Who was Melvin Page?

We want to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the pioneers of nutrition. One such remarkable individual was Melvin Page, DDS, born in Picture Rocks, Pennsylvania in 1894. He was the son of a physician and one of the early pioneers in nutritional biochemistry. He began his career as a school teacher, but decided early on to return to school and obtain his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Dr. Page then embarked on a successful dental practice spanning the next 60 years both in Michigan, then later in Florida. Early in his practice he became aware that it was often necessary to remake dentures for many of his patients within a relatively short period of time due to their jaw bones resorbing under the dentures and bridges. In a quest to learn why the mouths of his patients detiorated, Dr. Page ran thousands of blood tests at local hospitals and discovered that no bone absorption occurred (and no cavities) when the calcium to phosphorus ratio was 10 to 4 in the blood. This basic research uncovered the knowledge that white sugar and refined carbohydrates increases serum calcium, due to increased calcium withdrawal from the bones, thereby weakening them. For daring to suggest that patients should change their eating habits and eliminate white sugar and white flour from their diet he was ostracized by his professional colleagues. This caused him to terminate his hospital research and relocate his practice to Florida.
In the early 1960’s Dr. Page found himself indicted for practicing outside his scope of practice. After a lengthy trial in which he produced over 3600 case studies and 40,000 blood tests substantiating over 35 years of research into nutrition, a federal judge found him not guilty and went on to reprimand the AMA for not trying to work with him rather than harass him. Dr. Page’s career was a long and distinguished one in which he persevered in the face of tremendous adversity and criticism by both the dental and medical professions as well as the press.
Dr. Page’s treatment was simple and logical:
1. White sugar and refined carbohydrates are harmful.
2. Chemical additives and food preservatives upset body chemistry.
3. Milk is not the perfect food for everyone.
4. Using whole food vitamins, minerals and digestive enzymes to supplement daily food intake might be necessary.

Hard to believe that was almost a hundred years ago! But he was right then and he is still right today. Melvin Page DDS, Westin Price DDS, Royal Lee DDS, and several others are what is generally known as the forefathers of modern clinical nutrition. This article was prepared by Dr. Rick Marx, a licensed chiropractor assisting Dr. Warlick in Nutritional Response Therapy at Gonstead Family Chiropractic. Dr. Marx has been practicing here in Phoenix for the past 14 years and has an extensive background in nutrition.

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