RHEO H. BLAIR
Nutrition's Man from
the Future

Here in the 21st century our society takes great pride in the advancements a century and a half of industrialization has brought us. From cellphones to hybrid cars to ketchup squeezebottles, the benefits of modern technology have given us a certain confidence that these are the best of times.

This is especially true of the diet industry. After decades of conflicting viewpoints and allegiances to trends, nutritionists have finally reached a consensus (or as close to one as can ever be hoped for) as to the general proportions of macronutrients that constitutes a healthy diet. A high-protein, moderate-fat, low-carbohydrate diet , referred to by some as a "ketogenic diet," is the one which has ultimately shone through as a beacon of effective weight regulation in a cloudy sea of diet fads.

And, as with all of our technological advances, we have decades of progress via new and advanced research techniques to thank for our dietary discovery. After all, no one could have ever come up with a ketogenic diet way back in, say, the 1950's! Right?

Think again.

The Real "Magic" Johnson
Irvin Johnson was a young nutritionist and chemist with a desire to bring order to the chaos that was the diet industry of the early 50's. During this post-war period Johnson saw the need to formulate a nutritional gameplan that could counter the rapid emergence of prepackaged, processed foods.

By way of a combination of informed intuition and using himself as a guinea pig Johnson soon discovered that by limiting carbohydrate intake while increasing the amount of protein and fat in one's diet, bodyweight can be effectively regulated. And the best part was that, with a minor variation in the quantity of these nutrients one consumed, the diet plan could be used as effectively for weight loss as for weight gain.

The Secret Word is: "Mother"
But it wasn't just any forms of protein and fat that would do the trick.

High protein diets were already being pushed by fitness lifestyle entrepreneurs Joe Weider and Bob Hoffman who each sold soy-based powders through their respective publications. But Johnson knew that, while soy protein is the cheapest form to obtain it is not a very effective protein source because it is has a comparatively low level of the essential amino acid methionine.

He rationalized that the highest quality protein in terms of supporting human growth and well-being would be found closer to home– in mother's milk. It is the food that has been honed by millions of years of evolution to nourish newborns and carry them through their most rapid period of growth. Plus, enzymes found in milk, such as colostrum and lactoferrin, were believed to have powerful immune system-enhancing properties. Therefore human milk (or a suitable alternative) would certainly be a better protein choice than soy for his clients.

With the logistics of acquiring sufficient human milk being what it is, Johnson turned to the simplist alternative– cow's milk. Unfortunately, he would discover that cow's milk contains different ratios of the essential amino acids from human milk. To get around this deficiency he mixed dried whole egg powder with the powdered milk protein to create the first "milk and egg" protein supplement.

By the late 50's Johnson's plan had worked so successfully for so many clients that he saw the potential in taking his prouct to a wider audience. It was time for Irvin Johnson to mass market his discovery.

"R" is for Rheo
In addition to being a nutritional genius, Irvin Johnson was a discipile of the occult and a student of numerology. So, before delving into his business venture he decided to consult a professional numerologist to see if he had the numbers that would add up to success.

He did not.

According to his advisor, the letters I-R-V-I-N J-O-H-N-S-O-N just wouldn't do for a prospective businessman. For one thing, there weren't the right number of letters. For another, there needed to be more "R's." The result? Rheo H. Blair, a couture designer-sounding name that would soon be visible on protein canisters and dessicated liver tablet bottles across the North American continent.

The Proof is in the Pudding
As Rheo Blair products began to fill the shelves of health food stores his reputation as a nutritional miracle man grew. Stories abounded of the amazing physical transformations he performed on hundreds of "hopeless cases," regularly turning 97-pound weaklings into strapping men by way of a pudding-like mix of his protein powder and heavy cream and a vigorous volume-based weight training routine.

In one amazing example Blair personally coached a scrawny 15-year-old boy at the request of his father, who wanted his son to know the confidence that comes from being brawny.

The boy was brought to Blair weighing in at 99 pounds. Blair immediately put him on a six-meal-a-day plan (bucking the conventional diet scheme of three-a-day) with meals consisting of either his pudding shake or red meat and vegetables. He forbade the boy to eat fruit of any kind on the grounds that it consists of "empty" calories and that its high sugar content causes spikes and drops in insulin levels.

By the time the boy left the Blair compound he weighed in at a heavily muscled 150 pounds– a 51 lb. increase in just three months [Iron Man, Dec. 67/Jan.68]!

Similar results were being reported by even advanced bodybuilders on the Blair system. In an article in the May 1967 issue of Iron Man magazine a bodybuilder wrote, 'After being on Rheo's program for only three weeks, I made more gains than I had in the past six years. I put almost a half-inch on my arms. And after two months I [put on] almost 20 pounds [of pure muscle]."

Soon bodybuilding pros who could receive endless supplies of Weider and Hoffman products were paying regular visits to Blair and buying his supplements. Frank Zane, Dave Draper, Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger all "secretly" used Blair's powder while promoting Weider's version.

Larry Scott and Vince Gironda photo: larryscott.com

Bodybuilding guru Vince Gironda was a particularly strong supporter of Blair's methods and insisted use of Rheo Blair products by all the pupils at hisHollywood health club which included first Mr. Olympia Larry Scott and movie stars James Garner and Clint Eastwood.

The Hollywood Connection
Ever the visionary, Blair quickly realized the potential in marketing his system to the most body-conscious group of people in the world– the Hollywood set. He set up shop a few blocks from Paramount and 20th Century Fox Studios and watched the celebrity clients roll in. Among the Blair disciples were Charlton Heston, Racquel Welch, Liberace, Bruce Lee, Lawrence Welk, Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams and Regis Philbin. Through the 60's and 70's Rheo Blair was known as the nutritional advisor to the stars.

So, What Happened?
Despite his widespread successes between the early 50's and late 70's the name Rheo H. Blair is hardly recognized today by even the most experienced bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts. Why the descent into near-obscurity?

Several elements coincided in the 1970's that pushed Blair's revolutionary concepts out of favor. In bodybuilding, steroids were becoming a significant factor which rendered the need to adhere to such super-strict diets as Blair's obsolete. At the other end of the spectrum, dieters were being told by everyone from the U.S. government to super jogger/health advocate Jim Fixx that fat is evil. The widely accepted ratio of protein to fat to carbs now was 20%-15%-65%– a far cry from Blair's protein- and fat-heavy system.

So, in the high-carb atmosphere of the late 1970's Rheo Blair's philosophy, and company, would meet their doom as outmoded relics of an age before our dietary "enlightenment."

What Comes Around...
Fast forward to 2002. It's impossible to pick up a single health-related periodical without seeing mention of one of the numerous low-carb diets that are being touted by everyone from Dr. Atkins to Dr. Barry Sears (creator of the Zone diet). Natural bodybuilders are embracing the high protein, high fat strategy to remain muscular and lean throughout the year. Even supplement companies, such as Musclelinc, are creating protein powder formulations that replicate the one created by young Irvin Johnson fifty years ago.

In retrospect, it seems that all of the "experts" in the nutrition field might have done us a great service by trusting the visionary nutritionist with exactly ten letters and two "R"s in his name from the start.

BACK TO ARTICLES>