The moniker “Charles Darwin of Nutrition” has been designated to Dr. Weston A. Price. In attempting to find the causes of dental decay and physical degeneration of teeth, he took his knowledge outside the lab and toured the world to study human beings.

In the early 1930s, he studied isolated groups, such as secluded villages in Switzerland, Gaelic communities in the Outer Hebrides, Eskimos and Native Americans of North America, Melanesian and Polynesian South Sea Islanders, African tribes, Australian Aborigines, New Zealand Maori and the Native Americans of South America. In all cases, Dr. Price found that the characteristics of beautiful straight teeth, freedom from decay, stalwart bodies and resistance to disease were typical of the indigenous populations who were accustomed to traditional diets which were rich in essential food factors.

After analyzing the foods consumed by isolated primitive peoples, Dr. Price discovered that they furnished at least four times the water-soluble vitamins, calcium and other minerals, and at least 10 times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal foods, such as butter, shellfish, fish eggs and organ meats.

Another part of Dr. Prices findings was that these primitive people living on their natural diet, not tainted from what he called the foods of commerce (white sugar and white flour) had little or no signs of degenerative disease or dental caries. His studies were the first to point out that these isolated groups with only 0.1% dental caries consistently had blood chemistry readings of 10 parts calcium and 4 parts phosphorus.

These discoveries and conclusions are presented in Dr. Price’s classic volume Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, available from the International Foundation for Nutrition and Health. This book contains stunning photographs of handsome and healthy peoples and illustrates the physical ultimate degeneration of native human groups when they discard nourishing traditional diets and replace them with modern convenience foods.