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Dr. John Harvey Kellogg did more than invent Corn Flakes and granola. The 19th-century physician was also the superintendent of West Health Reform Institute later known as the Battle Creek Sanitarium a medical institution devoted to Kellogg s concept of a healthy lifestyle. He advocated for shunning indulgences of any kind, exercising, living simply, and avoiding vices especially masturbation, which he referred to as self-abuse. His 1887 book
Plain Facts for Old and Young: Embracing the Natural History and Hygiene of Organic Life (originally published in 1877 as
Plain Facts About Sexual Life) is a 654-page guide to Kellogg s philosophies regarding maintaining a healthy existence.