Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (WITH 134 FIGURES)
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CONTENTS:
I.--Why Seek Wisdom from Primitive Races II.-The Progressive Decline of Modern Civilization III.-Isolated and Modernized Swiss IV.-Isolated and Modernized Gaelics V.-Isolated and Modernized Eskimos VI.-Primitive and Modernized North American Indians VII.-Isolated and Modernized Melanesians VIII.-Isolated and Modernized Polynesians IX.-Isolated and Modernized African Tribes X.-Isolated and Modernized Australian Aborigines XI.-Isolated and Modernized Torres Strait Islanders XII.-Isolated and Modernized New Zealand Maori XIII.-Ancient Civilizations of Peru XIV.-Isolated and Modernized Peruvian Indians XV.-Characteristics of Primitive and Modernized Dietaries XVI.-Primitive Control of Dental Caries XVII.-One Origin of Physical Deformities XVIII.-Prenatal Nutritional Deformities and Disease Types XIX.-Physical, Mental and Moral Deterioration XX.-Soil Depletion and Plant and Animal Deterioration XXI.-Practical Applications of Primitive Wisdom
a selection from the INTRODUCTION:
After spending several years approaching this problem by both clinical and laboratory research methods, I interpreted the accumulating evidence as strongly indicating the absence of some essential factors from our modern program, rather than the presence of injurious factors. This immediately indicated the need for obtaining controls. To accomplish this it became necessary to locate immune groups which were found readily as isolated remnants of primitive racial stocks in different parts of the world. A critical examination of these groups revealed a high immunity to many of our serious affections so long as they were sufficiently isolated from our modern civilization and living in accordance with the nutritional programs which were directed by the accumulated wisdom of the group. In every instance where individuals of the same racial stocks who had lost this isolation and who had adopted the foods and food habits of our modern civilization were examined, there was an early loss of the high immunity characteristics of the isolated group. These studies have included a chemical analysis of foods of the isolated groups and also of the displacing foods of our modern civilization.
--- These investigations have been made among the following primitive racial stocks including both isolated and modernized groups: the Swiss of Switzerland, the Gaelics in the Outer and Inner Hebrides, the Eskimos of Alaska, the Indians in the far North, West and Central Canada, Western United States and Florida, the Melanesians and Polynesians on eight archipelagos of the Southern Pacific, tribes in eastern and central Africa, the Aborigines of Australia, Malay tribes on islands north of Australia, the Maori of New Zealand and the ancient civilizations and their descendants in Peru both along the coast and in the Sierras, also in the Amazon Basin. Where available the modernized whites in these communities also were studied....
Customer Reviews:
This book should scare the American Dietetic Association What a great book! It refutes the lies manufactured by the American Dietetic Association about the "benefits" of a mixed diet and proves without doubt that only natural, unprocessed, unadulterated foods graciously given by our Creator should be eaten. This book should be required reading in every dental, medical and nutritional school in the country. Thanks, Dr. Price!...more info
it's too bad nobody reads this While it doesn't spell out everything you need to know about nutrition, this book provides some of the raw ethnographic data you need so you can begin to open your eyes. The section on the Inuit was particularly enlightening....more info
ten stars and a true story Our daughter had Juvenile Dermatomyocitis, a very rare auto immune disease for which modern medicince can give neither the cause nor the cure. Some children get over it in 2- 4 years, for some it is fatal, and for some it becomes a lifelong ailment. It affects the skin with a chronic rash, the joints with rheumatoid arthritis, and the muscles (incldung the heart) with degeneration. It is horrible and it left our little girl confined to the sofa and incapable of even stepping over an electric cord.
