One of the biggest nutritional mistakes I’ve ever made occurred shortly after I weaned my first child when he was 2 years old.
Knowing that commercial milk was not a healthy choice due to the antibiotics, steroids, unnatural feed and confinement the cows are subjected to, I chose organic soy milk for my son to drink instead. Soy was the unquestionably the darling of the health food industry at that time with soy touted as the “cure” for everything from hot flashes to high cholesterol.
I fell hard for the soy industry propaganda which was supported by a number of so called studies I now refer to as “Stealth Science”.
Fortunately, a friend who came visiting one day suggested that I look into the research on soy more deeply.  She said that she had recently read some information that soy was not the health panacea it was cracked up to be. Alarmed, I immediately began to research soy more thoroughly and was shocked to discover that my friend was exactly right – soy was not the healthfood I had naively believed it to be!
The crucial and truly objective research on the dangers of soy that I came upon in 2001 was put out by the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit, tax-exempt nutrition education foundation based out of Washington D.C.
I will be forever grateful to the Weston A. Price Foundation for taking on the powerful soy industry via its highly successful Soy Alert! campaign. I fully believe that had I not come across this unbiased research, my now teenage son would not enjoy the good health he does today as continuing to drink soy milk for many years would no doubt have harmed his hormonal and digestive development considerably.
Independent Research on Nutrient-Dense Foods Critical to Our Children’s Future
Nearly 12 years later, I still regularly refer to the research of the Weston A. Price Foundation whenever I have a question about the latest nutritional silver bullet promoted by the media or the healthfood industry. The objective, unbiased information and analysis put out by the Foundation both on its website and in the quarterly Wise Traditions Journal has saved my family from many potentially drastic nutritional errors as I have earnestly sought to learn and correctly implement Traditional Diet in my home.
Now, the Weston A. Price Foundation has a unique and very exciting opportunity to take its dedication to objective, unbiased research to a whole new level – by having complete access to an independent research laboratory to further the Foundation’s mission of restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through research, education, and activism.
The research lab is the Burnsides Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign shown in the beautiful photo above, which for many years has been guided by the esteemed Dr. Fred Kummerow. It was Dr. Kummerow who over 40 years ago performed research showing the damaging effects of trans fatty acids, a fact which Americans now take for granted.
Today, at age 98, he continues to do research on the causes of heart disease and has demonstrated the link between oxidized cholesterol, vegetable oils and heart disease.
Dr. Kummerow’s legacy continues with the work of post-doctorate Chris Masterjohn, PhD.
Chris is using the Burnsides Lab to study the interactions between fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K, examining the protective effects of vitamins A and K on soft tissue calcification otherwise caused by vitamin D consumed in isolation.
Chris’s research will provide important insights into the fat-soluble vitamins, the key to healthy traditional diets, as discovered by Dr. Weston Price.
As you can see, the Burnsides Lab plays a key role in maintaining the legacy of Dr. Price as well as the scientific discoveries of tomorrow.
This is the opportunity all of us who know the power of Traditional Diet to transform health have dreamed of–to do the research that will answer the questions we have about nutrient-dense traditional diets.Â
The Weston A. Price Foundation needs our help to fully fund the Burnsides Lab. Please consider donating today to help the Weston A. Price Foundation reach its goal.  $100,000 has already been raised, but the Foundation is unable to obtain the remaining $200,000 from existing sources.
Won’t you please help the Foundation make up the $200,000 shortage?
The Foundation has set up a link to make it easy to donate to the research lab:Â https://donatenow.
Thank you for your support of the Weston A. Price Foundation.  Helping now will go a long way in turning this tremendous opportunity into a reality.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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