As early as the 1920's, Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist from Cleveland, Ohio, was already deeply troubled by the overall decline in the health of his patients. Suspecting that dietary changes of his day were involved in this decline, he traveled to remote corners of the world to find out what the diets of healthy people contained. Although the foods of the peoples he studied were immensely varied, they shared one important characteristic. They were extremely rich in vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A and D found exclusively in seafood, butterfat and organ meats, foods these populations considered sacred and especially important for pregnant women and growing children.
No Processed or Refined Foods
Dr. Price consistently stressed the fact that the diets of healthy peoples contained no refined or denatured foods. The list of refined ingredients during that time was relatively short: refined sugar, white flour, vegetable oils (primarily cottonseed oil), canned fruits and vegetables and canned and condensed milk.
This list is much longer today. Not only does our diet contain high amounts of refined sugar, it also contains high-fructose corn syrup, which animal studies have shown to be more harmful than sugar. The processing of grains into white flour removes most of the vitamins and minerals, and white flour provides a large portion of the calories in the modern American diet. Pasteurized and reduced-fat milks are not whole foods; they are foods whose vital nutrients have been damaged or removed.
A chief cause of today's health crisis is the consumption of refined vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats, which are completely new to the human diet. Yet most health professionals tell us that these processed fats are better for us than animal fats. Isolated protein powders, commonly found in foods marketed as healthy, are also not whole foods. Not only are they denatured by high-temperature processing; they are also separated from the components our bodies need to assimilate them. Along with these devitalized foods, more than 2,000 additives have entered the food supply, an amount that poses a serious hazard to our children.
Today, child obesity, dental deformities, learning disabilities and diseases that were once uncommon in children have become so prevalent, we assume them to be "normal." Today we consider it "normal" for children to require braces, to suffer from allergies and fatigue and to have difficulty focusing their attention. But statistical research shows that these "normal" conditions have become common only in the past 50 years, the same period during which highly processed foods have entered the food supply.
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Key Nutrients for Brain Development
Vitamin A – Cod liver oil; liver, butter and egg yolks from grass-fed animals Vitamin D – Cod liver oil; lard, butter and egg yolks from grass-fed animals Choline – Cod liver oil, egg yolks DHA – Cod liver oil, liver, butter, egg yolks Zinc – Red meat of grass-fed animals, shellfish Tryptophan – Meat of grass-fed animals Cholesterol – Dairy foods, eggs, seafood, meat of grass-fed animals |