Read

September/October 2004 Alternative Health
Nutrition Pioneers

by Keith Post, ND

There are four 20^th century doctors whose names are legendary among nutritionally oriented health-care practitioners. They are Weston Price, DDS (1870-1948), Francis Pottenger, MD (1901-1967), Royal Lee, DDS (1895-1967) and Melvin Page, DDS (1894-1983). Each one of these amazing doctors made important contributions to the understanding of the science of nutritional medicine. And, all except for Dr. Pottenger were initially trained as dentists, yet soon realized that nutrition was the key factor, not only for great dental health, but for whole body health as well.

In the 1930s, after age 60 and a long, successful career as a dentist, Dr. Weston Price, accompanied by his wife, decided to travel the world studying isolated villages of people who were enjoying a more primitive lifestyle. He found, without exception, that indigenous diets including such animal foods as organ meats, shellfish, fish eggs and raw dairy products were rich in the essential nutritional factors that guaranteed strong bones and healthy teeth. However, in cases where the native population had strayed from their indigenous diet to that of civilized man, signs of physical degeneration were apparent. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration is the document of his studies.

Next, we have Dr. Francis Pottenger, MD, a research-oriented medical doctor, who is most famous for his nutritional studies of cats. Over a ten-year period, he observed more than 900 cats being fed various types of raw or cooked diets. From this research, he was able to conclude that those cats that were fed an exclusive diet of raw milk and raw meat were by far the healthiest. They exhibited the best bone structure, bone density, spacing of teeth, shiniest fur, reproductive capacity, fewest birth defects and the most freedom from vermin and parasites. Cooking the meat or heat processing the milk inevitably led to degenerative changes that became progressive through successive generations of cats. Pottenger’s Cats is a summary of the findings from his experiments.

The third great nutritional pioneer was Dr. Royal Lee, DDS, also originally trained in dentistry. Beginning in the 1930s, he worked tirelessly to develop supplements composed mostly of organically grown whole food concentrates. His most famous written work is the Therapeutic Food Manual, which contains his complete treatment protocols for various symptoms, imbalances and disease conditions, arranged in alphabetical order.

The company which he founded, Standard Process, is still one of the most revered and influential nutritional supplement companies in the world today and continues to propagate Dr. Lee’s legacy. To learn more about this company, go to: www.standardprocess.com

Finally, Dr. Melvin Page, DDS, was among the first to understand the interrelationship of the minerals calcium and phosphorus and how substances such as sugar can drastically affect their balance. His diet, The Page Fundamental Diet, continues to be used by many doctors to successfully balance body chemistry. This diet, which I highly recommend, is posted on the IFNH website given below. Please note that, although there are certainly similarities between the Page and the more popular Atkins Diet, Page’s work and writings preceded that of Dr. Atkins by several decades. Health vs. Disease is his most well-known book.

All of the books mentioned in this article, as well as many other important books on nutrition, are available directly from the International Foundation for Nutritional Health (IFNH). This is a non-profit organization dedicated specifically to preserving the legacy and the written works of these four doctors. Here is their contact information:

International Foundation for Nutrition and Health, 3963 Mission Blvd., San Diego, CA 92109

(858-488-8932; e-mail: ifnh@ifnh.org; Web: www.ifnh.org

A second non-profit organization that should be mentioned is the Weston A. Price Foundation. They are dedicated to bringing nutrient-rich foods back into the human diet through education, research and activism. You will find that their website is a good resource for many highly informative articles, environmental updates and press releases. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants. They also publish a quarterly newsletter for members called "Wise Traditions."

The Weston A. Price Foundation, PMB 106-380, 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016, (202-333-4325. E-mail: WestonAPrice@msn.com; Web: www.westonaprice.org

For information about local events of the Price Foundation, including monthly potluck gatherings and raw milk availability, please contact Claire Darling at bumpkins@aracnet.com or call her at (503-469-9673.

Another important non-profit organization is the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation. Their website features many well-indexed articles on a variety of nutritional topics, an extensive selection of health-related books for sale and their own quarterly newsletter for members, which is called "Health and Healing Wisdom."

The Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
Mailing Address: PO Box 2614, La Mesa, Ca 91943-2614
Street Address: 7890 Broadway, Lemon Grove, Ca 91946
Phone: 619-462-7600; Email: info@price-pottenger.org/ ; Web: www.price-pottenger.org

Keith Post, ND is a board-licensed naturopathic physician practicing in SW Portland. You can reach him by telephone at (503-244-5708 and/or request his monthly newsletter by sending an email to keithp@pcez.com. All of his writings and previous newsletters are archived online at www.pcez.com/~keithp/page5.html