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'''Helen Swift Mitchell''' (September 21, 1895 - December 12, 1984) was an American ] and ]. She was the research director at the ], and taught courses in nutrition at ] and ] and later became an exchange professor at Hokkaido University in Japan. During World War II, she was part of government committees that did research on nutrition and was critical of fad diets that came about during that time. She did research on and published works about the dietary conditions of rats,<ref name=":1">Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences</ref> and later co-authored the textbook ''Nutrition in Health and Disease.''


== Early life and education ==
'''Helen Swift Mitchell''' (September 25, 1895 - December 12, 1984) was an American ] and ].
Helen Mitchell was born in ], ] to Walter L. and Minnie Mitchell (née Swift) in 1895.<ref name=":0">"Helen S. Mitchell." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2008. ''Gale Literature Resource Center'', <nowiki>https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1</nowiki>. Accessed 25 October 2020.</ref>


Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from ] in 1917.<ref name=":02">"Helen S. Mitchell." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2008. ''Gale Literature Resource Center'', <nowiki>https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1</nowiki>. Accessed 25 October 2020.</ref> She continued her education at ], earning a PhD in 1921.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":02" /> She studied under ], who continued to correspond with her later in her career.<ref name=":12">Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences</ref> Mendel was unique in the early 20th Century, as he taught and mentored female doctoral students, many of whom became leaders in their fields.<ref>Rossiter, M. W. (1994). Mendel the mentor. ''Journal of Chemical Education, 71''(3), 215. Retrieved from <nowiki>http://stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/docview/212011181?accountid=13265</nowiki></ref> Mitchell's thesis was on 'the choice of adequate and inadequate diets by rats and mice'.<ref name=":12" />
Mitchell was born at ]. She obtained her Bachelor's degree from ] in 1917 and a doctorate in biochemistry from ] in 1921.<ref name="Ogilvie 2000">]; ]. (2000). ''The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z''. Routledge. p. 901. {{ISBN|0-415-92038-8}}</ref><ref name="New York Times">. ''The New York Times''.</ref>


== Career ==
Mitchell was research director at ].<ref name="New York Times"/> She taught nutrition and physiology at ] (1924-1935). She was research professor of nutrition at ].<ref name="New York Times"/> She was principal nutritionist for the ] (1941-1943) and chief nutritionist for the State Department Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation (1943-1944).<ref name="New York Times"/>
In 1921 she became the research director at the ]<ref name="New York Times">. ''The New York Times''.</ref> and taught in ]'s School of Dietetics.<ref name=":13">Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences</ref> At Battle Creek College, Mitchell worked as a professor in nutrition and physiology from 1921-1935.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ogilvie|first=Marilyn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUCUAgAAQBAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&hl=en|title=The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century|last2=Harvey|first2=Joy|date=2003-12-16|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-96343-9|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Harper|first=Alfred E.|date=2003-11-01|title=Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Development of Recommended Dietary Allowances|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.11.3698|journal=The Journal of Nutrition|volume=133|issue=11|pages=3698–3702|doi=10.1093/jn/133.11.3698|issn=0022-3166}}</ref> During her time there, her research expertise was called upon by ] to conduct research on behalf of the Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland and Labrador.<ref name=":2">Wood, Gregory, and Jose Lam. “Restoring and Retelling the Story of Grenfell Gardens.” ''MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY HARRIS CENTRE APPLIED RESEARCH FUND'', 31 Jan. 2019, www.mun.ca/harriscentre/reports/arf/2018/Final_Report_SNCC_ARF__Wood.pdf.</ref> Along with Margery and Catherine Vaughn, they conducted a year-long survey in 1929 of gardens and livestock to determine nutritional problems that coastal fishing towns were having.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal|date=1930-08-30|title=LABRADOR—A LESSON IN PRACTICAL NUTRITION|url=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/240576|journal=Journal of the American Medical Association|language=en|volume=95|issue=9|pages=665–666|doi=10.1001/jama.1930.02720090027012|issn=0002-9955}}</ref> She found that many families were lacking minerals and vitamins from their overall calorie count.<ref name=":2" />


