John La Puma is an Italian-American internist, professionally trained cook and author.
La Puma was born in New York, received his undergraduate degree from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, earned an MD from Baylor College of Medicine and trained in internal medicine in Los Angeles. He completed the first U.S. postgraduate fellowship for physicians in medical ethics at the University of Chicago, became a Clinical Associate Professor there and founded the Center for Clinical Ethics, pioneering hospital clinical ethics consultation in the U.S. He later graduated from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, part of Le Cordon Bleu and became a Professor of Nutrition at Kendall CollegeSchool of Culinary Arts. He cooked with Chef Rick Bayless at Topolobampo in Chicago weekly for nearly four years before founding CHEF Clinic, a clinical Cooking, Healthy Eating and Fitness program to prevent and treat obesity, maintain weight loss and measurably promote wellness.
La Puma is co-founder of ChefMD, a health and media company, is founder of CHEF ClinicR and GlutenFreeQuiz for celiac disease screening. The first physician to teach cooking and nutrition in a U.S. medical school, he has authored over 250 original publications, book chapters, abstracts and books. His research interests include weight control, dietary supplement use, advance directives and medical ethics. His first book for the general public, written with Dr. Michael Roizen, RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat (April 2001) reached The New York Times Bestseller List. His cookbook is Cooking the RealAge Way (May 2003), co-authored with Dr. Roizen. Dr. La Puma contributed recipes to YOU: The Owner’s Manual (May 2005), co-authored by Drs. Roizen and Mehmet Oz. His most recent book is ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine (April 2008), which reached The New York Times Bestseller List in October 2008. In it, La Puma describes culinary medicine (the art of cooking integrated with the science of medicine) for 40 common health conditions. He practices medicine and nutrition in Santa Barbara, California.
La Puma has appeared numerous times as a motivational and keynote speaker. In June 2001, Dr. La Puma was the commencement speaker at the University of California graduation ceremony of the College of Creative Studies. He spoke about his path from medical school to cooking school back to medical practice, and expounded on his views on how to eat local.
ChefMD's Big Book of Culinary Medicine: A Food Lover's Road Map to Losing Weight, Preventing Disease and Getting Really Healthy, by John La Puma, Rebecca Powell Marx, 2008, ISBN 0307394620
YOU: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger, by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet Oz, 2005, ISBN 0060765313 (recipes)
Cooking the RealAge Way: Turn Back Your Biological Clock with More Than 80 Delicious and Easy Recipes by Michael F. Roizen, John La Puma, 2003, ISBN 0060009357
The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat by Michael F. Roizen, John La Puma, 2001, ISBN 0060086122
Managed Care Ethics: Essays on the Impact of Managed Care on Traditional Medical Ethics John La Puma, 1998, ISBN 1578260124
Ethics Consultation: A Practical Guide by John La Puma, David Schiedermayer, 1994, ISBN 0867207973
Numerous contributions to The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Annals of Internal Medicine, JillianMichaels.com, Intent.com, Guideposts,Tribune Media Syndicate