Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

This is an updated edition of Price's seminal work. Below is my review of that earlier book: This book distills the research of Weston A. Price, a dentist and independent nutrition researcher. In a decade of travel around the world, Price and his wife studied the health, dietary habits, and chemical composition of food of dozens of traditional peoples of various racial backgrounds. His research was done at a time when many such groups still lived free of the influence of Western civilization and what he called "foods of commerce," i.e. heavily refined and denatured foods. One could question whether 60 plus year old research is relevant today, but I found his work powerful and persuasive for a very simple reason. Health problems sent me on a quest to find the best dietary information, but I soon found myself mired in contradictory claims, opposing research and special interest groups, as well as outright deceit. First I would read about how one vitamin or mineral was good for this. Then I would read that the very same item was bad for that. You shouldn't combine X with Y, or needed to add tons of Z or W, except on Sundays when the moon was almost 3/4 full. I became very disillusioned with the incredible complexity of nutrition. As I read more and more deeply, I also became annoyed at all the disinformation and profiteering behind much of the so-called research. I reached this bottom line: While we understand proteins, carbs, and fats reasonably well, and have a pretty good handle on most vitamins and about a dozen minerals, there is simply an immense amount we just don't know. We are researching minerals at about 5 per decade (around 50 to go - a hundred more years at our current rate). There are around 5000 enzymes in bee pollen alone, and few of them have been researched. There are an unknown number of phytochemicals and other things we have yet to discover that have been constituents of our food for perhaps millions of years. Science moves very slowly, and it could easily be several hundred or 1000 years before we get it all sorted out. And that doesn't take into consideration the power groups who insist on muddying the waters for profit's sake. Modern science is quite obviously incapable of giving us complete answers to our nutritional questions. It just plain doesn't have them to give, nor will it for a long, long time. Then I found Price's work. Basically, he was the Tony Robbins of diet - he sought out the healthiest people on Earth and studied what they had done for hundreds and thousands of years to stay healthy. He looked at their Traditional diets as well as what happened when they adopted Western diets. The results are in this book, and it is well worth your taking the time to read. While others have followed his work, the changing nature of the world now make it impossible to duplicate his research today. His work stands as a pivotal piece in science and health as well as in history. This represents the cumulative knowledge of millions of people over thousands of years in a laboratory that includes the entire world. Definitely non-trivial. There are also books by Ronald Schmid and Sally Fallon that introduce and give overviews of Price's work. I recommend them also. Today, when we must all become advocates for our own health, arming yourself with the best information is vital. update December 2008 A recent article published by the Weston A. Price Organization not only validates Price's X-Factor research, it also clearly illustrates the point I make above about modern scientific method and nutritional research failing to provide adequate information. Vitamin K2 has been identified as the X-Factor, and recent research into K2 shows that it is an extremely essential nutrient, not the throw-away that it has long been considered. It is a vital factor in bone and tooth health, heart health, nerve health, and so on. It turns out to be a critical part of so many body processes that physiology texts will have to be rewritten in major ways. Here is a vitamin discovered nearly 100 years ago, and yet science is just beginning to understand how terribly important it is. The main reasons for this serious error are; a lack of understanding of the chemical tests involved, lack of reading research in other countries, and a lack of interest on the part of researchers. (No money in vitamin research, you can't patent vitamins.) The article is available from the Weston A. Price Organization and is a very interesting read. UPDATE August 2009: The figure of 5000 enzymes has been bothering me, as the source of that info was not well cited. I have been looking around for a hard figure on the number of enzymes, and guess what? There is no such hard number. All the sources I have found vary widely (1,000 to 80,000), and do not cite references. Some sources say that there are 5,000 named enzymes, and up to 20,000 possible. This is yet another reason why current nutritional research is such a poor source of decision making data - they just don't have enough hard data to trust.