Within one year after the diagnosis (confirmed with blood work), she was once again a perfectly normal and healthy child. The difference? The research of Dr. Weston A. Price in this incredible book. Read how Sallon Fallon puts this Dr.'s research into practice with her cookbook Nourishing Traditions, and I bet I'll see you at the next Nourishing Traditions conference in Chantilly. (By the way, I never could convince two of the Doctors who treated her that nutrition affected illness....Whatever)
The saddest thing for me is to see many of the characteristics that Dr. Price shows in his book as the result of malnutirition and degeneration in the faces of many people in public. Once you see the photos in this book, you will recognize the facial traits everywhere, shopping malls, stores, etc... You will never look at the human physique in the same way again....more info
Chumps I never received my order - just the receipt for payment. What crap. Can't see any other easy way to complain, so here is your feedback. Chumps. ...more info
Wonderful This is a wake up call to all those who believe processed food trash is okay for ones body....more info
A Must-Have for anyone who doubts the Diet-Disease link I owe a great debt to this book. Back in 1977, I ran across an old battered copy of Nutrition & Physical Degeneration, and it became the second book I ever read on the diet-disease connection. I had just finished my first major change in diet, a 5-week cleansing program, and the results (loss of acne and a growing sinus problem) so stunned me that I was looking around for anything that further explained this diet-symptom connection. Price's book hit me like a ton of bricks, but it wasn't his words that I remember reading; it was the shocking photographs- traditional people's faces juxtaposed with those that had moved to the cities and modern diets-that spoke volumes.
Two years later, in 1979, I left home for what would be a 3-year hitchhiking trip around the globe. A year was spent traveling through Africa, and not a day would go by went I didn't see examples of what Weston Price was pointing out. Deep in Mali or Senegal or the Ivory Coast, you would see a vibrant health in people. Then go into the cities like Dakar or Bamako, and the bone structures and teeth and skin would have deteriorated. Just like Price's photographs. I remember thinking that this doesn't take a scientist or nutritionist to see this. Anyone, even a traveling hippie, could spot what was happening when humans moved from a whole foods diet, to a one filled with fake foods.
If you have any doubt that virtually every skin and digestive problem is related directly to the sludge-producing, historically new diet that we have been consuming since about the 1930s, read Weston Price's book. Heck, just look at the pictures. Because until our medical profession stops its unholy relationship to the pharmaceutical industry, it is up to each of us to uncover and remember this diet-disease/diet-health relationship.
Scott Ohlgren
author, Cellular Cleansing Made Easy...more info
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NUTRITION BOOKS! This is one of the great classics of nutrition, and deserves a wide audience. See how Dr. Price travelled the globe and saw first hand how whole foods promote health, and refined ones destroy it. Learn also about "factor X," an important nutrient which can only be found in certain animal foods, and which is essential for optimal health according to Price. Filled with extraordinary pictures, this book should be in every nutrition library and be read by everyone who values their health....more info
A must have for your nutrition library I bought this book to learn more about real nutrition. I found this book interesting and scary at the same time. If what this author is saying is true, then we all need to be much more careful in what we eat and buy. There is just too much at stake. Especially when the FDA, the food industry lobby, and pharmaceutical companies are gunning for you and your family. Be a detective and find out for yourself. If you find a questionable claim, look it up on medline - a good source for current studies.
Although I liked this book, I found it just a little fantastic, and felt angry and upset at the politics of food. Still a decent book though.
TIP: stay away from excitotoxins, supplement, see a chiropracor regularly, exercise and eat only organic foods. **Disclaimer- That was just an opinion, not medical advise.
"If first an idea is not absurd, it has not hope for survival." -Albert Einstein...more info
truly an inspired work A fabulous book about what truly makes our physical bodies immune to disease and decay. Dr. Weston Price was inspired in his desire to seek for truth in what really makes our bodies strong and healthy, and what destroys the beauty and structure and capability of our hearts, minds and bodies. Detailed diets and lifestyles of the world's strongest and most beautiful traditional people. It breaks your heart to see the decay of our modern day and makes you long for a world that has true peace and strength....more info
Must read for anyone interested in health... This is an extraordinary book that flies in the face of most conventional information on nutrition. Having been a health care practitioner for over 20 years, I know this information is valid and true. If you are interested in dental health or longevity, this is a must read!...more info
Life Changing Read!!!! This book was amazing! It changed my diet and now, thanks to the ongoing information from the Weston A. Price Foundation www.westonaprice.org I feel healthier than I ever have!
He explored how the healthiest people on the planet ate, how it affected their teeth and overall health. He drops hints at the incredibly exciting life he had, like mentioning that he and his wife met a cannibal chief on the Pacific Islands, travelled to Alaska, and climbed the Swiss Alps. And he found that age old dietary wisdom beats modern convenience foods hands down.
