Rasmus Larssen Alsaker

Rasmus Larssen Alsaker (1883 – June 14, 1960) was a Norwegian American physician and alternative health writer.

Rasmus Larssen Alsaker
Born1883
Norway
DiedJune 14, 1960
St. Petersburg, Florida
Occupation(s)Physician, writer

History

Alsaker was born in Norway.[1] He obtained his M.D. from Bennett Medical College of Chicago in 1910.[2] He received his licenses to practice medicine in Illinois and Colorado (1910) and in Missouri (1915).[1]

He was Health Director at the Sun-Diet Health Foundation in East Aurora, New York; he was William Howard Hay's successor in the position.[3] Alsaker wrote a series of books teaching the "Alsaker Way" for health.[2] Alsaker believed that his dietary method could cure practically all diseases. Medical experts warned that Alsaker was misleading the public to self-diagnose and self-treat diseases of the heart.[2] A review noted that his views were near quackery and consist of "5 per cent banalities of elementary science and 95 per cent pseudo-scientific buncombe."[1]

Alsaker was the medical director for Bernarr Macfadden's Health Service Bureau and was an editor of the Health Culture magazine.[4][5] He also edited The Key to Health magazine.[6] Alsaker retired and moved to Florida in 1956. He was an amateur malacologist and collected volutidae shells.[4][5] He died on June 14, 1960, at St. Petersburg, Florida.[5]

Selected publications

References
  1. Anonymous. (1923). Some Quasi-Medical Institutions. Prepared and Issued by the Propaganda Department of the Journal of the American Medical Association. pp. 5-8
  2. Cramp, Arthur J. (1936). Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine. Press of American Medical Association. pp. 52-53
  3. Cramp, Arthur J. (1936). Nostrums and Quackery and Pseudo-Medicine. Press of American Medical Association. p. 155
  4. "Naples Shell Find Said Only One of Its Kind". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, FL. August 5, 1941. p. 21. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  5. Abbott, Robert Tucker.(1975). American Malacologists: A National Register of Professional and Amateur Malacologists and Private Shell Collectors. American Malacologists. p. 511
  6. Todd, Jan; Roark Joe; Todd, Terry. (1991). A Briefly Annotated bibliography of English Language Serial Publications in the Field of Physical Culture. 1 (4): 25-40.
  7. "On Staying Young: Outwitting Old Age. By R. L. Alsaker". The New York Times.
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