character of obesity. He made acceptance into the Center's diet program seem like a conversion to a new religion; first you had to make a formal application for admission. (One of Dr. Blackburn's co-workers told me, "George makes it seem as if you have to walk on water to get into the program--but it's really not that hard to be admitted.") Then you were asked to give an exhaustive psychological, medical, and dietary history from the day you were born, and finally you took a psychological test, the MMPI (Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory), to explore your anxiety levels--the Center felt (and I agree) that no one undergoing great psychological stress could be a successful dieter. If you were suffering from a major illness, divorce, or a nervous breakdown, this was not the program for you.

The food allotment--I won't call it a meal-- was 9-12 ounces of meat or fish daily, not to be eaten all at one feeding, as well as a vitamin pill, four calcium pill, and a dose of potassium. If you felt the necessity for more solid food, you could have one eighth of a head of lettace, 4 radishes, half a cucumber, or pickle and clam juice. What about the gnawing pains in your midsection? "Ignore them," said Dr. Blackburn helpfully, "they go away eventually."

Most of Dr. Blackburn's practice was middle-aged (I am using an obesity-based criterion of "middle-age" as ranging between 25 and 50 years old), upper-middle-class and overwhelmingly female. All had the absolute dedication he instilled in them; Dr. Blackburn was unquestionably a superstar. He preached total commitment to the cause, and would allow no failures in his program. "If you eat at parties, don't go to parties," he would say. "If you overeat of vacations, don't go on vacations," "Don't entertain, don't be preoccupied with food, and move your body.:

Dr. Blackburn understood more about female metabolism than any male doctor I have ever known. He realized that overweight women simply cannot eat all they want to of anything except maybe raw vegetables, and the sooner they accept this fact, the better. Since his treatment of men and women was exactly the same (except that men got more food), I can't even call him a sexist!

I saw Dr. Blackburn make only one error while I was in Boston. He was working on an alternative diet plan called MiniMeals. These were chocolate-covered bars consisting of a balanced meal of 225 calories each. You could eat 4 bars a day and have a balanced reducing diet. Along with MiniMeals, Dr. Blackburn conducted a total program, including weekly group therapy. But the program turned out not to be as successful as he had hoped; one day I found him somewhat disgusted. "Barbara," he said, "how can people eat too many MiniMeals?"

"Dr. Blackburn," I replied, "you don't understand. If you are overweight you will eat too much of anything covered in chocolate, even ants!"

The Boston program was successful because success was built into the system. Motivation, modification of behavior, money, movement, and a great male authority figure all made it a tremendous success. Dr. Blackburn's cures are upwards of 60 percent, where the national average is between 5 and 10 percent. The Center did not consider you a successful dieter until you had lost your weight and kept it off of 18 weeks--"touchdown" was not counted.

At the same time as the Boston program, a Cleveland clinic was working on a protein-sparing supplement using Casec (a powdered-protein supplement) and small amounts of sugar. It used the same protein modification fasting principle, but you didn't even get to chew any meat. This diet has since become popular, but I prefer Dr. Blackburn's methods--at least he gave you something to chew on.

Dr. Blackburn wanted me to carry his teachings down to Hartford, telling me, "One good, well-motivated patient on protein sparing is better than ten patients failing on regular diets." I found it too rigorous for most of my patients; however, to this day, when I hear the Protein Sparing Modified Fast called a "fad diet," I get furious. There has never been so much good, intelligent, practical research done on any diet. If I had any criticism of the Center for Nutritional Research, it would be that it is a very male-oriented show with, as usual, a female supporting cast. Be that as it may, I bless Dr. Blackburn for really understanding. If he had only been a woman, it would have been perfect!"


Hope this makes some interesting reading, if this is indeed the same Dr. Blackburn.

Elihnig