In 2005, I read a book that changed everything I thought I knew about nutrition - for all time; it is THE book of causative factors. This past week, 9 years later, I decided, prompted by some discussions online and here, to re-read it: "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration," by Weston A. Price. It's even more timely and prescient than ever. I was just as compelled then as now - more so, perhaps, after 10 years of reading and research of my own. I easily read 500 pages in 4 nights. Price was a dentist who graduated from the University of Michigan dental school in 1893. As he got into the first two decades of his practice in the 20th century, he became increasingly alarmed at people with bad teeth, poorly formed palates, cavities, and deformations of the jaw - and with that, serious health problems. He and his wife, beginning in 1929-30, traveled around the world to 14 different countries to find how the health, elsewhere, corresponded with mainly modern Americans. He visited isolated and respectively more modernized cultures in a Swiss village, Gaelics in the Islands of the Outer Hebrides, Eskimos, North American Indians, Melanesians, Polynesians, numerous African tribes, Australian Aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders, New Zealand Maori, and the Peruvian Indians. As well as studying the kept skulls of ancient Peruvians - nearly perfect palates and teeth. Bottom line: he investigated these peoples, who subsisted of their native "wild" foods - variably, meat, blood, butter, organ meats, milk, fish, rye, oats, some vegetables - and observed in them perfect dental arches, very rare tooth decay and cavities, and most of all, immunity to tuberculosis; their health, as well as their physiques, was found to be outstanding. However, in those groups, where certain segments obtained "modern foods of commerce" - white flour, sugar, jams, vegetable fats, canned goods - their health suffered, tuberculosis became rampant, as well as serious birth defects, cavities, deformed jaws, crooked teeth, and a host of other degenerative conditions. There are hundreds of photos throughout, and the difference between those who ate their native foods, and those who had manufactured foods, is truly, jaw-dropping shocking. Price documented his findings rigorously, thoroughly, with percentages and averages noted throughout. He also conducted numerous tests, curing several people of their health problems just by a change in food. The tests on vitamin A, D, butter, and minerals reveal some crucial findings and results. Animals with no vitamin A were born blind, or disfigured. There are several X-rays and photos that show the outcome of his tests. He notes conditions of soils, contents and values of whole grains, grasses and how they affect the final outcome - results of the consumption of the food in humans and animals. What it all boils down to is chemistry. The closer a food is to its natural origins and source, the better the health. The further away from its origins it is, processing, poor nutrients in growth cycles, denaturing, the worse the effect. In some of these cultures, no two young people were allowed to procreate unless they had undergone 6 months of concentrated nutrition to maximize the health of the conceived child. Price makes constant note of the "native wisdom" that had been passed down from generation to generation. He presents not just a few token cases but hundreds of them, across several thousands of miles - and it is startling how consistent the findings are from place to place. 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, to its food in all forms, and the humans and animals that inhabit it. I have no reservations about saying that this may be the most crucial piece of work on nutrition to ever have been written. This book is a spectacular read; I can't even begin to cover the astonishing breadth and scope of it. It is also controversial: a lot of quacks and grain and vegetarian fanatics have attacked this book, but, as it turns out, every one of Price's early findings are increasingly gaining merit as a lot of myths are being refuted. 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 impressively thorough analysis of human behaviors. Moreover, Price is a wonderful writer, matter-of-factly genteel, dispassionate and duly concerned all at once. There is a compassionate, keen kindness in his own being, and the generosity of spirit in wanting to do for the common good is evident throughout.

This is a very informative book filled with photos of healthy humans and unhealthy humans. Once you see for yourself how important diet it is - the facial structure, the nose, the teeth, etc. you will look at food very differently. I have been following the recommendations of Weston A Price for almost 20 years. I feel great and I am never sick. I only wish I had discovered his teachings when I was much younger...

This book is a real eye opener! It is really amazing what an impact simple foods have on our overall health. When one looks at the dis-ease of today and what it should/could be because of the advances in cleanliness and distribution it is heartbreaking to say the least. I have heard of 2 children in the past 3 months who were diagnosed with leukemia, and now are being treated with chemo, when we know what proper nutrition our bodies really need. A must have book if you want healthy children!

