Frank Joseph McCoy (March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1940) was an American

chiropractor Chiropractic is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It has esoteric origins and is based on several pseudoscie ...

and alternative health author, known for his book ''The Fast Way to Health'', as well as his nationally syndicated health- and nutrition-related newspaper columns and radio broadcasts. He was active between 1923 and 1940. His ideas were criticized by medical experts as

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, ...

Biography

He was born in

Milan, Ohio Milan ( ) is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Erie County, Ohio, Erie and Huron County, Ohio, Huron counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,367 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is best known as the birt ...

,''California, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1959'' and received training in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, in chiropractic. He is referred to in publications as "Dr. Frank McCoy" but did not have an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

degree. His book, ''The Fast Way To Health'', was first published in 1923 by the Times-Mirror Press. His first newspaper column "Health and Diet Advice" ran in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' from 1927 to 1932 and was syndicated in other cities. During roughly this time, he also lectured and had a radio program in the Los Angeles area. Other newspaper columns he has authored include "How to Keep Well" and "Here's To Your Health." He died at the age of 52 in his home at the Uplifters Club in Southern California. His death was related to liver disease.

Criticism

McCoy was criticized for making dangerous pseudoscientific claims about

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

.Malmberg, Carl. (1935)
''Diet and Die''
Hillman-Curl, Inc. pp. 44-46 For example, he stated that fasting could cure everything from

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

and

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. McCoy's book ''The Fast Way To Health'' developed a "Philosophy of Scientific Fasting" that was described by health writer Carl Malmberg as a "collection of misinformation". His opinions drew criticism in ''

The American Journal of Public Health The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated missio ...

'' and in a 1934 ''

JAMA ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of biom ...

'' editorial which stated:

How long will newspapers and periodicals which share some responsibility for the public health continue to advise the uninformed in regard to infectious diseases in such ways as to encourage the spread and the virulence of these infections? It is not known how many newspapers print these daily discourses of Frank McCoy, pet of the ''Los Angeles Times''. Surely editors fail their readers when they continue to promulgate such superlative nonsense as emanates from McCoy and his ''Los Angeles Times'' associates.

Publications

''The Fast Way to Health''
(Los Angeles: Times-Mirror Press, 1923)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Frank 1888 births 1940 deaths Alternative cancer treatment advocates American chiropractors American columnists American health and wellness writers Fasting advocates Orthopaths People from Milan, Ohio Pseudoscientific diet advocates

Biography

Criticism

Publications

See also

References