In the early 1930’s, Burr was running experiments related to his theory of “essential fatty acid deficiency” in rats. He noticed that PUFA-deficient rats on a specific high sugar diet consumed oxygen at an uncharacteristically high rate. Smith, William, and Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay. 2012. “Essential Fatty Acids: The Work of George and Mildred Burr.” The Journal of Biological Chemistry 287 (42): 35439–41. He decided to do the test himself. For 6 months Brown consumed a 2500 calorie per day diet completely void of unsaturated fats (PUFA), and high in sugars in the forms of glucose, fructose, lactose, sucrose, and potato starch along with micronutrient supplementation from mineral oil, baking soda, and salt, as well as Vitamin D3, Vitamin A, and iron. Firstly, Brown had suffered since childhood from migraines. Within 6 weeks on this high sugar diet, they completely subsided and never returned. Secondly, he started the diet with slightly high blood pressure. A few months into the experimental diet, his blood pressure completely normalised. He also lost a significant amount of weight through the 6 month period, corresponding to a measurable increase in his metabolic rate indicators. He went from 152lbs at the start of the dieting period with a metabolic rate at -12% below normal, and within a few months raised his metabolic rate to just -2% below normal while dropping to 138lbs, which he easily maintained through the end of the study period. At 2500 calories per day, mostly from sugar, this is a feat most people would not believe possible, especially at his body weight and without extra activity. Brown also reported a noticeable increase in energy throughout his work days. Where he used to feel a sense of fatigue at the end of the day, he reported that this fatigue completely disappeared while on the diet. And similar to the rats, his respiratory quotient significantly increased, which also indicates an increase in metabolic rate and thyroid function. His respiratory quotient was above a 1.0, hitting as high as 1.14 during the sixth month of the experiment.