Eating For Beauty

 "When we realize that beauty is internal health, desire for beauty becomes not a self-defeating obsession reaching for the codified beauty standard, but a self-preserving urge for restoration and maintenance of health. And only then, the quest for beauty, instead of a narcissistic preoccupation, becomes a noble pursuit."
-Tonya Zavasta, Your Right to be Beautiful

After re-reading Tonya's book again, I was compelled to write about "Eating for Beauty." This topic has been on my heart for months.

I am 38 years old. When I came back from my Uncle Walter's funeral in North Carolina, I had gained two pounds. Two pounds in less than 72 hours. When I eat bread or pasta, I wake up with a puffy face. Eggs had to come off the list because when I'd eat them, I couldn't get my eyes open because it was like they were sealed shut with caulk. I'd look in the mirror and think, "What the hell happened to me last night? Was I airlifted out of bed and placed in front of a moving bus?"

Clearly, what we eat affects how we look. Beauty has more to do with looks. Attitude and personality both go a long way in helping someone appear beautiful. But I'm going to stick to how food affects the body. As Tonya wrote, I'm talking about "a self-preserving urge for restoration and maintenance of health."

Think about it like this:

- Beautiful kidneys kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood to sift out about 2 quarts of waste products and extra water. The wastes and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The bladder stores urine until releasing it through urination.

-A beautiful heart contracts regularly and continuously, pumping blood to the body and the lungs. The pumping action is caused by a flow of electricity through the heart that repeats itself in a cycle.

-A beautiful brain governs your Nervous System. The brain is the engine of your body.

-Beautiful blood delivers essential elements, and removing harmful wastes from each and every cell in the body. It is a liquid connective tissue. (I just learned that!)

When those organs misfire, a person can have kidney stones, high blood pressure, a myriad of brain issues from a stroke to Alzheimer's Disease, heart attack, Candida, and so much more. And we're only referring to a few organs.

When you eat what is right to your body you FEEL good. (And no, it is not better to look good than to feel good!) And when you FEEL good, you radiate positive energy and joy. When you eat what makes your precious organs function at their optimum level, people are going to see it in your face.

Here's a few of my favorite examples:

Alisa Brooks, age 46

http://www.organiclifeandfitness.com/About_Us.html

Carolyn Akens, age 59 at time of photo

(one of my teachers!)

http://www.carolynakens.com/

Miranda Martinez

www.vivaraw.com

Storm Talifero, age 57 at time of photo

www.thegardendiet.com

Sherif Kamal, Nature's Fitness Model

http://naturesfitnessmodel.com/

Lillian Butler and Eddie Robinson

www.rawsoul.com

We all can age gracefully and beautifully. A vegan and raw vegan diet can go a long way in helping achieve that goal.

Love,

Althea

(positive comments always welcomed!)

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Eating For Beauty