In the 1930s, Voegtlin and psychiatrist Frederick Lemere at the Shadel Sanatorium (now Schick Shadel Hospital)[5] in Seattle promoted the use of aversion therapy to treat alcoholics.[6][7] Between 1936–1950 the facility treated over 5000 patients.[8] It has been described as the first successful treatment for alcoholism based on scientific principles.[9] In 1950, Voegtlin and Lemere reported that based on data from 4096 patients over 14 years there was a 60% abstinence at the 1-year point, 51% for two years, 38% for five years, and 23% for 10 years.[10][11]
The Stone Age Diet
Voegtlin was the first to publish a book The Stone Age Diet, based on the supposed principles of Paleolithic nutrition, in 1975.[12] The book has been cited as pioneering the Paleolithic diet.[12][13][14]
Voegtlin argued that humans are predominately carnivorous and should eat an animal-based diet of fat and protein with a minimum of carbohydrate. He stated that humans are anatomically closer to the carnivorous dog than the herbivorous sheep.[13] It was an eccentric book, in which Voegtlin advocated the mass slaughter of dolphins and tigers.[12] Food historian Adrienne Rose Johnson has commented that "Paleo leaders today have largely disavowed Voegtlin for his white supremacist, eugenicist, and generally unpalatable politics."[12] Sylvia R. Karasua, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry has noted that "Voegtlin believed humans were “strictly carnivorous” until 10,000 years ago, something we now know to be patently false."[14]
Voegtlin emphasized the importance of meat in the diet with a very low percentage of carbohydrates and no raw vegetables.[14] Voegtlin who promoted an early version of the Paleo diet did not oppose consumption of all dairy products and legumes.[15][16] In an appendix to the book, Voegtlin promoted a low-carbohydrate diet consisting of meat, eggs, fish, cooked fruits and vegetables, green beans, cheese and sour cream.[15]
Personal life
Voegtlin married his wife Elene in 1932. Elene C. Voegtlin (1907–1962), died age 54.[17]
He was a medical officer at the hospital on Pearl Harbor.[18] A flag from the USS Arizona was given to Voegtlin by a wounded seaman. Voegtlin gave it to his son Karl F. Voegtlin and it was donated to the Naval Station Everett.[18]
His son Karl F. Voegtlin is also a gastroenterologist.[4]
^ abcdVoegtlin, Walter L. (1933). Evacuation of the Gall Bladder with Cholecystokinin as Studied by Duodenal Drainage. NorthWestern University, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. p. 27
^Bellack, Alan S; Hersen, Michel; Kazdin, Alan E. (1985). International Handbook of Behavior Modification and Therapy. Plenum Press. pp. 20-21. ISBN978-1-4615-7280-0
^White, William L. (1998). Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America. Chestnut Health Systems. p. 106. ISBN978-0938475071
^Miller, Peter Michael. (1976). Behavioral Treatment of Alcoholism. Pergamon Press. p. 76.
^Blum, Kenneth. (1991). Alcohol and the Addictive Brain. The Free Press. p. 51. ISBN0-02-903701-8
^Jones, Marshall R. (1968). Aversive Stimulation. University of Miami Press. p. 15
^Reilly, Steve; Schachtman, Todd R. (2009). Conditioned Taste Aversion: Neural and Behavioral Processes. Oxford University Press. p. 452. ISBN978-0-19-532658-1