Dr. Weston A. Price was a prominent dentist in the early 1900’s and went on to found the Research Institute of the National Dental Association, which later became the Research Section of the American Dental Association. Weston A. Price is primarily known for his theories on nutrition as it relates to dental health and physical well-being.
In the early 1930’s, Weston A. Price set out with his wife to visit several remote villages and secluded people groups who were reported by anthropologists and missionaries as having excellent dental health, despite being removed from modern dental and medical practices. Price determined to analyze the diets of these non-Westernized cultures to see if there might be some connection to their pristine dental health.
Price confirmed his theories after visiting the “primitive” cultures and observing their dental health. In each culture, the pattern was the same. Those who only ate traditional diet of their region, which never included any processed foods, and included a variety usually comprised a mixture of animal fats, raw dairy, offal and meat, fruits, vegetables and fermented grains/legumes had straight teeth and wide pallets. Those in the villages who were the children of parents who had begun to eat a more Westernized diet with processed sugar and flour showed signs of dental deformities and abnormal facial bone structure. The findings, including profound photos, can be read in Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.
His life’s work and research is carried on by physicians, dentists, and scientist who understood Price’s theories. Much of these clinical research articles can be found on the Weston A. Price Foundation website. Price helped inspire a movement to change Western diets and advocate for real food that is not denatured, processed or fractured, and instead is whole, unrefined, and sustainable.