One unexpected find that I've shared with some dentist friends is that he had a special diet that stopped the progression of cavities and actually re calcified the deteriorating teeth.
The only flaw in the book was that I think he overlooked the very important role of salt in the native's diets. They used it to preserve their food, and those who ate modern foods ate much less, since it was canned.
Overall, a very good and important book! I'd recommend reading it with Andre Voisin's book, "Soil, Grass, and Cancer" as together they paint an amazing picture of what is happening to the human race....more info
A Classic Treasure Dr. Price was a retired dentist who toured the world for a few years to find out why some native people escaped tooth and bone problems, including crooked teeth. His conclusion was that it had to do with eating natural nutrient rich food (not the processed food of the modern diet). Whether this is the case or not may be disputable. What is not disputable is the fact that teeth and bone problems developed within a generation of modern food becoming available to the natives, which can be readily seen in the numerous pictures taken by Price. My own conclusion is that eating a diet of only natrual nutrient rich food, as fresh as possible, is a good idea.
One unfortunate outcome of Dr. Price's book is that some people have interpreted it to justify a diet high in meat, milk and other animal products. I don't believe this is the point of Dr. Price's book....more info
Answers Revealed This book is positively enlightening. It provides a comprehensive, concise analysis of the ramifications of our modern dietary as well as irrefutable evidence of the consequences of our society's misguided advocacy of a diet consisting primarily of white flour, sugar, and 'unnatural' food substances (like hydrogenated oils).
Unlike most of today's published guidelines for dietary intake, this book presents a clear, unbiased view of what humans should consume to ensure optimal health. The material is honest, unbiased, well written, and clear. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their own health, reach and maintain an optimal weight, and understand once and for all what we humans should be consuming in order to thrive instead of merely exist. I finally truly understand what I need to do to ensure better health for myself and my family....more info
Fresh, whole foods vs highly processed/refined canned foods This book displays the dramatic differences healthwise between eating fresh, whole foods vs highly processed and refined canned foods, sugar candies, and soft drinks. Apparently children born to parents eating fresh, healthy, whole foods are born in better health and are happier than children whose parents have neglected eating fresh, whole foods and instead have consumed highly processed, refined, canned foods which lack key enzymes and other nutrients necessary to grow a human being. The foreword in the book I have also broadens the idea of good nutrition to fresh, whole foods free of chemical pesticides and food additives which can also impact the health of consumers. This one book actually changed my nutrition eating habits for the better. Today, I also use a Juicer recommended by Jay Kordich, the Juiceman, which is an easy and fun way to consume a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. This book is years ahead of its time in my view, like fifty years, in giving a good, honest look at good, old fashioned healthy nutrition....more info
a life-changing read This is the most amazing nutrition book I've ever read- and I've read many. The amount of data, the photographs, the anecdotes, all point to an obvious conclusion. I am simply shocked that his work is not better known. After reading this book I understand why the health of so many in the world today is so poor. This book provides all the answers. I know with absolute certainty now what constitutes a healthy diet. This book will fascinate you, educate you, and leave you feeling shocked. HIGHLY recommended!...more info
Very interesting and inspiring Sally Fallon gives a talk on Weston Andrew Price. I listened to the audio talk regarding this work. Some thought provoking stuff here. Some other readers have given a far more in-depth discussion on the book and I would like to conclude that this is a must read. ...more info
You won't want to put this book down! The pictures of natives on the natural diet and ones eating refined food are worth the price of the book. For a number of years Weston Price (a Cleveland, Ohio dentist) and his wife, visited people groups from every corner of the globe. It was at a time in our world's history when many people still ate their native diets. Westernized, white flour and sugar foods were just beginning to be eaten by remote people groups.
People who ate their native diets had robust health. They had beautiful face shapes and smiles, with excellent dental health. As long as they stayed on their native foods, the diseases of modern society were unheard of amongst these cultures. Once they switched to refined foods, their teeth decayed, they children's face shapes changed and their health in general deteriated.
Price kept a detailed record of what each people group he visited ate. Being from different climates,each group of people had it own uneque diet. Some, like the Eskamoos had a very limited variety of foods they ate. All the diets studied where high in fat. Yes, they were even high in saturated fat. What type of fat do you think whale blubber is high in? People from warmer climates had a more varied diet that included more fruits and vegies. Each of the diets had way more fat soluable vitamin A and D in them than do modern day diets.
