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Dr. John Harvey Kellogg -

John Harvey Kellogg worked as a doctor and nutritionist, alongside other professions.

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Breakfast cereal -

However, you may be familiar with that surname primarily from Kellogg's Corn Flakes, a product that was actually created by his brother, Will Keith Kellogg, upon the request of John Harvey.

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Author -

Dr. Kellogg was not only a renowned figure, but also a writer. In 1887, he released 'Plain Facts for Old and Young: Embracing the Natural History and Hygiene of Organic Life,' which was an updated version of his earlier publication from 1877 titled 'Plain Facts About Sexual Life.'

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Advice -

The book offers suggestions for young boys and girls on how to live their lives. Want to know more? Dr. Kellogg provided extensive guidance on proper behavior for girls in the 19th century.

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You need to be healthy if you want to be beautiful -

"No girl can long be beautiful without health; and no girl who enjoys perfect health can be really ugly in appearance. A healthy countenance is always attractive.”

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You need to be healthy if you want to be beautiful -

Dr. Kellogg was highly concerned about health and even developed the Battle Creek Health Builder exercise machine.

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The right sort of company -

"A girl will always do well to avoid a companion who is vain, idle, silly, or frivolous. Girls who have these evil characteristics are very likely to have others also which are worse." Seems a bit harsh...

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The right sort of company -

"No matter how pretty, witty, stylish, or aristocratic she may be, she should be shunned," he added.

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Choose your reading materials carefully -

According to Dr. Kellogg, sentimental books should be avoided. He stated, "A confirmed novel-reader is almost as difficult to reform as a confirmed inebriate or opium-eater. The influence upon the mind is most damaging and pernicious. It not only destroys the love for solid, useful reading, but excites the emotions, and in many cases keeps the passions in a perfect fever of excitement."

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Popular books can pose risks -

Kellogg argues that Geoffrey Chaucer's poetry has incited indulgence in one's desires, resulting in "self-abuse for the gratification of passions." Terrible! 

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Be mindful of your diet -

Food can have various effects on our mood and body, such as potentially reducing depression or acting as an aphrodisiac. Kellogg takes a more cautious stance on certain foods and their potential dangers.

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Be mindful of your diet -

Dr. Kellogg warned girls about the risks associated with consuming "stimulating and exciting articles of food" such as spices, pepper, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, all condiments, salt, pickles, fish, fowl, oysters, eggs, and milk...

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Be mindful of your diet -

According to the good doctor, indulging at night is the worst thing you can do! "Late suppers, confectionery and dainties—all these have a very powerful influence in the wrong direction by exciting functions which ought to be kept as nearly latent as possible."

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Coffee is not beneficial either -

We all know the side effects of drinking coffee, but Dr. Kellogg had another concern: "the influence of coffee in stimulating the genital organs is notorious."

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Get married at the right age -

Dr. Kellogg believed that the ideal ages for women and men were 20 and 24, respectively, as this is when the body reaches full maturity.

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Choose a good partner, take your time! -

To all the women contemplating marriage, here's some advice: "Look well before you leap; consider well, carefully, and prayerfully. A leap in the dark is a fearful risk, and will be far more likely to land you in a domestic purgatory than anywhere else."

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Do not let appearances and status deceive you -

"Do not be dazzled by a handsome face, an agreeable address, a brilliant or piquant manner. Choose, rather, modesty, simplicity, sincerity, morality, qualities of heart and mind, rather than exterior embellishments."

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Don't bother with long courtships or engagements -

Dr. Kellogg stated that these activities aren't productive and can even pose a potential danger, as they give young couples too much time to succumb to pre-marital temptation...

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Don't bother with long courtships or engagements -

"There may be circumstances which render a prolonged engagement necessary and advisable; but, in general, they are to be avoided," he advised.

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Dress suitably -

According to Dr. Kellogg, modesty holds great value. He stated that "maidenly modesty is one of the best qualities which any young lady can possess."

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Dress suitably -

"A young woman who lacks modesty, who manifests boldness of manner and carelessness in deportment, is not only liable to have her virtue assailed by designing and unscrupulous men, but is herself likely to fall before the temptation to indulge in secret sin, which is certain to present itself in some way sooner or later."

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Don't follow the latest trends -

Dr. Kellogg declares, "… the girl who disregards the laws of health … who carefully follows the fashions in her dress, lacing her waist to attain the fashionable degree of slenderness … insufficiently clothing the limbs in cold weather … may be certain that sooner or later, certainly at no distant day, she will become as unattractive and homely as she can wish not to be …"

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Don't follow the latest trends -

He further explores the problem with corsets by describing how they hinder the flow of blood to the heart. "The venous blood is crowded back into the delicate organs of generation. Congestion ensues, and with it, through reflex action, the unnatural excitement of the animal propensities."

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Do not flirt excessively -

Flirting can be harmful, he says. "It exerts a malign influence alike upon the mental, the moral, and the physical constitution of those who indulge it."

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Don't flirt excessively -

"The young lady who has become infatuated with a passion for flirting, courting the society of young men simply for the pleasure derived from their attentions, is educating herself in a school which will totally unfit her for the enjoyment of domestic peace and happiness … She is surely sacrificing a life of real true happiness for the transient fascinations of unreal enjoyment, pernicious excitement."

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You can dance... -

As long as it is done for exercise purposes, it is acceptable to engage in dancing! "Whatever apologies may be offered for other forms of the dance as means of exercise employed as a form of calisthenics, no such excuse can be framed in defense of 'round dances,' especially of the waltz."

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You can dance... -

Kellogg argues that dancing directly stimulates passions and prompts unchaste desires. These acts, often resulting in violations of strict morality, are detrimental to both the mind and body, he claims.

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Your mother is your closest friend -

"Make your dear mother your confidant in all your perplexities and trials. Go to her for information on all subjects upon which you find yourself ignorant. Let no foreign influence beguile away your confidence from her who is most worthy of your love and respect, and who is best prepared to instruct you on all subjects, no matter how delicate."

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Daydreaming is very, very dangerous! -

Dr. Kellogg states that daydreams "are often the sources of general debility, effeminacy, disordered functions, premature disease, and even premature death, without the actual exercise of the genital organs!" Ouch!

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Daydreaming is very, very dangerous! -

Daydreaming is often associated with people who are lazy, pleasure-seeking, inactive, and prone to anxiety. 

Sources: (Mentalfloss) (Internet Archive)

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