The best book I have ever read in my life. Hands down. Read this if you want to live well and care about the health of those around you. Although it’s a book about nutrition, it explains so much about society and why things are in such a dire state today. Read.this.book

Ce livre exceptionnel fait partie de ceux qui ouvrent les yeux de son lecteur sur une idée fondamentale et jusqu'alors invisible. Il a été écrit dans les années 1930 par un scientifique américain, dentiste de profession mais aussi nutritionniste. Il voulait comprendre pourquoi ses contemporains avaient des dents en si mauvais état (entre 30% et 60% de dents cariées selon les États) tandis que des peuples que l'on appelait alors primitifs avaient une excellente dentition. À l'époque, on trouvait encore des populations vivant à la manière de leurs ancêtres, très proche de la nature. En outre, on trouvait également des populations de même souche qui avaient adopté la technologie occidentale depuis quelques années seulement, ce qui permettait une comparaison. L'auteur est allé à la rencontre de ces populations en de nombreux points du globe: Canada (Indiens), Groenland (Eskimos), Australie (Aborigènes), Polynésie, Mélanésie, Nouvelle Zélande (Maoris), Hébrides, Suisse (dans une vallée isolée), Pérou, Afrique (Massaï notamment)... La première partie de l'ouvrage présente les voyages du Dr Price. La lecture en est aisée, dépaysante, et agréable grâce aux centaines de photos qui illustrent ces pages. Il a observé que les populations qui vivaient comme leurs ancêtres avaient bien une dentition quasi parfaite: moins d'une dent sur cent cariée (et même moins d'une sur mille chez certains peuples) et aucune malformation de l'arc dentaire (dents qui sortent, etc.). En outre, leurs physiques étaient splendides, ils avaient très peu de maladies, étaient doués d'une grande force et possédaient un caractère doux. A contrario, les populations de même souche qui avaient adopté la technologie occidentale avaient des dents épouvantablement cariées, c'est-à-dire autant qu'en Amérique mais sans dentiste accessible. Ces gens avaient aussi une santé bien plus fragile qu'avant leur occidentalisation, des déformations physiques (notamment faciales) étaient apparues chez leurs enfants, et ils ne résistaient plus aux virus comme leurs voisins « primitifs » (la tuberculose y faisait des ravages). On constate dès lors que les caries ne sont qu'un signe, un symptôme d'un mal plus profond. Chez les « primitifs », non seulement très peu de caries apparaissaient, mais en outre tout carie déclarée était auto-réparée, via la salive, avec le dépôt d'une nouvelle couche de dentine. L'analyse de terrain a montré que la seule différence pertinente entre les deux groupes (primitifs et occidentalisés) résidait dans l'alimentation. Celle des occidentalisés faisait partout grand usage de farine blanche et de conserves. Celle des traditionnalistes n'était pas partout la même, car elle était adaptée à chaque lieu: vivre comme ses ancêtres, c'est bénéficier de la sagesse accumulée par des dizaines de générations. La deuxième partie du livre, plus technique, fournit une analyse critique des données recueillies. Quand on pense à l'achat d'aliments, on pense au goût, à la consistance, à l'apparence, au prix, aux calories, aux risques sanitaires, à la rapidité de préparation et aux vitamines. Des analyses chimiques d'innombrables échantillons ont permis à Price d'identifier que ce qui rend l'alimentation des « primitifs » -- qui s'avèrent être les plus « sages » -- tellement supérieure réside dans sa teneur exceptionnellement élevée en minéraux (phosphore, calcium, etc.) et en vitamines (qui sont des précuseurs d'enzymes, c'est-à-dire de catalyseurs biologiques). Les doses que nous absorbons aujourd'hui comme hier en Occident sont tout à fait insuffisantes. Par exemple, la farine blanche fournit principalement au corps de l'amidon, qui sera absorbé par l'organisme sous forme de glucose (sucre), ainsi