Cover of Nutrition and physical degeneration

Nutrition and physical degeneration

by Weston A. Price, Weston Andrew Price · first published 1938

38mentions
19recommended by
25HN commenters
2008–2026first – last mentioned

76% recommend24% neutral

Why HN recommends it

Price's 1930s survey of traditional and isolated cultures compares their teeth and health before and after processed foods arrived. Recommended for its photos and primary-source look at diet and dental decay.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

"An epic study demonstrating the importance of whole food nutrition, and the degeneration and destruction that comes from a diet of processed foods."--Back cover.

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Mentions per year

50 2007: 0 mentions2008: 1 mention2009: 1 mention2010: 1 mention2011: 0 mentions2012: 1 mention2013: 0 mentions2014: 1 mention2015: 1 mention2016: 2 mentions2017: 0 mentions2018: 3 mentions2019: 3 mentions2020: 2 mentions2021: 2 mentions2022: 5 mentions2023: 5 mentions2024: 2 mentions2025: 1 mention2026: 1 mention200720172026

What Hacker News says

  • jensen123 · Nov 9, 2015 · Recommends

    In 1939, the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration was published. In it Weston A. Price explains that you can avoid cavities by eating a good diet. I wonder if most people will ever become aware of this. Probably not - they don't read much, and certainly…

    on “Dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment” ↗
  • taurusnoises · Apr 24, 2022 · Recommends

    Weston A Price is really the go-to for the early research in nutrition and dentistry. His book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration was making the rounds back when Nourishing Traditions became popular. Price, conclusively in my mind, showed that the moment the modern western was introduced into cultures who ate traditional foods,…

    on “Why didn't our ancient ancestors get cavities?” ↗
  • oifjsidjf · Sep 22, 2022 · Recommends

    …can't heal from cavities" is bullshit. But obviously if you keep on eating modern food the destruction of teeth is faster than they can heal. Those who don't belive that may wish to read "weston price nutrition and physical degeneration". Modern food (sugar) is the entry point for teeth destruction. Therefore the solution is not flossing, it's the removal of modern sugary foods from the diet and a reversion to foods from ~200 years…

    on “Academics make stronger connections between gum disease and Alzheimer's disease” ↗
  • meerita · Jun 9, 2019 · Recommends

    …contains antinutrients. Plants don't want to be eaten, same grains. They've contain not only toxins but also many antinutrients. If anyone wants to have a healthy life, I recommend you to read the book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration from Weston Price. Basically, eat animal products, the more local based, the best. Grass feed cattle will be the best food source for your body. Cut all carbs (sugar), fruits (man made). There are 15…

    on “Total cholesterol and all-cause mortality – a study among 13M adults” ↗
  • meerita · Jun 19, 2019 · Recommends

    …absorption of minerals, weak proteins and the few macronutrients that one can ingest in a meal. This is studied. Anyone interested in this topic can investigate it. I can recommend the excellent book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration from Weston Price as a starting point. BTW: I am ex vegetarian/vegan. I didn't "did it wrong".

    on “Veganism Is Technologically Inevitable” ↗
  • notshift · Jan 12, 2022 · Recommends

    The problem and solution has been known for almost a century now; check out the book 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration' by Weston Price. 'The Dental Diet' is also solid reading. I'm still working through the book, but the tl;dr is that it mostly just comes down to nutritional deficiency. People in the past ate pretty…

    on “The medieval habit of ‘two sleeps’” ↗
  • Evgeny · Nov 13, 2010 · Recommends

    …than 10, especially in the long-term, but I have no way to prove it of course. Don't obsess over what you eat until there is clear evidence. Eat things you like to eat. Well, there is the "classic" - "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Weston Price. (Available online at http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/price/pricetoc.html) He traveled around the world and watched what happened to primitive societies when they introduced…

    on “Breakfast is Overrated” ↗
  • chrisco255 · Jul 30, 2019 · Recommends

    …itself, it was founded almost half a century after his death (1999 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_A._Price_Foundation). But his research itself is highly cited. As for "weak science" the book itself "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" is cited by 585 sources on Google Scholar, for example: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=1184515186752252859... It squares with the parent article that's posted, that diet affects jaw and dental…

    on “You Say What You Eat” ↗
  • freiherr · Jun 20, 2022 · Recommends

    …factor was mentioned briefly and half-heartedly that you shouldn't eat sugar. Which nobody listened to anyway (especially as a kid). How much more is there to it is well explained in Weston A. Price - Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: A Comparison of Primitive and Modern Diets and Their Effects [0] Just be wary of the foundation, they are quacky often. Just read the book. [0] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/544354.Nutrition_and_Phy...

    on “Dentistry is less scientific and more gratuitous than people think (2019)” ↗
  • whodatbo1 · Jan 4, 2023 · Recommends

    …few paragraphs I though this was some very cleverly put satirical take on modern society. There is a great book about the effects of modern food, primarily on dental health, written back in the 30s - Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price. Even though it's almost a century old, the findings are quite fascinating and can be extrapolated to present day. It's quite undeniable that modern life has drawbacks and obesity is just…

    on “The ‘breakthrough’ obesity drugs that have stunned researchers” ↗
  • Evgeny · Dec 6, 2010 · Recommends

    There is a classic work of Weston A. Price "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" exactly on the topic, except that he studied the living people - tribes all over the world, who still do not eat processed foods etc. http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html

    on “Tooth decay to be a thing of the past? Enzyme responsible deciphered” ↗
  • Evgeny · Jul 30, 2014 · Recommends

    …there are multiple cases where the introduction of "Western foods" to people who were eating traditional diets caused significant increase in "diseases of civilisation". I personally started from reading "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" by Weston A. Price - it is available for free online. http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html

    on “I created my own MMO and lost 100 pounds” ↗
  • no_flags · Jan 9, 2018 · Recommends

    …regulations would be. Trans fat is a prime example. The FDA classified it as safe for years and then had to do a 180 on their position. Anyone interested in the decline of our modern diet should check out Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, by Weston Price. He was a prominent dentist in the 30s that visited remote populations around the world, documenting their traditional diets and the health effects when switching to a "modern" diet.…

    on “Study suggests sugar alternative contributing to C. diff epidemic” ↗
  • sbenitoj · Jun 23, 2019 · Recommends

    Most tribal people died of natural causes or traumatic injuries, malnutrition was not widespread. Read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston Price for more background on this.

    on “Impossible Burger: Commitment to consumers and our planet led us to use GM soy” ↗
  • meerita · Aug 20, 2019 · Recommends

    If you want to read more about this topic, I recommend a good book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price DDS. ISBN-13: 978-0916764203. ISBN-10: 0916764206 A good book to understand that the food we eat is related to our diseases problems.

    on “Long Live Microbiomes” ↗

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