• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, October 12, 2012

"Caveman diet" advocate Steve Cooksey has lost his battle for a court order banning regulators in North Carolina from attempting to censor his blog.

The case, which drew much attention when it was filed earlier this year, posed the question of whether bloggers need a license to post dietary advice.

But last week, U.S. District Court Judge Max Cogburn in Charlotte dismissed the case without answering that question. Instead, he ruled that Cooksey's lawsuit against North Carolina authorities was premature because they hadn't yet taken action against him.

Cooksey's dispute with regulators dated to January, when his blog, Diabetes-Warrior, came to the attention of the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition. The board informed Cooksey it was investigating whether he violated a state law banning anyone but a licensed dietitian from giving nutritional advice -- paid or not.

Cooksey says on the blog that he overcame diabetes by following a diet high in vegetables and protein. The blog also contained sample diets and answers to readers' questions.

But in addition to that editorial content, Cooksey also previously advertised his "life-coaching" services -- for which he charged up to $197 a month -- on the site.

In January, he received a 19-page printout of his blog marked up in red pen by a board representative. Basically, the board told Cooksey he could describe his diet, but couldn't recommend that others also follow the same diet. The board also placed “X” marks through his life-coach ads -- which Cooksey then removed.

Though Cooksey revised his site, he did so under protest. Earlier this year, he filed a federal lawsuit seeking an injunction that would prohibit North Carolina authorities from applying the state's licensing law to his blog and coaching business. He argued he had a free-speech right to blog about his diet.

This summer, the authorities asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed. They successfully contended that Cooksey didn't have "standing" because no one had yet taken any action against him. "The Board never compelled plaintiff to refrain from doing anything," the state said in its court papers.

The North Carolina authorities added that Cooksey continued to provide dietary advice despite the board's comments. "As recently as last week, he was providing detailed, individualized advice to diabetics," the government argued in its July motion seeking dismissal.