That is why we supplement our diet with Cod Liver Oil. In northern climates, you can't get enough vitamin D from the sun to supply what your body needs. We take a teaspoon each day. Cod liver oil is also rich in essential omega three fathy acids EPA and DHA. They are what the brain needs to function optumally. Cod live oil also suppllies vitamin A.
The people in the Swiss Alps ate a diet high in dairy products from grass fed cows. Butter from healathy cows is one of nature's super foods. It is rich in butteric acid, which is a short chain fatty acid that has many benefical affects ont he body. It also has many other health producing nutrients, which are anti-microbial, anti-bacterial and anti-carcinogenic. ...more info
controversial but correct this book is based on common sense nutrition because primitives have no nutritionists to tell them what to eat only eons of ancestral wisdom yet retain health sometimes under amazing circumstances the only drawback i found was that weston price being a dentist tends to write this book as a dentist giving many measurements of cavities which to the average person interested in nutrition or anthropology might find repetitive and strange none the less this man deserves tremendous credit for his contribution to dentistry and natural diets of mankind alltogether a fascinating read...more info
Good, but not universally applicable Some of the material is very good, although the newer blood type concept perhaps renders this book more useful for people who are type O blood. I myself am type O and find the information very helpful. My type A girlfriend took on elook and said she knew it would never work for her....more info
Worth the time to read and apply Information in this book, is understandable and very worth while.
By applying the information, I am loosing weight, and my health appears to be improving as I continue to work on his suggestions....more info
Dental and Medical Professions - Wake up! It amazes me that a book could have been written so long ago, by such an inspirational man who understands the reason behind all modern day health problems, and still be largely ignored by these professions. As we continue to look further into vaccines, genetics, needless animal testing for a countless number of useless drugs, the answer is so simple. Nutrition! And real nutrition - Unrefined foods as nature intended. Look to our ancestors for the answers. They didn't have tooth decay, they didn't have deformed jaws and overcrowded teeth - they didn't need orthodontics, and they didn't have our numerous ailments. Why? We think that modern medicine is performing miracles - it isn't! They don't even understand the important link between the jaw and the body's health. There are too many egos in the way of a merge between these two professions. Dentists, doctors and everyone else - Please read this book!...more info
An irreplacable documentation of nutritional history. In the late 1930's Dr Price, a retired dentist, travelled to areas of the world where processed food was only beginning to be available and examined the teeth and health of people of the generations before and during the introduction of such food. The result is a valuable historical documentation of the damage done by the consumption processed foods. :-{}...more info
a MUST have for all personal libraries want to know how people lived longer?
this is a very complete investigation of indiginious people as of the early 20th century and what the effect of nutritional diets had on thier lives as the 'western diet' got introduced.
VERY eye opening, and a must read for anyone concerned about the modern chronic disease epidemic!!...more info
Amazing! The book anyone should read that cares about their health! The single most important book ever written on diet. Thank goodness Dr. Price did his investigations when he did. I am finishing my PhD in holistic nutrition and this is the most important book I have read in my studies. Get it, read it and understand it! Then eat like our ancestors ate!...more info
Current medical doctors/nurses/psychologists -- PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!! This book really deserves 10 stars! You can not look at mother nature and food in the same way after reading this book. The evidence that will be laid before you is irrefutable and absolutely astonishing. The only thing worth warning is that Price is a dentist, a nutritionist and has no philisophical background and so he lacks a proper understanding the relationship between the body and the soul. He makes a few minor comments and comes close to suggesting ideas that could be harmful to the true happiness of the human person, the human family. The comments are so rare and so few that I won't bring my rating down, but it is definitely worth noting....more info
The Answer to our Dietary and Health Confusion One day we are told that fats are bad and that we must avoid them at all costs. Next we are told that carbs are the enemy. The experts cannot seem to make up their minds on which individual foods are good for you and which are bad. If all else fails, they fall back on the need for "moderation". Wouldn't it be nice if there were some really rock-solid nutritional research one could rely upon? Wouldn't it be comforting if we had research more compelling than "Food X just might raise your blood cholesterol a bit, and if that happens you just might be at a slightly higher risk for getting heart disease?"