Mithcell was research professor of nutrition at the ] from 1935-1941.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=History {{!}} School of Public Health & Health Sciences|url=https://www.umass.edu/sphhs/nutrition/about/history|access-date=2020-11-18|website=www.umass.edu}}</ref> She later became the Head of the Department of Food and Nutrition and the Dean of the School of Home Economics (1947-1960).<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Helen S. Mitchell, ca. 1935|url=http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/murg120_2-i0001259|access-date=2020-11-18|website=credo.library.umass.edu|language=en}}</ref>
She was appointed dean of home economics at the University of Massachusetts (1946-1960).<ref name="Ogilvie 2000"/> Her textbook ''Nutrition in Health and Disease'' was in print for 56 years and sold more than a million copies.<ref name="New York Times"/> It was positively reviewed in science journals as an excellent source of reference for dietitians, public health nurses and students.<ref>Fraser, D. T. (1929). ''Reviewed Work: Nutrition in Health and Disease by Cooper, Baker and Mitchell''. '']'' 20 (1): 54.</ref><ref>Wiehl, Dorothy G. (1948). ''Reviewed Work: Nutrition in Health and Disease by Lenna F. Cooper, Edith M. Barber, Helen S. Mitchell''. '']'' 26 (2): 240-241.</ref><ref>Schneider, B. Aubrey. (1952). ''Reviewed Work: Nutrition in Health and Disease by Lenna F. Cooper, Edith M. Barber, Helen S. Mitchell, Henderika J. Rynbergen''. '']'' 27 (2): 227-228.</ref>


=== '''War years''' ===
Mitchell took interest in debunking the irrational claims of ]s.<ref>Beecher, Gary R; Dupont, Jacqueline L. (2017). . United States Department of Agriculture. p. 56</ref> In 1959, she commented that "ten million Americans, who live in a scientific age, waste 500 million dollars a year on quack diets and fake pills and the junk of non-scientific medicine men."<ref>Mitchell, Helen S. (1959). . Yearbook of Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. p. 660</ref>
]
In 1940, the National Research Council, wanting to predict nutritional needs for the military and civilians set up the Food and Nutrition Committee.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Green|first=Judy|last2=Laduke|first2=Jeanne|last3=Rossiter|first3=Margaret W.|date=1997|title=Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action 1940-1972|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/40251105|journal=Academe|volume=83|issue=3|pages=89|doi=10.2307/40251105|issn=0190-2946}}</ref><ref name=":42">{{Cite journal|last=Harper|first=Alfred E.|date=2003-11-01|title=Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Development of Recommended Dietary Allowances|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jn/133.11.3698|journal=The Journal of Nutrition|volume=133|issue=11|pages=3698–3702|doi=10.1093/jn/133.11.3698|issn=0022-3166}}</ref> Mitchell was a part of this committee from 1940-1945<ref name=":42" /> and worked on figuring out the ].<ref name=":3" /> She was one of three women, along with Lydia Roberts and Hazel Stiebeling, who overnight came up with an preliminary standard for wartime diets.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last=Ralston|first=Penny A|date=2019-09-26|title=History of Human Nutrition Research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: People, Events and Accomplishments|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz173|journal=The Journal of Nutrition|volume=149|issue=12|pages=2267–2269|doi=10.1093/jn/nxz173|issn=0022-3166}}</ref> During World War II, she was principal nutritionist for the Office of Defense, Health and Welfare Services<ref name=":03">"Helen S. Mitchell." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2008. ''Gale Literature Resource Center'', <nowiki>https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1</nowiki>. Accessed 25 October 2020.</ref><ref name=":14">Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences</ref> (1941-1943)<ref name=":72">{{Cite web|title=Helen S. Mitchell, ca. 1935|url=http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/murg120_2-i0001259|access-date=2020-11-18|website=credo.library.umass.edu|language=en}}</ref> and chief nutritionist for the State Department Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation (1943-1944).<ref name="New York Times2">. ''The New York Times''.</ref>


Paul V. McNutt from the Federal Emergency Management Administration supervised Mitchell's duty of elevate nutrition throughout the U.S. by compiling state resources. <ref name=":5" />
==Selected publications==


=== '''Japan''' ===
*''Nutrition in Health and Disease'' (with Edith Michael Barber; Lenna Frances Cooper, 1928)
In 1960 she also worked as an exchange professor for ] in Japan and conducted research on nutrition of Japanese orphanage children after World War II. <ref name=":04">"Helen S. Mitchell." ''Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors'', Gale, 2008. ''Gale Literature Resource Center'', <nowiki>https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1</nowiki>. Accessed 25 October 2020.</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last=Santo|first=Setsuko|date=September 1968|title=Nutritional Status of Children in Hokkaido Orphanages : Comparison of 1965 and 1960 Data|url=https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2115/12836|journal=Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University|language=en|volume=56|issue=1|pages=31–44|issn=0018-344X}}</ref> Working with Setsuko Santo, they determined in their first survey in 1960 that the children's stature was well below that of the national Hokkaido average based on nutritional disadvantages like lacking protein and vitamin A. <ref name=":6" /> In 1965 another survey of these same orphanages was conducted and found that the children's stature had increased due to increased nutritional budget. However, they were still under the Hokkaido national average. <ref name=":6" />
*''Facts, Fads and Frauds in Nutrition'' (with Gladys Mae Cook, 1937)

