The World Travels of Weston Price, D.D.S.

Weston A. Price was a dentist and researcher whose landmark book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (1939) documented his worldwide travels to isolated communities—including Swiss villagers, Inuit, Maasai, and Pacific Islanders—where he studied the link between traditional diets and robust health. His work was historically important to the health food movement because it emphasized nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and connected diet with both dental and overall physical well-being at a time when industrialized foods were becoming widespread. Most of his core observations about the dangers of processed foods and the value of traditional diets have stood the test of time and continue to influence holistic nutrition advocates.

Price’s conclusions went beyond simply linking cavities to refined sugar and white flour. He noted striking changes in the structure of the face and dental arches among children of traditionally nourished parents who adopted a “modern” diet, leading to crowding of teeth, narrower jaws, and compromised airway development. This generational decline, which he photographed extensively, tied diet not only to immediate health but to the very form of the human body. His thesis—that nutrient-dense traditional foods supported both physical vitality and genetic expression—resonated deeply with early natural health advocates.

In parallel, another pioneering figure, Dr. Francis Pottenger, Jr., carried out his well-known cat studies in the 1930s and 1940s. By feeding successive generations of cats either raw milk and raw meat or cooked/processed foods, he documented stark differences in skeletal formation, dental health, fertility, and resistance to disease. The decline in health among the cats fed a modern, processed diet mirrored Price’s human observations and reinforced the idea that whole, traditional foods were essential for long-term vitality. Together, Price and Pottenger laid the intellectual groundwork for a movement that would later inspire many strands of natural health and nutrition.

Their legacy continues today through the Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF), founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon Morell and others. The Foundation’s mission is to promote “nutrient-dense foods, including butter, raw milk, organ meats, and properly prepared grains and legumes,” and to challenge industrial food practices. They engage in research, publish journals and educational materials, and advocate for raw milk legalization and sustainable farming practices. Sally Fallon’s influential book Nourishing Traditions (1995) became the modern-day “textbook” of the Weston Price philosophy, blending traditional culinary wisdom with modern nutrition science and inspiring a new generation of health-conscious eaters.

Taken together, Price’s photographic records, Pottenger’s animal studies, and the ongoing work of the WAPF highlight a consistent theme: the way we grow, prepare, and consume food is not just about preventing disease in the short term but about shaping human health and vitality for generations.

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