In the 1930's, a dentist by the name of Weston Price, sought out the world's most traditional societies and recorded one of the most famous epidemiological studies of all time. Price and his wife traveled more than 100,000 miles to study the health of isolated communities in Australia, Africa, South America, Polynesia, Europe and northern Canada.

He noted the oral health of those on native diets by counting cavities and examining tooth over-crowding and palate size. He related these studies in comparison with those who were eating refined and processed food manufactured from the western world settlers bordering the villages. 

Photographs taken at the turn of the 20th century illustrating a more simple time when people ate mostly home grown foods prepared without refinement, additives, or chemicals.

Prior to the turn of the century (1887-1890), the average consumption of sugar was only 5 lbs. per person per year and cardiovascular disease and cancer were virtually unknown. Now we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. to a whopping 145 pounds of sugar per person per year!

As to be expected those isolated individuals eating highly mineralized, nutritious, whole, unprocessed foods faired better than any of the people that had introduced refined foods into the diet. The total number of cavities per person was almost zero in the traditional societies compared to rampant decay in those eating refined foods. Also the number of people with small palates resulting in over-crowded crooked teeth was also non existent in the whole foods diet people.

Price observed that northern people (such as Inuit Eskimo) who dieted predominantly on animal products fared as well physically as those who lived in warmer equatorial countries and dieted on a primarily plant-based diet. The traditional native diet for the environment being lived in provided the proper amount of macro and micronutrients ensuring good health and strong stature.

Price concluded that vegetarianism was not the answer for every human, but rather the food that proved best for the individual was the food found in its natural environment in the whole, unprocessed form. The observations proved to be a historical breakthrough for advances in human nutrition and the benefits of a traditional foods diet.

Using Price's study as a template of proper nutrition, one can infer that a single diet for all humans would not be appropriate because multiple factors determine the specific dietary needs for each individual.

* Introduction    * History of Metabolic Typing    * How We Test