One of the most impactful books I have read on the topic of
food and nourishment is Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston
Price.
Dr. Price traveled the world around the 1940s investigating
the connections between diet and physical degeneration. Not only did he find a clear connection
between certain foods and increases in physical disease, but also what diets
showed clear protection against disease.
His conclusions make sense based on my evaluation of “truth”…is
it “God pure,” does it align with nature and/or is it observed in nature, and
most importantly, does its application improve my health and/or happiness.
The conclusions are simple.
The protective diets were different but always whole (as God offers the
foods). None included refined or
processed grains or sugars, canned foods, processed oils (hydrogenated fats),
or processed dairy (pasteurized).
Simply…the family members that maintained whole food diets,
native to their locale, rarely observed physical degenerative diseases. Brothers and sisters of the same culture, who
were introduced to white flour, sugar, and “fake” fats, showed marked increases
in dental decay and jaw narrowing (especially in second generation processed
food consumers) and physical degeneration, including heart disease, diabetes,
etc. as well as mental and cognitive decline, which we would now call ADD…brain
fog and poor concentration.
At around the same time, Dr. Francis Pottenger observed the
exact same consequence in his laboratory of cats fed processed foods. By fourth generation, these cats lacked
coordination and were functionally sterile…unable to reproduce.
We choose 100% whole grains (bread, pasta, etc.), 100% whole
sweeteners (honey, maple syrup) and 100% whole fats (butter, coconut oil, olive
oil) over 80% of the time (remember the 80/20 rule?) This is why…it is the difference between a
90% probability of experiencing physical disease using processed foods, compared
to a 10% probability maintaining a whole food diet.
Is that enough…for you…a tipping point??…to look 5% harder…for
whole grains, sweeteners and fats? That’s
about all the effort required to choose whole foods 80% of the time.
Add in for the parents out there…a 90% probability of
behavior issues, versus a 10% probability.
Are we there yet?
