The concept of "native diets" being superior to the processed diets of the modern, Western world goes back nearly 100 years.
Dr. Weston A. Price was a dentist and dental researcher who, in the early 1930's, went on an investigation that spanned the globe to determine why native populations, who ate traditional foods, exhibited perfect physical health well into old age.
What he discovered, and wrote about in depth in his classic book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, was that as populations adopted industrially processed foods, veering away from natural fare, their health started to decline.
Modern food processing actually began in the early part of 1800, when vacuum bottling was invented, followed by tinning and canning technology in 1810. Back then, lead-containing cans wrought health problems on those who consumed it.
In 1862, pasteurization was discovered, and with it came the destruction of one of Earth's most nutritious food groups – raw dairy. The major shift toward a diet consisting of more processed food occurred in the 1920's, right around the time Dr. Price published his book.
Price's research took him to remote tribal communities -- Swiss, Eskimos, Polynesians, Africans, New Zealanders, and more -- and what he discovered made him one of the foremost authorities on the role of foods in their natural form, and the development of degenerative illnesses as a result of processed foods. (For more information about Price and details of his research, please see this link.)
Clearly, the Western diet has deteriorated significantly since then. More denaturing and harmful food processing methods have followed, and we're seeing the ramifications of this unnatural food culture in our skyrocketing disease statistics.
An eye opener for many.
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