Health Food History

Eccentrics, Fanatics
& Visionaries

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documentary Film Series project

The Untold History of America's
Natural Food Movement

ITS ECCENTRICS, FANATICS, AND VISIONARIES

A multi-episode documentary series featuring many of the world's leading experts on health food and natural health- exploring the history,  controversies and conspiracies around what and how Americans eat, nourish, and heal themselves.

Episiode Guide
Episode One:     The Early Days- An American Cuisine Emerges
Episode two:  You Are What You Eat-Sanitariums and Cereal Barons
Episode three:  Backlash- Eat, Drink, and be Wary
Episode Four:  Early Nutrition- A Science Emerges
Episode Five:  A Fast Food Nation Arrives- the Split Widens
Episode Six:  The Beat Goes On: The 60s Go ‘Back to Eden’-and the Plate Splits Open
Episode Seven:   The Greening of America- Organic Agriculture and Plant-Based Nutrition
Episode Eight:  The Future of Food

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The Health food History
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Featured Essays

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Welcome to the
Health Food History Library

Featured Texts

A Public Resource

This website and its archives is intended to preserve the legacy, stories, and history of the health and natural foods movement- with its eccentrics, fanatics, and visionaries.

Information is the empowering tool that allows us to make healthy choices to protect ourselves, our families and loved ones. Healthfoodhistory.org is designed to remind and rekindle our awareness of the controversies, conspiracies, and challenges faced by the pioneering men and women of the past- legacies that continue to inspire and empower people today.

About Us

Who is Doc Dawa?

Douglas Margel, also known as "Doc Dawa," is a holistic physician, author, and entrepreneur with a background in chiropractic medicine. His work centers on the connection between nutrition and overall health and beauty. Doug has written books on the concept of nutrient-dense eating and the importance of diet for healthy hair, skin, and nails as well as developing a nutritionally-based metabolic approach to weight loss. He is also the founder of a health food company and has lectured at universities in Colorado.

Career and background

Holistic Physician
: After graduating with honors from Western States Chiropractic College, Doug worked as a holistic physician for more than 20 years.

Educator: He has served as an instructor and guest lecturer at several higher education institutions in Colorado, including the University of Colorado at Boulder, The Rocky Mountain Center for Botanical Studies, and the Colorado Mountain College.

Entrepreneur: Doug founded Crystal River Organics, a company that produced nutrient-dense foods. He also operates his own publishing house, DocDawa Publications, to share his wellness philosophy.

Traveler and Meditator: His interests include travel, particularly in Asia, and maintaining a personal meditation practice informed by his explorations of Buddhism.

Books

The Nutrient-Dense Eating Plan
(2005): This book introduced the concept of consuming nutrient-dense foods to the American public. It emphasizes whole, minimally processed foods as a way to combat what Doug calls our modern cultural "eating disorder" driven by industrial agribusiness and processed fast food. The book presents a tiered approach with practical advice on shopping for nutrient-dense foods and includes many creative recipes.

Beautiful from Within: The Surprising Power of Nutrition for Hair, Skin, and Nails (2015):  (Written under the pen name D. Lewis) Details the nutritional foundations of healthy hair, skin, and nails using targeted nutrients, foods, and supplements. The book expands upon programs that Doug has taught to cosmetology and esthetician students.

The Nutrient-Dense Diet: The Metabolic Key to Unlocking Weight Loss (2015) (Written under the pen name D. Lewis) In this book Doug introduces the concept of "unlocking cellular dormancy" by using targeted nurients to optimize mitochondrial efficiency to produce more ATP in order to burn calories more efficiently, leading to weight loss.


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