Unbeknownst to practically everyone, there is a body of nutritional research in which we can have great confidence. Researchers can never carry out large-scaled controlled experiments on people but Weston Price did the next best thing and served as an eyewitness and recorder of nutritional experiments that tribes throughout the world had decided to undertake on their own. Side by side were groups that maintained their traditional diets with those that adopted the modern commercial diet of the 1930's. Price meticulously documented the results of these experiments and pinpointed the factors necessary for optimal health that were common to the successful traditional diets. And how did Price judge the efficiency of the alternate approaches to nutrition, by use of weak biological markers? No way, he focused on the incontrovertible results of dietary regimens, such as whether or not they supported the proper development of the dental arches (as opposed to causing crowded, crooked teeth or problems with one's bite), whether the diet conferred resistance to dental infection (or left one susceptible to the ravages of dental caries), and various other direct and significant measures of health and vitality. And he documented all of this with photographs as well.
If this were the extent of his research, it would be astonishing and compelling, but Price went beyond this series of studies to find corroborating evidence in a great variety of other studies performed by scientists of his day. He also verified his findings in studies of his own patients. When taken in aggregate, one cannot help but be in awe of what he accomplished, a series of undertakings which come across as heroic and superhuman to this mortal. Read this book and be a witness to a scientific study of unparalleled significance and scope....more info
Why mankind went wrong This book is the bible for anyone interested in finding out what went wrong with mankind. It presents the observed facts of the world travels of Weston a Price through traditional folk. No hidden motives to promote products, it only shows us the way it used to be. We should all take note and learn to adopt some/many of the practices found in this book....more info
Best book i've ever read Hard to believe this was written in the 1930's. The pictures in this book tell everything. Notice how the primitives have perfect teeth, but they never brushed or cleaned them. It's also interesting how the people that ate grains had more cavities than those that didn't eat them. The healthiest folks were the ones that consumed seafood. What suprised me the most is when the author explains how cavities repair themselves when you start eating nutritious food. And there's an x-ray picture there so you can see. This was done on a child, so i don't know if it'll work for adults. I noticed that one of my cavities improved after i started eating healthier (a white layer covered half of it). The author also did a lot of experiments with animals, and there are some weird pictures that show the results. An incredible book!...more info
Chilling, mind-boggling warning on causes of modern foods Perhaps one of the greatest books of the 20th century. Though it was written in the 1930s, it is nonetheless eerily prophetic of the ominous trends that punctuate modern technology, namely the changing nature of how humans and animals eat. There is a "Twilight Zone" sense of foreboding as Dr. Price's research and findings unfold, chapter after chapter. What this book amounts to is a convincing, virtual warning on what is happening to the planet, and the humans and animals that inhabit it. The information contained within is so compelling, riveting, meticulously documented, and palpably thorough in its research, I have no reservations about saying that this may be the most crucial piece of work on nutrition to ever have been written. But it's more than a book on nutrition. It deals with the cultural, technological, global, and (latently) political ramifications of manufactured food. There are so many angles - such as soil depletion, corruptive changes in the human form and the catastrophic physical decline of the species - and complications stemming from the changes wrought in the way humans and animals eat, one needs to read the book. There is no guesswork here. Price, like a true scientist, made acutely sure to back up his assertions with chemical analyses, tests and rigorous collection of data.