* (1939)
=== '''Fad diets''' ===
*''What Educators Should Know About the National Nutrition Program'' (1941)
In the early 1900's, Harvey Kellogg, a mentor to Mitchell, was a well know faddist who believed in the vegetarian diet at the Battle Creek Sanitarium.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Levenstein|first=Harvey A.|title=Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1988|isbn=|location=New York|pages=92-93}}</ref> He prescribed his patients individualized diets to help cure their ailments and also experimented with meat substitutes.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mansky|first=Jackie|title=We're Entering a New Age of Meatless Meat Today. But We've Been Here Before|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/turn-century-meatless-meat-180972042/|access-date=2020-11-29|website=Smithsonian Magazine|language=en}}</ref> Helen Mitchell was publicly critical of ], calling out the unscientific nature of them. <ref name=":52">{{Cite journal|last=Ralston|first=Penny A|date=2019-09-26|title=History of Human Nutrition Research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: People, Events and Accomplishments|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz173|journal=The Journal of Nutrition|volume=149|issue=12|pages=2267–2269|doi=10.1093/jn/nxz173|issn=0022-3166}}</ref> She was particularly critical of the ] which said that acidic and alkaline foods could not be digested together, she considered these claims irrational and believed they discredited the field of nutrition.<ref name=":52" /> Mitchell thought that fad diets undermine the legitimate contributions to the field of nutrition by scientists.<ref name=":52" />
* (1958)
* (1964)
*''Nutrition in Nursing'' (with Henderika J. Rynbergen; Marjorie V. Dibble; Linnea Anderson, 1968)


==References== ==References==

Revision as of 15:42, 12 February 2021

American nutritionist
Helen Swift Mitchell
BornSeptember 25, 1895
Bridgeport, Connecticut
DiedDecember 12, 1984
Pleasant Hill, Tennessee
Occupation(s)Biochemist, nutritionist

Helen Swift Mitchell (September 21, 1895 - December 12, 1984) was an American biochemist and nutritionist. She was the research director at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and taught courses in nutrition at Battle Creek College and University of Massachusetts and later became an exchange professor at Hokkaido University in Japan. During World War II, she was part of government committees that did research on nutrition and was critical of fad diets that came about during that time. She did research on and published works about the dietary conditions of rats, and later co-authored the textbook Nutrition in Health and Disease.

Early life and education

Helen Mitchell was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Walter L. and Minnie Mitchell (née Swift) in 1895.

Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1917. She continued her education at Yale University, earning a PhD in 1921. She studied under Lafayette Mendel, who continued to correspond with her later in her career. Mendel was unique in the early 20th Century, as he taught and mentored female doctoral students, many of whom became leaders in their fields. Mitchell's thesis was on 'the choice of adequate and inadequate diets by rats and mice'.

Career

In 1921 she became the research director at the Battle Creek Sanitarium and taught in John Harvey Kellogg's School of Dietetics. At Battle Creek College, Mitchell worked as a professor in nutrition and physiology from 1921-1935. During her time there, her research expertise was called upon by Wilfred Grenfell to conduct research on behalf of the Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland and Labrador. Along with Margery and Catherine Vaughn, they conducted a year-long survey in 1929 of gardens and livestock to determine nutritional problems that coastal fishing towns were having. She found that many families were lacking minerals and vitamins from their overall calorie count.

Mithcell was research professor of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts from 1935-1941. She later became the Head of the Department of Food and Nutrition and the Dean of the School of Home Economics (1947-1960).

War years

USDA Basic 7 Food Groups during War Time

In 1940, the National Research Council, wanting to predict nutritional needs for the military and civilians set up the Food and Nutrition Committee. Mitchell was a part of this committee from 1940-1945 and worked on figuring out the recommended daily or dietary allowance. She was one of three women, along with Lydia Roberts and Hazel Stiebeling, who overnight came up with an preliminary standard for wartime diets. During World War II, she was principal nutritionist for the Office of Defense, Health and Welfare Services (1941-1943) and chief nutritionist for the State Department Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation (1943-1944).

Paul V. McNutt from the Federal Emergency Management Administration supervised Mitchell's duty of elevate nutrition throughout the U.S. by compiling state resources.

