The Purpose of Beauty
My studies of Weston A. Price and his work with native people taught me a little about the genetic reasons why most people are attracted to others we would refer to as physically beautiful. Genetic traits such as perfectly-spaced eyes, a wide brow and uncrowded teeth are indicators of healthy genes, which will help produce healthier children–if traditional nutrition practices are followed. See the pics of beautiful teeth and jaws wide enough for them to the side. (Since Dr. Price was a dentist this was his main area of inquiry, but he also learned that the same foods that keep those teeth healthy keep the whole body healthy.
Enter Catherine Shanahan, M.D., author of Deep Nutrition and Food Rules. She takes this study deeper, providing detailed information about the simple foods that kept our relatives from past millennia healthy. And attractive.
Dr. Shanahan also helps us connect the dots between which types of testing, courtesy of modern medicine. provide the most helpful feedback on how we are doing with food and beverage choices. For example, her admonitions about the poisonous effects of vegetable oils came in front of me at a time when I had a fasting glucose level that was mildly concerning. Within a few weeks of getting those nasty, ubiquitous oils out of my diet (including safflower, sunflower, canola and others you may have been wondering about), my fasting glucose level came down to “recommended levels” of under 100. But my goal is to keep it under 89 since Dr. Shanahan consistently sees a strong correlation between that and her healthiest patients. And get this; minimizing sugar is a whole lot easier because it is often in the same ‘food’ packages as the vegetable oils. One more lovely benefit is that after two months of getting the nasty oils out of my diet, the belly fat I’ve been struggling with the past couple years is slowly melting!