Price's findings are amply illustrated with an astonishing collection of photos. The people that pass for humans is plainly frightening. The "before and after" aspect of the hundreds of photos leave the reader in abject shock. There is a real sense of horror, chapter after chapter, of seeing the after-effects of modern foods on various peoples. After reading this book, one may surmise that several factors have fallen into place. That is, the realization of why, despite "advanced" technology, medical care and knowledge, the nation and the world continue to be plagued with disease, degeneration, obesity and ill health. As Dr. Price puts it, the majority of plagues, and infectious diseases have been largely dealt with, but now in its place are degenerative ailments, and the
The most chilling realization of all is the very real possibility that pre-natal "germ plasm disruptions," coming from parents who lack the proper means of health through nutrition to create ideal offspring, may be taking place in epidemic numbers. What this is tantamount to is the actual de-evolution of a degenerated human race. Price's main observation on the healthy primitive peoples is how they respect the laws of nature. What modern technology does not recognize is that many primitive societies have knowledge that have been passed on from millenia in which to base their vital health. What Price does here is to show the effects of "modern foods of commerce" (as he calls it) on these primitive societies. You see, in mind-boggling photos, how healthy, disease-free primitives look; the ones who have been subsisting on their own diets for millenia have beautifully formed faces, palates, jaws and teeth that are totally devoid of caries. Then, there are, among these same peoples where white man and their modern foods have taken over. Children (and the adults they become) with birth defects, deformed palates, rotted, missing teeth and ill-health. Even more scary is the possibilty that "pre-natal disruptions" could cause impaired brain health. Dr. Price very meticulously documents all his findings, which include, specifically, what kinds of foods cause the best health, and, conversely, the worst. He backs up his findings with x-rays, photos and all kinds of data that can't easily be refuted. The common sense and logic which prevails throughout can't be shaken off; these details are disturbing and unsettling. We see proof of how nature is being corrupted by an unnatural means of eating. It all falls into place. The untainted foods of God are what we're meant for. The moral is clear: take the foods of God, alter it, chemically process it, and feed it to people, and witness the catastophic destruction of what nature intended. If this continues, we're done for.
The other real, sobering possibility is that information like this will be constantly scuppered by prevailing dietary trends, and misinformation. Fortunately there is an active society, based on the author's work, which can be found at www.westonaprice.org - this organization is promoting wholesome eating, good health and vitality through the foundations of good nutrition, which Dr. Price endorsed. Eventually, with any luck and perseverance, the truth will prevail, and the one vestige out of Pandora's Box - hope - can morph into a tangible reality. One can get a head start, armed with this knowledge, through several important books: number one, and the most crucial, Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions," Mary G. Enig's "Know Your Fats," Enig and Fallon's book "Eat Fat, Lose Fat," Bruce Fife's "The Coconut Oil Miracle," Kaayla Daniel's "The Truth About Soy," and Jordan Rubin's "The Maker's Diet."
This book is a spectacular read. Though it does deal primarily with Dr. Price's research, findings and discoveries on nutrition and physical degeneration, there are so many rewards otherwise. This is a first-rate travelogue, superb cultural anthropological study, and an astonishingly thorough analysis of human behaviors. Moreover, Price is a wonderful writer, matter-of-factly genteel, dispassionate and duly concerned all at once.
There are no words adequate to convey the the impact, importance and timeliness of this book. ...more info
A seminal and invaluable work! As a distributor for Super Blue Green? Algae, I am always on the lookout for powerful, authoritive and accurate information relating the role our modernized food supply plays in the dramatically declining standard of health. I heartily recommend this seminal and invaluable work! ~ Patrick Babcock...more info
A Gem of Anthropology and Nutrition While the western world continues to argue over what is the easiest way to feed itself truckloads of sugary garbage and stay thin, it is refreshing to see that someone has actually made a scientific study to show that the best way to stay healthy is to forget the quick fix and look toward a healthier past. Anyone who hasn't understood why their fad diet lifestyle isn't working should take the time to read this book in detail - the explanations are all there. To quote the person who introduced Weston A. Price to me, the man was a "true visionary"....more info
The Most Sublime Work Since Darwin. This is not just a book about nutrition, although even in that genre it is the best of its kind ever published.
This is a book about mankind, human progress, social harmony, the roots of crime, the foundation of happiness.
If what Dr Price had alarmingly brought to our attention in the 1930s about the highly processed foods we should not eat had been followed, the people in this world now would be healthy, happy and in harmony. Instead we have a society where 85% are overweight, 90% have vitamin/mineral deficiencies, almost every child need orthodontia, has acne, needs glasses, has asthma etc. All these modern conditions are caused by nutritional defeiciencies in parents prior to conception or in the child while growing up. Usually both are present.
Then there are all the mental problems caused by nutritional deficiencies: crime, delinquency, depression, Alzheimers etc,etc, etc.
Why has this tragic situation happened? Capitalism. That creed based on providing us maximally seductive food based on sugar, additives, refined flour, trans fat, in huge quantities, aggressively marketed to ensure maximum profit to the corporation ( but in the process destroying our health). What a way for human society to run itself!
