David Kritchevsky, 86; biochemist wrote, did research on nutrition

David Kritchevsky, 86, a biochemist who was an influential researcher and writer on human nutrition, died Nov. 20 of multiple organ failure at a hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

A lively contributor to the national debate on nutrition, Kritchevsky was concerned with the benefits of eating fiber, the effects of saturated and unsaturated fats and the role of fats in cancer and heart disease.

After writing “Cholesterol,” a leading textbook on the substance, in the 1950s, he said that “anybody who preaches the cholesterol problem can be resolved by eliminating this or that from the diet is barking at the moon.” He urged a well-rounded diet with an emphasis on calories rather than the source of the calories.

Born in Kharkov, Ukraine, Kritchevsky attended the University of Chicago, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organic chemistry. He received his doctorate in the field from Northwestern.

For much of his career he was associated with the Wistar Institute, an independent, biomedical research facility in Philadelphia.

According to an obituary in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the biochemist thought that excessive calories might be more dangerous than excessive fat.

“You want a Hershey bar, have one. Just don’t live on Hershey bars. You want a prime rib, go ahead; just don’t eat 10 pounds a week,” he said in a 1985 interview.

“The thin rats bury the fat rats,” he said.