Jay Kordich

John Steven "Jay" Kordich (August 27, 1923 – May 27, 2017) was an American author and advocate of juicing and juice fasting. Kordich was best known as the "Juiceman" and the "Father of Juicing" in the United States.

Jay Kordich
Kordich, 1992
Born(1923-08-27)August 27, 1923
San Pedro, Los Angeles
DiedMay 27, 2017(2017-05-27) (aged 93)
Bellingham, Washington
Occupation(s)Author, advocate of juicing

Biography

Kordich played college football for the University of Southern California (USC) in 1948[1] and was drafted in the 22nd round of the 1949 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.[2] Before Kordich could sign with the Packers, it was reported that he was diagnosed with inoperable bladder cancer.[3]

Kordich authored The New York Times best seller The Juiceman's Power of Juicing, first published in 1992.[4][5] He was involved in advertising a series of juicers, including the Juiceman Juicer. He lectured on the subject and appeared in television infomercials for the Juiceman Juicer.[4] The product was one of the first products and brands to be sold through the infomercial format at the peak of the juicing craze in the summer of 1992.[6] It was marketed by Rick Cesari's Trillium HealthProducts, which had more than $100 million in sales attributed in part to the direct marketing of the Juiceman Juicer.[7] In 2011, Kordich developed the Jay Kordich PowerGrind Pro juicer.[5]

In 1992, Consumer Reports tested Kordich's Juiceman II extractor and concluded that other competitive models were easier to clean, cheaper, and worked better. Kordich's health claims in regard to juicing have been disputed by medical experts.[8][9] For example, Kordich stated that he was influenced by the Gerson diet and was cured of cancer when he was 20 by consuming 13 glasses of apple and carrot juice each day.[8][9]

Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch noted that Kordich made far-fetched, nonsensical, and unproven health claims about juicing.[8] These included his belief that uncooked foods flush the body of toxins (detoxification), and that juicing can treat many illnesses such as anemia, anxiety, arthritis, gallstones, impotence, and heart disease.[8]

Kordich promoted a raw vegan diet.[10]

Death

On May 27, 2017, Kordich died at 8:30 pm due to breathing problems. He was 93.

The Juiceman Juicer and Jay Kordich were parodied by Jim Carrey on the popular skit show In Living Color.

Selected publications
  • The Juice Advantage (1992)
  • The Juiceman's Power of Juicing (1992, 2007)

References
  1. Shmelter, Richard J. (2014). The USC Trojans Football Encyclopedia. p. 251. ISBN 9781476615110. OCLC 862101960.
  2. "1949 NFL Draft". Pro Football Archives.
  3. Evertz, Mary (November 3, 1991). "Turn up the Juice". St. Petersburg Times. OCLC 316257638.
  4. Mooney, Louise. (1993). Newsmakers: The People Behind Today's Headlines. Gale Research. pp. 244-245
  5. "Father of Juicing Launches Revolutionary Machine Designed to Extract More Juice and Nutrients". Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. Jura, Koncius (1992-07-30). "Getting Juiced; Despite the Doubts of Skeptics, Drinking Vegetables Is All the Rage". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
  7. Dawson, Donne (1997-12-21). "Shintani signs national infomercial deal".
  8. Barrett, Stephen; Herbert, Victor. (1994). The Vitamin Pushers: How the "Health Food" Industry is Selling America a Bill of Goods. Prometheus Books. pp. 161-162. ISBN 0-87975-909-7
  9. Frey, Rebecca J. (2008). Juice fasts. In Jacqueline L. Longe. The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition. The Gale Group. p. 594. ISBN 978-1-4144-2991-5
  10. Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2006). Vegetarians and Vegans in America Today. Praeger. p. 76. ISBN 0-275-99016-8
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