Western A. Price Challenge

October 1^st 2010 I began my latest diet challenge; a Weston A. Price inspired diet.

For those of you who don't know Weston A. Price, he was a dentist and (in function) anthropologist, who during the 1930's traveled the world to visit different indigenous tribes, and compare their diet, and resultant health, to the western civilization's health and diet of his time.

What he found was that these people were a lot healthier than both western people, and those indigenous people who had recently adopted a westernized diet. He specifically looked at cavities, and facial and skeletal development. He discovered that those indigenous people who still ate their traditional diet had a very low incidence of cavities, whereas cavities where rampant in both the western and westernized peoples. He also found that children whose parents had eaten a traditional diet had well developed skeletons, including broad dental arches with plenty of room for all teeth, as well as broad noses and faces in general.

These different tribes who all enjoyed good health compared to the westernized and western peoples, ate very different diets, as they lived in very different ecosystems – from rainforests to Alaska.

That being said Weston A. Price managed to find some similarities between them, which were different from the processed western diet. He also proved that what he had identified were at least some of the key differences, by implementing his findings in his practice, and drastically reducing the number of cavities occurring in his patients.

The dietary key differences between healthy indigenous peoples and the western diet -

The diets of the indigenous peoples contained:

No highly processed foods

At least ten times the amount of fat soluble vitamins (of the western diet at this time)

A good source of what he called activator X, a fat soluble catalyst/nutrient now believed to be vitamin K2.

No grains that were ground more than one day in advance of usage.

No animals fed an unnatural diet (such as grains).

Higher levels of minerals.

With this in mind I have started eating a diet that includes:

Lots of non-starchy vegetables

A small to moderate amount of starchy vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, yams etc.

Moderate amounts of sweet fresh and frosen fruits

A moderate amount of traditionally prepared (soaked/sprouted/fermented) legumes, grains and pseudograins (quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat)

A moderate amount of high quality fats, oils, and fatty foods, such as – organinc pasteurized (can't get raw) butter, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic cold pressed coconut oil, organic eggs, small amounts of organic fatty meats, some nuts and seeds (mainly soaked first), small amounts of high quality seed oils, avocados, other coconut products

A moderate amount of organic lean meats

Small amounts of honey and dried fruits

Small amounts of traditional style alcoholic drinks, such as wine or unpastuerised organic cider.

Natural salts, like himalayan crystal salt

Spices

supplemental fats/oils – to provide sufficient omega 3's, as well as the high levels of vitamin A, D3 and K2 -

My plan was to supplement with two teaspoons (10 ml) of high vitamin butter oil, two teaspoons of fermented high vitamin cod liver oil and 9 grams of fish oil a day, however for the first week I had to make due with 20 ml of nordic naturals' cod liver oil with vitamin D added back in (they remove most of it) and 5 grams of fish oil (less was needed as I got more omega 3s from the increased amount of cod liver oil), due to delivery problems. I have received my fermented cod liver oil and high vitamin butter oil now (from green pastures).

ohh – and I also managed to get my hands on one raw organic cheese, from cows at least mainly on grass.

So thats basically what I eat at the moment – Im going to return soon with a description of how things are going so far.

If you want more info on weston a. price and his studies - visit http://www.westonaprice.org and/or http://www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/

or read his book Nutrition and physical degeneration

Here are my start stats -

Start date October 1^st 2010

Stats at day one:

weight – 67.1 kg

estimated bodyfat percentage (by electronic scale) – 9,8

estimated water percentage (by electronic scale) – 65,8

estimated muscle percentage (by electronic scale) – 46,9

average resting pulse – 50.5

lowest resting pulse reading– 37

average resting systolic blood pressure – 111.25

average resting diastolic blood pressure – 61.71

total score on Mark Hyman's health questionairre from the ultra simple diet – 32

Others – black circles below eyes, some acne in face, and othe places, white coating on tongue.