I’m convinced that the intersection of the Paleo/Primal lifestyle and the work of Weston A. Price and the Weston A. Price Foundation is where health magic happens. (Is anyone attending the 2011 WAP conference in Dallas? I’ll be there!)
Their information is especially valuable for fertility management and child development, but it doesn’t end there.
The WAP Foundation has been around for over a decade, though the work of Dr. Weston Price was conducted nearly a century ago. Dr. Price observed traditional, non-westernized cultures untouched by the “modern foods of commerce” and documented the diets that kept them healthy, free of cancer, diabetes, and degenerative disease, and allowed them to have perfect facial structure and dental health, without dental intervention or braces. While the diets of these peoples varied across the globe, ALL contained properly-raised animal products and NONE contained refined sugars, grains or vegetable oils. Dr. Kurt Harris of Archevore addresses in detail the importance of avoiding these three “neolithic agents of disease.” Another must-read: Dr. Price’s Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. I show a small clip about Dr. Price in my workshops.
What the Weston A. Price Foundation understands – and where the Paleo camp is steadily leaning – is that traditional foods and an eye for our unique, variable food heritage is critical to formulating a healthy diet. The WAPF advocates raw milk products, homemade bone broths, fermented Cod Liver Oil and Butter Oil, and fermented, good-bacteria-colonizing foods (probiotics) from dairy, kombucha, sauerkraut, yogurt and other whole-food sources. They’ve accumulated extraordinary amounts of research and individual success stories based on their activism for appropriately-raised animals, homemade lacto-fermented foods, bone broths, organ meats, and organic foods. They passionately defend the rights of small farmers.
They are passionate about raising healthy children, and even have an alternative to infant formula for those parents who must supplement breast milk with additional nutrition, or who are unable to use breast milk at all.
I have seen extraordinary benefits for myself since I began incorporating their dietary principles. Within a Paleo/Primal context, WAPF knowledge can only improve a Cave-man-ish diet’s nutritive value – and that’s what this life is all about!
This page serves as an index for the references I’ve made to Weston A. Price, as well as the Paleo-friendly researchers who combine the best of both worlds.
Cave Girl Eats posts:
WAP Me Pretty: Curing skin issues with WAP principles
Broth!
Know Thyself…
Paleo + Weston A. Price: Dietary Domination
Doing Dairy Right (also posted at Steve’s Original)
Reader Question: Vegetarianism
As I Live(r) and Breathe
Steve’s Original Blog: Paleo Bonus Points
Researchers & Professionals:
The Weston A. Price Foundation
Dr. Kurt Harris of Archevore
Chris Kresser of The Healthy Skeptic
Stephan Guyenet of Whole Health Source
Chris Masterjohn of The Daily Lipid and Cholesterol & Health
Melissa McEwen of Hunt. Gather. Love (excellent book recommendations)
CaveGirlEats 