This is how it all began. 

If you’re on a journey to establishing a traditional nutrient-dense diet then it’s likely that you’ve heard the name Dr. Weston A. Price. This relatively unknown dentist who practiced in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1930’s is extremely important to the GPA Wholefoods story.

As one of our key nutritional mentors, we think it’s important that our customers understand the basics of his discoveries and how they translate for us today.

Struck by the rapid decline in dental health in his patients, particularly children, Dr Weston A. Price embarked on a ten-year investigation of nutrition and dental health, traveling across the globe to research isolated communities who were untouched by Western civilization.

His ambitious aim was to discover the nutritional factors that contributed to sound dental health.

Dr. Price was primarily interested in two elements of dentistry and their links to nutrition: decay and the structure of the dental arch.

In traveling to isolated areas of Switzerland, North and South America, the Outer Hebrides, Africa, the South Sea Islands, New Zealand and Australia, he was able to research indigenous traditional diets. Interestingly, with this he found people with no dental decay whatsoever, beautifully straight teeth, wide dental arches, strong and robust physiques and an impressive resistance to disease.

It was their native diets, Dr Price found, that resulted in such remarkable health. Once his investigations were complete, Dr. Price was able to analyse the native foods of these isolated peoples and make some critical conclusions. 

Water-soluble vitamins and minerals

He found that the daily fare of the people he researched contained at least 4 times the water-soluble vitamins and minerals and 10 times the fat-soluble vitamins as the standard Western diet.

An abundance of animal foods 

He also found that all these populations prioritized animal foods in abundance – butter, fish eggs, shellfish, organ meats, eggs and animal fats. In fact, these foods were often considered ‘sacred’ by these communities, but were deemed unhealthy by governing health bodies in the West. 

A nutrient rich diet 

Ultimately, Dr. Price discovered that nutrient density was the key to the robust good health of native people eating a traditional diet. He noted that foods rich in vitamins A, D and K2 were always in abundance, and that these nutrients acted as catalysts for the absorption and utilization of minerals in the human diet. 

The synergy of these nutrients in traditional diets provided protection against dental decay, and also contributed to the conception of structurally strong and healthy children.

nutrient density was the key to the robust good health of native people eating a traditional diet. Vitamins A, D and K2 were always in abundance, and that these nutrients acted as catalysts for the absorption and utilization of minerals in the human diet. 

Perfect timing

The time at which Dr. Price conducted his investigations was critical as he was able to witness native peoples within the same populations eating both their traditional diets and what Price deemed to be ‘the displaced foods of modern commerce’ – refined sugars, white flour, homogenised and pasteurised milk, refined vegetable oils as well as fat reduced convenience foods introduced by Western contact. 

Without exception, traditional peoples who had held strong to their dietary roots displayed enduring robust health, whilst their fellow people who had introduced Western rations had begun to develop dental decay almost immediately, and structural decline within one generation. 

Dr Price’s finding were revolutionary, in that they showed that important elements of physical structure were not simply ‘genetics’, but largely influenced by nutrition. 

Once Dr. Price had reached his conclusions, he was able to formulate a protocol for the treatment and reversal of dental decay, which he also applied to many other instances of poor health with dramatically positive results. 

Primary to his treatment plan were high quality cod liver oil and butter oil in equal amounts as providers of vitamins A, D and K2, and abundant fresh, whole, raw milk as a high quality source of minerals and fat soluble vitamins.

The inspiration for GPA Wholefoods 

It was my discovery of Dr. Weston A Price and his findings that inspired me to start GPA Wholefoods.

After reading both his book, ‘Nutrition and Physical Degeneration’ and Sally Fallon-Morell’s Nourishing Traditions, I embarked on sourcing high quality cod liver and butter oils for my family, but found that there were no Australian distributors of the highly recommended Green Pastures range.

So I began by bringing Green Pastures Cod Liver Oil, Butter Oil and Royal Blend into Australia for the first time. To this day these remain our most prized products.  

As the passion for traditional foods blossomed in our customers, so did our range. Many years later we have an extensive catalogue of truly nourishing, whole food derived products and wonderful staff who are devoted to helping you live a life of vibrancy, authenticity and fullness.

Start your nutrient-rich lifestyle today 

An easy way to begin is to try our GPA Wholefoods Nourishing Starter Kit. It’s a fantastic set of core products from our catalogue that we believe form the foundations of traditional nourishment. You can find out more about the GPA Wholefoods Nourishing Starter Kit here.

I hope this introduction to why we do what we do is helpful. 

To your health

Katrina