Japan

In 1960 she also worked as an exchange professor for Hokkaido University in Japan and conducted research on nutrition of Japanese orphanage children after World War II. Working with Setsuko Santo, they determined in their first survey in 1960 that the children's stature was well below that of the national Hokkaido average based on nutritional disadvantages like lacking protein and vitamin A. In 1965 another survey of these same orphanages was conducted and found that the children's stature had increased due to increased nutritional budget. However, they were still under the Hokkaido national average.

Fad diets

In the early 1900's, Harvey Kellogg, a mentor to Mitchell, was a well know faddist who believed in the vegetarian diet at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. He prescribed his patients individualized diets to help cure their ailments and also experimented with meat substitutes. Helen Mitchell was publicly critical of fad diets, calling out the unscientific nature of them. She was particularly critical of the Dr. Hey diet which said that acidic and alkaline foods could not be digested together, she considered these claims irrational and believed they discredited the field of nutrition. Mitchell thought that fad diets undermine the legitimate contributions to the field of nutrition by scientists.

References

  1. Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences
  2. ^ "Helen S. Mitchell." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2008. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1. Accessed 25 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Helen S. Mitchell." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2008. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1. Accessed 25 October 2020.
  4. ^ Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences
  5. Rossiter, M. W. (1994). Mendel the mentor. Journal of Chemical Education, 71(3), 215. Retrieved from http://stats.lib.pdx.edu/proxy.php?url=http://search.proquest.com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/docview/212011181?accountid=13265
  6. "Helen S. Mitchell Dies; Nutritionist and Writer". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences
  8. Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (2003-12-16). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-96343-9.
  9. ^ Harper, Alfred E. (2003-11-01). "Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Development of Recommended Dietary Allowances". The Journal of Nutrition. 133 (11): 3698–3702. doi:10.1093/jn/133.11.3698. ISSN 0022-3166.
  10. ^ Wood, Gregory, and Jose Lam. “Restoring and Retelling the Story of Grenfell Gardens.” MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY HARRIS CENTRE APPLIED RESEARCH FUND, 31 Jan. 2019, www.mun.ca/harriscentre/reports/arf/2018/Final_Report_SNCC_ARF__Wood.pdf.
  11. "LABRADOR—A LESSON IN PRACTICAL NUTRITION". Journal of the American Medical Association. 95 (9): 665–666. 1930-08-30. doi:10.1001/jama.1930.02720090027012. ISSN 0002-9955.
  12. "History | School of Public Health & Health Sciences". www.umass.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  13. "Helen S. Mitchell, ca. 1935". credo.library.umass.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  14. ^ Green, Judy; Laduke, Jeanne; Rossiter, Margaret W. (1997). "Women Scientists in America: Before Affirmative Action 1940-1972". Academe. 83 (3): 89. doi:10.2307/40251105. ISSN 0190-2946.
  15. ^ Harper, Alfred E. (2003-11-01). "Contributions of Women Scientists in the U.S. to the Development of Recommended Dietary Allowances". The Journal of Nutrition. 133 (11): 3698–3702. doi:10.1093/jn/133.11.3698. ISSN 0022-3166.
  16. ^ Ralston, Penny A (2019-09-26). "History of Human Nutrition Research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: People, Events and Accomplishments". The Journal of Nutrition. 149 (12): 2267–2269. doi:10.1093/jn/nxz173. ISSN 0022-3166.
  17. "Helen S. Mitchell." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2008. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1. Accessed 25 October 2020.
  18. Kathleen Marie Scott. “Recipe for citizenship: Professionalization and power in World War I dietetics.” College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences
  19. "Helen S. Mitchell, ca. 1935". credo.library.umass.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  20. "Helen S. Mitchell Dies; Nutritionist and Writer". The New York Times.
  21. "Helen S. Mitchell." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2008. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000069288/LitRC?u=s1185784&sid=LitRC&xid=a14cbbd1. Accessed 25 October 2020.
  22. ^ Santo, Setsuko (September 1968). "Nutritional Status of Children in Hokkaido Orphanages : Comparison of 1965 and 1960 Data". Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Hokkaido University. 56 (1): 31–44. ISSN 0018-344X.
  23. ^ Levenstein, Harvey A. (1988). Revolution at the Table: The Transformation of the American Diet. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 92–93.
  24. Mansky, Jackie. "We're Entering a New Age of Meatless Meat Today. But We've Been Here Before". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  25. ^ Ralston, Penny A (2019-09-26). "History of Human Nutrition Research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service: People, Events and Accomplishments". The Journal of Nutrition. 149 (12): 2267–2269. doi:10.1093/jn/nxz173. ISSN 0022-3166.
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