Grandfather of ‘health food’ movement an amoral huckster

As you had guessed:

Starting with his birthdate, which he pushed back to 1881 in order to give the impression he looked much younger than his years, Bragg lied his way to prominence as a lecturer and nutrition adviser to the gullible stars of early Hollywood; much of what he claimed about his own past (military service, tubercular lungs, Olympic wrestling career, his restoration of his ailing sister’s health, a Ph.D. and medical degree) was also invented.