Plain Facts for Old and Young

Plain Facts for Old and Young offers an insightful guide to sexual morality as viewed by John Harvey Kellogg, a famous doctor who practiced in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Much of what is today accepted as medical fact contradicts Kellogg's opinions. For instance, his views that masturbation leads to mental illness and - in extreme cases - epileptic episodes, are now proven to have no basis in truth or fact. His opposition to masturbation (which he often styles as 'it' or 'self-abuse') on medical grounds are held as spurious by modern clinicians. The treatments he proscribes are meritless, and in the worst case can prove harmful. 

The value of this book is thus in its social history. That Kellogg was able to present opinions on health as fact, and be respected as an authoritative doctor beyond reproach, is illustrative of the time. In the late 19th century the USA's population was less educated, and the tendency to trust apparently qualified persons at face value was high: the 'quack doctor' proscribing all manner of dubious remedies was a familiar sight. 

Certain opinions advanced by Kellogg however were proven valid over time. He was an early opponent of smoking, and his assertion that it could have deleterious consequences upon health were proven correct as levels of lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases rocketed in the 20th century. His support of adequate diet and good nutrition, together with daily exercise, form part of what clinicians today advance as part of a healthy lifestyle. 

John Harvey Kellogg was an influential doctor for decades, who founded and managed the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan. A longtime devotee of holistic medicine, he is today best known as the inventor of the breakfast cereal Kellogg's Corn Flakes.