Butter, Vitamin E, and the X Factor of Weston A. Price
By Dr. Royal Lee
Summary: Dr. Lee praises butter as an unparalleled source of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E, as well as a source of "Vitamin F," a complex that includes the essential fatty acids linoleic acid and linolenic acid as well as arachidonic acid. Lee also explains that vitamin E comprises more than just the antioxidant tocopherols and cites evidence that overconsumption of tocopherols can lead to loss of bone calcium. Finally, Dr. Lee discusses Weston A. Price's discovery of a certain "Activator X"—found only in cows fed spring grass—that promotes the calcification and health of bones and teeth in human patients. 1942.
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Vitamin F and Weston Price's X Factor
By Dr. Royal Lee with commentary by Mark R. Anderson
Summary: In the 1930s, Dr. Weston Price traveled the globe to study the diets of traditional societies that had yet to start eating modern, processed foods or were in the beginning stages of incorporating them into their culture. Among the many profound nutritional discoveries he made (which he published in his seminal book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration) was the existence of a critical fat-soluble nutrient that was responsible for, among other things, moving calcium from the blood into the tissues, including the bones and teeth. Price was able to measure the effects of this "vitamin-like activator" but was never able to precisely identify its chemical structure. According to nutrition educator and historian Mark R. Anderson, Dr. Royal Lee believed Price's X factor to be a component of Vitamin F, a complex that includes the essential fatty acids. "Dr. Lee was never under any cloud of mystery when it came to the 'X Factor,'" Anderson says. In fact, he adds, Lee considered Price's X Factor to be so important that he included it in three of his famous therapeutic food formulas—Cataplex F tablets, Cataplex F perles, and Super EFF. In these excerpts, Dr. Lee discusses the relationship between the vitamin F complex and Price's discovery.
View PDF: Vitamin F and Weston Price's X Factor