(PS Another eminent doctor also writing in the 1930s, Sir Robert McCarrison came to the same conclusions as Dr Price after studying the Hunza people, renowned for their superb physical and mental health. I highly recommend his writings, especially his Cantor Lecture, which are readily available on the internet.) ...more info
Should be read by every human who cares about health I highly recommend Weston Price's book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Hard to believe something from almost 70 years ago could reach out to me and help make sense from nutritional confusion, but it really has--and tremendously. I'll grant you that there has been knowledge gained since his travels and experiments, but overall his work still easily stands the test of time. You'll probably also be surprised at how easy it is to read. Clearly people didn't speak the same way back then, but I found his writing style to be engaging nonetheless. You could write off one or two examples from his book as anecdotal, but when you see the same patterns repeated over and over, after a while the principles of good nutrition (and HEALTH) can't help but sink in, and in a very meaningful way. Of course, one has to be willing to defy current conventional "wisdom" in order to have a truly healthy diet. Real food that is close to nature promotes real health. I just wish I would have known 20 years ago what I know now (not that I would necessarily have been receptive to the message back then). At least I know it especially isn't too late for my children: thankfully, they're still at a stage where a healthy diet will have a tremendously salutary effect and will hopefully provide them a good foundation for robust, lasting health free from the sorts of degenerative diseases that seemingly plague modern "civilized" man.
...more info
Around the World and Back in Time Embark on an all-expenses-paid tour from the Swiss Alps to the plains of Peru. This anthropological journey will bring you face-to-face with ancient races on the interface of tradition and modernization.
In the 1930s, Dr. Weston Price traveled the world in search of the answer to tooth decay, studying isolated groups who displayed uncanny immunity to almost all modern degenerative disease. He documented their diets, cultures and health in various stages of modernization.
Across the world, the patterns were the same. While the people were still living on their native diets, they remained in excellent health. They had broad skeletal structures, straight teeth and defined tribal features, which passed perfectly from generation to generation. They knew instinctively what to eat for disease prevention, even to the point of targeting specific deficiencies, and sometimes traveled miles for special foods. Price marveled at their physical excellence and strength of character.
As soon as these isolated people accepted the modern foods of trade - white flour, sugar, jams and canned goods - their health quickly deteriorated. Tooth decay became rampant, causing unforeseen misery and desire for death among formerly carefree people. Tuberculosis, once unknown, became a primary concern. General hardiness diminished. Most telling of all were the skeletal changes. Physical divergences from the tribal pattern began appearing in children born to modernized parents. Children were born with narrower faces, crowded teeth, pinched nostrils and skeletal deformities, all of which were magnified in younger children of the same family. Narrowed hips led to difficulty in childbirth. In all cases when some or all of a group returned to their native foods, they regained their health and active dental decay ceased.
Upon his return home (in what I expected to be the boring half of the book), Price analyzed and developed practical applications for his discoveries. He concluded that nutrition, not genetics, was the primary cause of degenerative disease. Tooth decay was just one outward expression of serious internal deficiencies; the same conditions that led to visible decay of the teeth also caused invisible decay of other organs. Price followed that principle back to pre-conception and found that the nutritional deficiencies in parents that caused bone deformations in the child could also create irregularities elsewhere - including the brain.
The conclusion that nutrition, not genetics, lies at the root of our modern ailments is an astoundingly hopeful one. If it were genetic or random, there would be nothing we could do. If it is nutrition, we can help ourselves. The damage is reversible. Price and subsequent research observed that parents with health problems, including apparently genetic abnormalities, produced healthy children when they had adequate nutrition. Among the already born, Price documented drastic health improvements through minor dietary changes.
Dr. Price presents his findings in a factual, unbiased manner. His logic and supporting data are clear and effective, his language quaint and vivid. If any emotional slant comes through, it is a humble awe at the workings of nature and grief at the loss of health among the modernized. Some of his wording is culturally insensitive today (i.e. "savages"), but the content of his observations communicates a deep respect and admiration for the people from whom he learned so much.
The photographs in this book are priceless. Hundreds of faces tell the story better than words ever could. It revolutionized the way I think about food and started me on the life-changing road to traditional cooking. I highly recommend it....more info
