Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (Weston A. Price)

"LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS IS MOTHER NATURE OBEYED" - DR. PRICE

Dr. Weston A. Price was a dentist who travelled the globe for nearly 10 years in search of healthy cultures who remained on their native diets. His travels took him to 14 different countries where he sought out remote indigenous peoples. What he found was astonishing. The people were nearly immune to cavities, dental arch deformities, tuberculosis and other degenerative diseases that have been plaguing modern man. The people were in superb physical condition and had excellent health. These people were the controls that Dr. Price had been looking for to start the most epic scientific study on nutrition and health.

Dr. Price found these healthy people living on various native diets but they all had similar and extremely high levels of certain vitamins, minerals and animal fats. Common staple foods among these people were raw dairy products, organs and meat from 100% grassfed animals and various ocean and freshwater fish and sea life. Some had very little to no grains in their diets. Others had traditionally prepared whole rye, oats and tubers.

Dr. Price wanted to know what was in these foods that were keeping these people so well so he took samples back to his lab for testing and continued receiving samples for years comparing things like grassfed butter and how the nutrition changed through the seasons. He found extremely high amounts of fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin A and K2 (which he called "Activator X" until it was named 60 years later!) at times when fresh grass was growing rapidly (spring and fall). When animals on hay and grain were tested, the nutrients paled in comparison. Overall he found that these people were all receiving 10 times the number of fat soluble vitamins and 4 times the number of minerals compared to foods modern man was eating. Below is a picture from his book showing two brothers, one on traditional diet and the other on a modern processed diet.

Some of the other fascinating things that Dr. Price discovered includes the relation between the nutrition of the mother (and father!) pre-conception and the health and development of her baby. Some of the indigenous people had major prenatal preparations where mothers (and even fathers) to be go on a special diet 6 months before even attempting to conceive. They knew of special foods used to increase the fertility of men and women. Some practiced spacing of 2-3 years between children because they recognized the need to build nutrition for healthy children. Dr. Price made contact with isolated First Nations in Canada and wondered how they prevented deficiencies like scurvy (Vitamin C). An elder replied that this was a “white man’s disease”. He then described how they opened up a Moose after a kill and sourced the adrenal glands which was split among the family. It is now known that adrenals are among the richest source of Vitamin C in all of plant or animal tissue. The wisdom of these people was incredible! An Eskimo woman reported to Dr. Price that she had birthed 26 children and that several were born in the night where she never bothered to even wake her husband, and instead just introduced him to his new baby in the morning.

Dr. Price also linked nutrition to not just physical health, but also mental and moral health. When visiting juvenile detention centers and prisons, he commonly found 90% plus of inmates with facial deformities caused by a lack of nutrition. The book goes on to detail the amazing interactions with these people including over a hundred pictures and studies to back the findings. It is truly a masterpiece of scientific research and should be read by all looking to improve theirs and their children’s health.