Jan 2024 Reading

I’ve known of this book for many years and have read cookbooks based on Weston’s findings. A year ago, I bought this book but set it aside & forgot about it until after these past holidays.

Weston Price was a dentist practicing in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1900’s. In the 1920’s, after World War 1, he noticed a sudden spike in his patients’ tooth decay, as well as abscesses & the need for root canals. He was concerned and wondered what could have caused the sudden increase in dental issues. The only change he could think of that made sense was the new processed food products. White flours, were being processed for shipping safely (from insects and rodents). More sugar was being used and bakeries popping up all over with white breads, white flour pastries as well as many cookies and desserts.

Dr Price and his wife spent 10 years (in the 1930’s) traveling each summer to visit the most primitive people groups they could find around the world. At that time there were still pockets of peoples that were still remote from trains, or other easy transportation. But in all these areas, progress was encroaching nearer & nearer.

The primitive people groups he found were: villages high in the Swiss alps, islands north of Ireland & Scotland, Alaskans, North America Indians, South American Indians, Australia & New Zealand, and the islands in the South Pacific (Hawaii, Polynesia, Melanesia, Tahiti, etc). And also primitive tribes in Africa.

He and his wife took photos of the peoples mouths & teeth (many times also of nearby people who were beginning to eat “white mans foods” for a comparison). He took saliva samples and food samples to be tested in labs for nutrients as well as comparisons with modern foods.

He tried very hard to find any peoples who were vegetarian or vegan, but could not find any. All the people groups ate either animal meats with organs or seafood.

The Swiss ate 100% whole grain rye breads, LOTS of milk & dairy products (note that back then, most dairy was fresh & raw, produced by small local farms) and their villages butchered goats or sheep for families to share once a week. They also had seasonal fruits & veggies.

The British isle peoples ate whole oats as porridge or oat cakes (like crackers or bread) with some islands having dairy goats or sheep, but not all. A very few seasonal veggies. They ate lots of seafood, and especially cod with its livers.

Alaskans & American Indians ate LOTS of meats- if near water they also ate lots of seafood. Some seasonal fruits, berries & vegetables. Far north groups also froze some foods, including both fish and vegetables. Some mid-north American Indians did grow and eat some grains.

Aborigines of Australia & New Zealand ate mostly meats with some veggies & seafood when near water.

The island peoples ate mostly a wide variety of seafoods. Some did have wild pigs or other animal meat, and they all ate fruits and vegetables. One primitive island group lived inland and was constantly at war with the group that lived on the edges of the island. So the inland tribe would sneak down at night once every 3 months and leave gifts of fruits and veggies for the others. The next night, the others would leave the inland tribe a bunch of seafood. This was the closest to vegetarians that he ever discovered; but they still ate seafood every 3 months.

One of the island chiefs mentioned to P rice that the reason for their cannibalism was when they were in desperate need of liver. (I am NOT advocating for cannibalism!) But it is interesting that organs and liver in particular were so important to the health in the peoples in the past.

South American Indians of Peru ate meats, some fruits and vegetables and fish/seafood if they were near water. African tribes ate meat & organs, as well as growing quite a few vegetables and grains. They may have had some fruits depending on location.

Dr Price’s findings were very interesting! Not only did the people eating traditional, ancient diets have very little if any tooth decay, but ALSO, they were mostly free of disease! No tuberculosis, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, etc! Strong, limber, healthy people!

Everywhere he traveled, as commerce and civilization came near, the diet of people began changing to include processed flours and sugar, etc. These people (sometimes within the same household as those continuing a traditional diet) developed much tooth decay; some even rotting teeth right out of the mouth), as well as arthritis, heart disease and many of our common modern diseases.

Adult Brothers in the same home, eating at the same table had great differences in oral health! The older brother (who ate a traditional diet) had a healthy smile and no tooth decay, while his younger brother’s teeth were rotting away, because he insisted on eating white bread and sugar-laden treats from a newly installed bakery from the mainland.

Another interesting story Price tells is from his stay with a group of Canadian American Indians. They were very remote and were so healthy, that he commented on their lack of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency). The guy he was speaking to said scurvy was “white mans disease”. Price asked him why that was. He replied that white man was so smart he would not listen to Indians. Dr Price asked if the man would be willing to tell him, because he really wanted to know. The Indian asked his chief for permission to share their secret. Because Dr Price was advising the Indians NOT to shop for food at white mans stores when they traveled, he trusted Dr Price. Their secret was to divide up the adrenal glands of any animal they butchered, between all the people sharing the meat. Each person got a small piece. When Price had these tested in the lab, they were higher in vitamin C than any other know food!

What I found most interesting in this book, was that the diet effected not just dental health, but overall health. The people eating traditional diets were strong, limber and had nicely shaped faces. They were also usually happy people. For example, the people in the Swiss alps had no doctor, no police and no jail. The community all worked and lived well with one another.

In some locals, where travel was bringing civilization near, the people had changed their diet to include refined foods, but also had oral hygiene products. Their teeth & gums were shiny and clean, but still infected with decay & gum disease- in spite of brushing, flossing & keeping clean. It’s just what we see today. However, many people on traditional diets did not brush or have any specific tools for cleaning their teeth or mouths, yet they little to no decay.

My takeaway from this book is that for optimal health, I need to:

• Avoid white flour

• Avoid sugar

• Avoid pasteurized dairy when possible

• Include meats, poultry or seafood

• Include fruits and vegetables AND ESPECIALLY

• Include organ meats

As my son sometimes tells people if you can’t grow it, catch it or kill it- don’t eat it.

So, I’ve looked for and found a source of raw dairy. It’s not near, but it’s not too far either. If you live in a state that doesn’t allow the sale of raw dairy, you may be able to get it as a herd-share with a small local farmer. It is interesting that while my state doesn’t allow raw dairy for human consumption, they do allow the sale of the same raw dairy for “pets”. The dairies still have the same inspections and standards of cleanliness for this “pet” milk. I can’t get it every week, so sometimes I’ll get several gallons & freeze some. I’ve had friends who couldn’t drink milk because it caused a lot of digestive problems, but when they tried fresh, raw milk, they had no problem whatsoever. The enzymes needed to digest milk are killed/destroyed during pasteurization. It may not make a difference for everyone, but it’s worth investigating.

The other things I’m doing are experimenting with making my homemade bread with less white flour. Dr Price mentioned in a letter to someone that they may need to double the amount of yeast when using 100% whole grain for bread. I’m also trying to find ways to consume liver.

I can eat liver, but I don’t enjoy it and I’ve not figured out how to cook it properly. However, I have figured out (recipes online are so helpful!) how to nicely cook chicken livers. And they are milder flavored. I’ll cook up about a pound and keep it in the fridge or freezer; then each day or every few days, I’ll pop one in and eat it. Sometimes I’ll eat a frozen chunk.

Another way I’ve found to eat liver is Liverwurst. I like it and had it sometimes as a child. I just slice thin slices and eat it on buttered toast for breakfast or lunch. It’s found by the bologna & packaged lunch meat at my grocery store. My son likes liver pâté, so I recently looked up some recipes to try making that as well.

Since I’ve been regularly eating some form of liver, and we’ve been having bitter cold weather, I’m finding that going out in the bitter cold we’ve been having, to feed & care for the chickens, hasn’t been that bad. My fingers get cold if I’m handling things without gloves, but for the most part, I’m not wearing a coat and am not freezing. I don’t know for sure that it’s the liver, but that’s the only different thing that’s been consistent recently.

What ways are you improving your diet? How has it effected your health and how you feel? I’d love to hear some of your ideas, recipes and experiences in the comments!