que quelques protéines. La farine blanche est donc utile pour nous donner de l'énergie. Mais sa teneur en minéraux est très faible (c'est l'enveloppe de la graine qui les contenait) et les vitamines sont quasi absentes. La farine blanche ne fournit pas les matériaux de construction dont le corps a besoin. À l'inverse, certains aliments sont particulièrement riches en ces matériaux, comme les foies, les oeufs de poisson, les crabes, les oeufs de poule, le sang... Certaines des populations visitées par le Dr Price, notamment en Afrique, imposaient aux femmes un délai d'au moins trois ans entre deux naissances (pour laisser le temps à leur corps de reconstituer des réserves de minéraux) et leur fournissaient des aliments spécialement riches quelques mois avant leur grossesse. Ce qui a mis le Dr Price sur la piste suivante, corroborée par d'autres observations: l'alimentation des (deux) parents avant la conception de leur enfant a une influence sur la santé de ce dernier, et ceci de manière permanente car d'éventuels défauts perdureront tout au long de sa vie. (Serait-ce lié à l'épigénétique ?) Aujourd'hui, que faire pour tenter d'améliorer notre nutrition ? On ne peut pas vraiment absorber les minéraux et les vitamines par des compléments alimentaires car ils sont faiblement métabolisés, c'est-à-dire qu'ils passent à travers le tube digestif sans entrer, ou presque, dans l'organisme. On ne peut guère séparer non plus les minéraux et les vitamines, qui doivent figurer ensemble dans le bol alimentaire, notamment parce que certaines vitamines sont indispensables pour que l'organisme utilise les minéraux en cours de digestion. Par exemple, dans le lait, c'est la partie maigre (le lait écrémé) qui contient tout le calcium, mais celui-ci n'est pas absorbé par l'organisme sans le concours de vitamines (lipo-solubles) qui ne sont présentes que dans la partie grasse du lait. L'aliment forme un tout dans son état naturel. Acheter de la farine complète n'est pas intéressant du point de vue des vitamines car celles-ci s'oxydent et perdent leurs propriétés en quelques jours (Price suggère un jour ou deux). En revanche, c'est utile pour les minéraux, s'ils peuvent être métabolisés. Pour parvenir à une alimentation qui tienne compte des besoins massifs en minéraux et en vitamines, il faut privilégier les aliments qui en sont riches et en faire le coeur des repas. Le surdosage de minéraux et de vitamines n'est pas possible s'ils ne proviennent que d'aliments non transformés, le danger n'existe qu'avec les aliments raffinés. La manière de préparer les aliments influe également sur la biodisponibilité des minéraux et des vitamines. Lorsqu'il n'est pas possible de se nourrir de manière vraiment saine, le Dr Price recommande de compléter les repas avec de l'huile de foie de morue à raison de 5 mL par jour pour un adulte. Il évoque également le beurre produit en juin avec le lait de vaches paissant dans des prés en altitude, mais l'industrialisation complète de la chaîne laitière ne nous permet plus d'isoler les beurres de ce type...

Weston Price dans un premier temps établit le lien entre les caries dentaires et les maladies, puis il part en voyage pendant 12 ans pour observer le lien entre l'alimentation moderne et les caries. Ce voyage le conduira en Europe, au nord de l'Amérique, en Mélanésie, au Fiji, à Tahiti, au Samoa, à Hawaii, en Afrique, chez les aborigenes d'Australie, en Nouvelle Zélande … bref sur la planète entière en comparant les populations s'alimentant avec des produits traditionnels et celles qui ont adopté une alimentation moderne et raffinée, il démontre que cette alimentation moderne perturbe la croissance des enfants, entraine des caries et plus tard des maladies. Cette étude était possible au début du XX° siècle, époque de Weston Price. Ce livre est donc fondamental pour premièrement comprendre l'impact des dents (surtout des dents dévitalisées) sur la santé et deuxièmement établir l'impact entre alimentation et santé.