“Can America call itself healthy when one of every three citizens, more than 90,000,000 people, suffers from allergies? When one out of every five pregnancies ends in miscarriage? When 250,000 infants are born with birth defects in this country every year? Why are the number of deaths from cancer, heart attack, stroke and other killers in America skyrocketing? Why is diabetes reaching epidemic proportions? Why is obesity out of control? And why are infertility rates rising so alarmingly?” —Sally Fallon
When you really dive into the research and recognize how far off track we’ve gone, you realize our lives are really on the line. What kind of health are we passing on to our future generations?
In general, our culture has become removed from the innate intelligence of our bodies and from the food traditions of our ancestors. Our bodies are expressing symptoms of being burdened by toxic chemicals sold to us under the guise of being food. For years our government-run authorities on nutrition steered us away from vital nutrients (like fat and cholesterol) and our commercial industry bombarded us with allures of convenience and false claims of “health”. These influences have interfered with our ways of intuitive eating. Studies show that when given the unbiased options, children will choose foods containing the nutrition their bodies need. It’s time we bring it back to the innate wisdom of our bodies. It’s time to realize our food matters. It’s not about calories in/calories out, it’s not about convenience and affordability–it’s about our health and the health of our future generations.
“People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.” — Wendell Berry
The deleterious effects of industrialized and processed foods were first described in the 1930s by Cleveland dentist, Dr. Weston A. Price. For over ten years, he traveled around the world to the most isolated civilizations to discover the factors responsible for optimal health. His travels and studies (which he documented in his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration) revealed that deformed dental arches resulting in crowded, crooked teeth are the result of nutritional deficiencies, rather than inherited genetics. The people untouched by the processed foods of western civilization did not suffer from obesity, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, infertility or birth defects. They were optimistic and cheerful despite hardships of living in such primitive societies.
Compared to today’s standard American diet, their foods were rich in fat, cholesterol, and minerals providing at least four times the minerals and ten times the fat-soluble vitamins from animal products. They knew instinctively these fat-soluble vitamins A and D, are vital to health because without them, we cannot absorb minerals and utilize proteins, no matter how abundant they may be in our food. Dr. Price discovered an additional fat-soluble nutrient, which he labeled Activator X, present in fish livers, shellfish, organ meats, and butter from cows eating green grass in the spring and fall. All healthy primitive groups had a source of Activator X, now thought to be vitamin K2, in their diets. Many studies show these fat-soluble vitamins also protect us against diseases like cancer and heart disease.
These cultures also highly valued certain nutrient-dense foods like butter and cream, eggs, organ meats, insects, fish, fish eggs, fish oils and shellfish. They went to great lengths to obtain these foods and considered them very important for having healthy babies.
Today, the Weston A. Price Foundation (a non-profit organization) is on a mission to educate our communities to restore our diets and provide resources to attain these nutrient-dense foods so vital to our health. Without these nutrients in our food, rates of disease will only continue to rise. There are local chapters in cities in every state in America, as well as internationally. In doing our part to restore health, we at Future Generations have created a Downtown, San Diego chapter. Our mission is to help as many people as possible, especially children. Part of that mission involves making sure we are receiving the necessary nutrients for proper development. Each chapter has their own local resource guide available to anyone seeking sources of nutrient-dense foods.
We’re lucky here in San Diego to have have great sources of quality foods right at our fingertips. Whether you’re nutrition and health conscious, or you’ve dipped into the current Paleo, Whole30, Keto, etc movements, a large portion of Americans are still consuming high amounts of processed food-like goods. As part of the Weston A. Price Foundation, we want to educate our communities on the importance of a Wise Traditions Diet including principles like:
- Get your fats right
- Eat protein and adequate amounts of animal foods
- Eat the good carbs
- Feed your microbiome
- Enjoy healthy soups and sauces
- Use unrefined salt and natural spices
- Prepare for the next generation
By shifting the way we eat, the way we source our food, and the way we raise our children to nourish themselves, we get back in touch with our innate wisdom. We unlock our optimal health potential and shift family trees for generations to come.
Join us for our first ever chapter meeting! Click here to register.
