This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Guettarda (talk | contribs) at 15:36, 12 February 2021 (Guettarda moved page Helen S. Mitchell to Helen Mitchell (nutritionist) without leaving a redirect). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:36, 12 February 2021 by Guettarda (talk | contribs) (Guettarda moved page Helen S. Mitchell to Helen Mitchell (nutritionist) without leaving a redirect)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) American nutritionist| Helen Swift Mitchell | |
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| Born | September 25, 1895 Bridgeport, Connecticut |
| Died | December 12, 1984 Pleasant Hill, Tennessee |
| Occupation(s) | Biochemist, nutritionist |
Helen Swift Mitchell (September 25, 1895 - December 12, 1984) was an American biochemist and nutritionist.
Mitchell was born at Bridgeport, Connecticut. She obtained her Bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College in 1917 and a doctorate in biochemistry from Yale University in 1921.
Mitchell was research director at Battle Creek Sanitarium. She taught nutrition and physiology at Battle Creek College (1924-1935). She was research professor of nutrition at University of Massachusetts. She was principal nutritionist for the Federal Security Agency (1941-1943) and chief nutritionist for the State Department Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation (1943-1944).
She was appointed dean of home economics at the University of Massachusetts (1946-1960). Her textbook Nutrition in Health and Disease was in print for 56 years and sold more than a million copies. It was positively reviewed in science journals as an excellent source of reference for dietitians, public health nurses and students.
Mitchell took interest in debunking the irrational claims of fad diets. 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."
Selected publications
- Nutrition in Health and Disease (with Edith Michael Barber; Lenna Frances Cooper, 1928)
- Facts, Fads and Frauds in Nutrition (with Gladys Mae Cook, 1937)
- Food Fads, Facts, and Fancies (1939)
- What Educators Should Know About the National Nutrition Program (1941)
- Don't Be Fooled by Fads (1958)
- Recommended and Non-recommended Nutrition Books for Lay Readers (1964)
- Nutrition in Nursing (with Henderika J. Rynbergen; Marjorie V. Dibble; Linnea Anderson, 1968)
References
- ^ Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy. (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Routledge. p. 901. ISBN 0-415-92038-8
- ^ "Helen S. Mitchell Dies; Nutritionist and Writer". The New York Times.
- Fraser, D. T. (1929). Reviewed Work: Nutrition in Health and Disease by Cooper, Baker and Mitchell. Canadian Public Health Journal 20 (1): 54.
- Wiehl, Dorothy G. (1948). Reviewed Work: Nutrition in Health and Disease by Lenna F. Cooper, Edith M. Barber, Helen S. Mitchell. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly 26 (2): 240-241.
- Schneider, B. Aubrey. (1952). Reviewed Work: Nutrition in Health and Disease by Lenna F. Cooper, Edith M. Barber, Helen S. Mitchell, Henderika J. Rynbergen. The Quarterly Review of Biology 27 (2): 227-228.
- Beecher, Gary R; Dupont, Jacqueline L. (2017). History of Human Nutrition Research in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture. p. 56
- Mitchell, Helen S. (1959). Don't Be Fooled by Fads. Yearbook of Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. p. 660