Jane E. Brody is the Personal Health columnist for The New York Times and Cosmetic News
Brody was born on May 19, 1941, in Brooklyn, New York. She attended the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University (now the Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), where she majored in biochemistry as part of a plan to become a research scientist, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1962. She found that she couldn’t achieve her goals of “looking for ways to help people lead better lives” as a biochemist and developed an interest in journalism after writing for her high school newspaper during her senior year.[2] She became interested in using her knowledge of science to convey information to the public and enrolled at the School of Journalism of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduating in 1963 with a master’s degree in science writing.[2] [3]
After graduating, she spent two years as a general assignment reporter at the Minneapolis Tribune.[3] Unaccustomed to what she called “Midwestern reticence”, she responded to the isolation and loneliness by eating, ballooning up from 105 to as much as 140 pounds. She had an epiphany one night and decided that “if I was going to be fat, at least I was going to be healthy”. She started changing her eating habits, eating regular meals and taking along healthy snacks. She lost the weight and never regained it.[1]
She returned to New York City in 1965 and was hired by The New York Times as its specialist in covering medicine and biology.
She joined The Times as a specialist in medicine and biology in 1965 after completing degrees in biochemistry and science writing at The New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism, respectively, and a two-year stint as a reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune.
Her award-winning column is published in The Times’s Science Times section every Tuesday and in many other newspapers around the country. Ms. Brody is a much-sought-after speaker who lectures frequently to both lay and professional audiences on issues relating to health and wellness, including end-of-life preparation and care.
Though no fanatic, when it comes to healthful living, she practices what she preaches, enjoying a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains along with fish, lean meats and poultry, and engaging in daily physical activity.
Ms. Brody is the only or principal author of more than a dozen books, including two best-sellers, Jane Brody’s Nutrition Book and Jane Brody’s Good Food Book.
She has appeared on hundreds of radio and television programs and starred in her own 10-part show on public television, Good Health from Jane Brody’s Kitchen.
She has written scores of magazine articles and won many prestigious awards for journalistic excellence. Ms. Brody is the mother of twin boys and grandmother of four boys, including a set of twins. Brooklyn born and bred, she resides in New York City.
[3] She was asked by the Times to write the Personal Health column, which she began in 1976 despite her initial reluctance.[1] Her column has been syndicated by more than 100 papers across the United States.[1]
She has become devoted to exercise, and in the 1980s her routine included singles tennis five days a week (less in winter), she would head out daily after rising at 5 a.m. and preparing breakfast for her family, for a 3½-mile run or ten-mile bike ride, followed by a half-mile swim in the evening.[1]
Brody’s approach to eating focuses on moderation, emphasizing potatoes, rice, pasta, dried peas and beans, bread (without butter), bulgur and kasha, accompanied with moderate amounts of low-fat dairy products, fish and shellfish, lean meats and poultry.[2][3] Before helping her type the manuscript for Jane Brody’s Nutrition Book, her late husband Richard Engquist, a confirmed meat-and-potatoes eater, switched his focus from meat to potatoes and ended the year 26 pounds lighter. [2]
Books Brody has written include Jane Brody’s Nutrition Book and Jane Brody’s Good Food Book, both of which were bestsellers.[4] [5] Jane Brody’s Guide to the Great Beyond: A Practical Primer for Preparing for the End of Life was released in early 2009.[3]
She supports the consumption of genetically modified crops, stating that health concerns about them are fueled by fears, not facts.[6]
If you have any questions concerning future speaking engagements or would like to book Jane Brody to speak to your organization or would just like to say hello, please email: [email protected] or visit website: https://www.janebrody.net