The 1958 publication Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health reached the top of The New York Times Best Seller list and sold over one million copies. Authored by D. C. Jarvis, a physician and otolaryngologist, the book advocated for the use of apple cider vinegar and honey as a primary health tonic to maintain body acidity.
Early Life and Medical Training
Born in Plattsburgh in 1881, DeForest Clinton Jarvis belonged to a fifth-generation Vermont family. He spent his formative years in Burlington, Vermont, where he grew up as the child of George Jarvis and Abbie Vincent. His formal medical education concluded in 1904 upon his graduation from the University of Vermont Medical College. By 1909, he established his medical practice in Barre, Vermont.
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Jarvis gained notoriety for proposing that honey and vinegar mixtures could treat conditions ranging from arthritis and diabetes to high blood pressure and heart disease. In 1960, the Food and Drug Administration seized $60,000 worth of a commercial product named Honegar in Albany, New York, due to claims linked to his writings. While the book remained a commercial success, medical authorities categorized his assertions as quackery.
Professional Legacy and Personal Interests
Beyond his medical work, Jarvis was known for his personal hobbies, which included crafting jewelry and playing the cello. He also dedicated time to managing a children's orchestra for 22 years. Jarvis was married to Pearl Macomber, and they had one daughter, Sylvia Jarvis Smith, who graduated from the University of Vermont in 1936. Following his death in 1966 at the Girouard Nursing Home in South Barre, Vermont, his medical office was relocated to the Shelburne Museum. It remains on display as a historical representation of a small-town medical practice.
Fast facts
- Born: 1881, Plattsburgh
- Died: 1966, South Barre
- Education: University of Vermont, 1904
- Notable Book: Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health
- Occupations: Physician, otolaryngologist, writer
- Cause of death: Chronic kidney infection, cerebral thrombosis, and arteriosclerosis
- Daughter: Sylvia Jarvis Smith
Questions readers ask
What specific health benefits did D. C. Jarvis attribute to vinegar?
He believed that apple cider vinegar helped keep the body's acidity high, which he claimed could treat burns, varicose veins, arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease.
Was D. C. Jarvis involved in the commercial production of Honegar?
The available records indicate that Jarvis was apparently uninvolved in the commercial manufacture of the Honegar product seized by the FDA.
Achievements
- Fields: traditional medicine
