One of the first books I read when nutrition first piqued my interest was Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price, DDS. It was published in 1939 and chronicles the global travels of Dr. Price as he assessed vastly diverse groups of people through the lens of their mouths. As a dentist, Weston Price knew that the health of the oral cavity is a direct reflection of the overall health of the body. But there’s more to this story than straight teeth and the absence of cavities.
In the 1920s and 30s, Price noticed a disturbing trend: within a decade, most of the children in his dental practice were presenting with crowded, crooked teeth, impacted wisdom teeth, and an alarmingly high rate of dental caries. Prior to that, most people had adequate space in their mouths for all their teeth to properly align, including all four wisdom teeth, and cavities were relatively rare. Price surmised that the reason for this negative trend was due to what he called “the foods of modern commerce”.
When you think about it, there really weren’t that many processed foods in 1930. And yet sugar consumption was higher than it had ever been. Check out this chart:(1)
It’s important to note that the only reason for that downturn in the early 1940s was because there was a world war being waged. As soon as the war was over, sugar and processed foods were once again on the rise. The amount of sugar consumed in the US more than doubled between 1900 and 2000 – increasing from roughly 50 lbs. per person per year in 1900 to over 100 lbs. per person per year in 2000. (For a fascinating read on the history of sugar and its ties to slavery, check out Sugar Blues, by William Duffy). Today, the US still has the highest consumption of sugar in the world, along with the direct consequences thereof: diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Price’s book is full of fascinating images of indigenous people with gorgeous teeth and wide, beautiful faces. It was written at a pivotal point in history when pockets of people were still eating their native diets, untouched by modern foods. And, amazingly, these were societies who didn’t know what a toothbrush was, let alone dental floss.
When Price initially arrived at each new village, he would meet with the tribal leader and then the entire community would line up with their mouths gaping. Price would shake their hands and congratulate them on their oral health, as he documented their diet and marveled at their vitality and lack of chronic disease. In addition to their extraordinary dental health, every population he visited was profoundly robust. There was no arthritis, heart disease, or depression and their diets varied considerably – from raw milk to primarily fish to insects, depending on what was available to them.
Today, we blindly assume that kids will naturally have cavities and require orthodontics. Having one’s wisdom teeth removed is considered a rite of passage. And yet all three of these consequences of physical degeneration were inconceivable less than 100 years ago.
When we dig a little deeper, let’s consider that children who were born in the early 1900s, the same kids who experienced dental issues in the 1920s, were the generation that began dropping like flies from heart disease in the 1960s: (2)
Now, let’s be clear: the only reason we see a decline in deaths from the 1970s forward is due to better intervention. The advent of the 911 system, stents, bypasses, and other surgical procedures has prevented countless deaths but make no mistake, heart disease is still the #1 cause of death in the US.
Not a day goes by, not a single client interaction, that I’m not reminded of this big WHY it’s my mission to educate and change the world. The world needs to be reminded of the health and vitality of past generations and how we’ve lost our way.
If you’re a change-maker, won’t you join me in this mission?
The Institute of Restorative Health’s hallmark Level One course starts April 6th. For more information and to register, click here.
(1) Research conducted by: Stephan Guyenet and Jeremy Landen
(2) https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(14)00354-4/fulltext
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FAQ
The following frequently asked questions expand on the key concepts discussed in this article and provide additional context for practitioners exploring the relationship between nutrition, oral health, and chronic disease.
Why is Weston A. Price’s work still relevant to practitioners today?
Weston A. Price’s observations continue to provide a historical perspective on how dietary patterns may influence overall health. His research compared populations consuming traditional diets with those adopting more processed foods, highlighting differences in oral health, physical development, and the prevalence of chronic disease. His work remains a foundational reference in restorative and functional nutrition.
Why does this article focus on oral health as an indicator of overall health?
The article presents oral health as a visible reflection of broader health patterns. Dr. Price observed that changes in dental development and tooth decay appeared alongside broader shifts in diet, suggesting that oral health may provide clues about overall nutritional status and long-term health.
What changes in dental health did Weston A. Price observe during the early 20th century?
Price documented a noticeable increase in crowded teeth, impacted wisdom teeth, and dental cavities within a relatively short period. According to the article, these findings represented a significant shift from previous generations, who more commonly had well-developed dental arches and fewer cavities.
What did Weston A. Price mean by “the foods of modern commerce”?
The phrase referred to increasingly processed foods that were becoming more common during Price’s era. In the article, he associated these dietary changes with declining dental health and broader signs of physical degeneration.
How does the article describe the historical rise in sugar consumption?
The article states that sugar consumption increased substantially throughout the 20th century. It notes that annual sugar intake in the United States rose from approximately 50 pounds per person in 1900 to more than 100 pounds per person by 2000, with only a temporary decline during World War II.
According to the article, what relationship exists between sugar consumption and chronic disease?
The article suggests that rising sugar consumption occurred alongside increasing rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. It presents these trends as part of a broader shift toward processed foods and declining population health.
What did Weston A. Price observe in populations consuming traditional diets?
Price documented populations with excellent oral health, broad facial development, and low rates of chronic disease despite eating very different traditional diets. According to the article, these diets varied widely based on local food availability, including foods such as fish, raw milk, and insects.
Did Weston A. Price find one ideal diet across all healthy populations?
No. The article emphasizes that healthy populations consumed a wide variety of traditional diets rather than one universal eating pattern. Their shared characteristic was the absence of modern processed foods rather than a single specific dietary approach.
Why does the article discuss wisdom teeth and orthodontics?
The article uses these examples to illustrate how common dental problems have become in modern populations. It contrasts current expectations of cavities, orthodontic treatment, and wisdom tooth removal with Price’s observations that these issues were far less common in earlier generations.
How does the article connect early dental changes with later chronic disease trends?
The article notes that the generation experiencing increasing dental abnormalities in childhood later experienced rising rates of heart disease as adults. It presents this timeline as an observation supporting the importance of considering early nutritional influences on long-term health.
Why have heart disease death rates declined if heart disease remains so common?
According to the article, declining mortality largely reflects advances in medical intervention rather than elimination of the disease itself. It cites improvements such as emergency response systems, stents, and bypass surgery while noting that heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States.
What is the central message for restorative health practitioners?
The article encourages practitioners to recognize the relationship between nutrition, physical development, and long-term health. It frames education about traditional dietary patterns and restorative nutrition as an opportunity to help address the growing burden of chronic disease.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anne Fischer Silva’s journey in the field of functional nutrition over the last 23 years began in a functional medicine practice, where she learned the power of objective testing. From there she opened her own business, A New Leaf Nutrition, where she built a wait-list distance practice. Anne has taught nutrition courses in Washington, Hawaii, and California, and hosted a radio show, “Health-Wise”, for 3 years. She helped develop the original curriculum for the Nutritional Therapy Association, was a lead instructor with NTA for 8 years, and she continues to lecture nationally on a variety of health topics. Anne founded the Institute of Restorative Health in 2013 with the sole purpose of training other nutrition professionals how to address complex issues with their clients and achieve the same stellar results she gets in her practice.
The core principles Anne built the Institute of Restorative Health upon are the importance of nutrient-dense foods and balancing biochemistry. From there, she looks for the deeper underlying issues by utilizing a variety of testing techniques and customized healing methods to restore optimal function and health.
Anne received her certification in functional nutrition from Advanced Integrated Medical Institute in Washington, DC in 2000 and she is a Master Restorative Health Practitioner and Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
*In 2022, Anne decided to pursue new and different aspects of holistic wellness and left the Institute of Restorative Health in the hands of her dear friend and business partner, Margaret Floyd Barry.
