“The Truth about Beauty” is designed to guide us and introduce us to the tools we can use to change our looks. In his foreword, Oz Garcia, praises the book which he describes as a timely and powerful departure from standard health and diet practices: “I find that too many beauty and health experts are disconnected with what really make or breaks people’s ability to look their best and treat themselves in the most caring and healthful way.”
The author, Kat James has no formal training in aesthetics, cosmetology or health care and she is neither a doctor nor a nutritionist not even a dermatologist. However, her columns and workshops on holistic beauty have made her a well-known figure in the United States. Her advice has been featured on Today, Vogue, O, Self and Seventeen. She has worked with women in every walk of life, including celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kate Hudson.
Rewards such as a re-emergence of your healthiest glow (without blush or foundation), revitalized skin (without harsh regiments), the end of dry skin (without heavy lotions) and best of all an energetic, comfortable new body that adjusts to your ideal weight, without drugs, diets, or formal workouts.”
Kat James never followed a diet, a fitness plan and took no drugs. Her road to transformation started when she let go of all her beauty goals. Her process of shedding is about shedding the stubborn mind-sets, and the burdens that denature our life and keep our beauty from emerging.
We tend to be far too harsh with ourselves. We follow impossible diets and starve ourselves, we exercise far too much.
According to the author, the painless way is often the healthiest and smartest way. It sounds almost too good to be true, but the best solutions neither cause any setbacks, guilt trips, nor trigger new problems that require high-tech maintenance. Following the author’s advice will not make you feel guilty, inadequate, or resentful like the other ways of “being good”.
Health is the most rational passion there is. Caring about health doesn’t make us fanatics. It makes us rational and conscious. The more we know, the better we live and look. It doesn’t take hard work to end dry skin or cravings; it just takes information. Becoming your own expert is easier than you think. It is within all of us to become our own expert and advocate. If we don’t, no one else will. What we have to keep in mind is that the media is not a balanced source of information because it has lost its objectivity.
We are living in a new era of industry-owned information flow and even industry-owned and –influenced science. Plenty of therapies are proven, but if they aren’t patentable, you may not hear about them. Moreover, the results of important research are not always revealed to the public. And finally, it is often true that many doctors are often too busy to read independent research in medical journals for new treatments options.
Incidentally, we often think that well-known brands are the best but it’s because of the priority placed on packaging and marketing them. We must not be loyal to a brand but pay attention to a product’s content. We should buy the best of the best and not merely the best of mass-marketing campaigns.
We often speak about our caffeine and sugar addictions without realizing that these constant cravings for coffee and anything sweet have real physiological effects on our bodies.
Insulin normalizes blood-sugar levels in the body. Insulin resistance is a condition in which the body’s cells build up tolerance to insulin which makes the body less effective at doing its job of keeping blood sugar stable. Feeling tired after eating and being overweight are common symptoms of insulin resistance. Foods and beverages high in refined sugar contribute to insulin resistance by causing a spike in blood-sugar levels. Humans are not built to handle that much sugar, and we don’t show any sign of adapting to it. Sugar does crazy things to the body. It not only causes the pancreas to release too much insulin in order to neutralize the massive sugar rush, but it also causes the excess sugar to be stored as fat. Nicholas Perricone mentions in his book “The Perricone Prescription” that there are compelling scientific connections between sugar and everything from inflammation, blemishes, edema-related puffiness, and under-eye circles to wrinkles, sagging, brown spots and accelerated aging. He also explains how sugar can also wreak havoc on collagen, leading to the cross-linking of the fibers that bring elasticity to the skin, thereby causing wrinkles. Fortunately , this condition can be prevented, greatly improved, or even reversed by avoiding sugar, eating more fiber, being active and stopping smoking. You will be immediately rewarded by a slimmer body, smoother and clearer skin, less cravings and the elimination of an important cause of premature aging.
The perfect beauty beverage is green tea. It has proven anti-inflammatory benefits to the skin, strengthens the teeth, decreases insulin resistance, inhibits breast cancer, burns fat, and is good for the heart. The caffeine content in green tea is anywhere from negligible to as much as half of that in coffee. Moreover, the effects of the caffeine are countered by the presence of a calming amino acid known as L-theanine. The Japanese have introduced this amino acid in all sorts of foods and supplements for many years.
It is also important to eat well. We must forget about eating fake or light food and choose live, fresh and perishable foods. It’s all about eating well. Quality is more important than quantity. Binging on fake foods starts our body and mind on a roller coaster of cravings and emotional guilt. However, if you chose real food like Belgian Dark chocolate, fresh figs with thick Greek yogurt, sweet cherry tomatoes drizzled with walnut oil, a slice of nutty bread with fresh goat cheese, you will not be able to wolf down this kind of food. These delicate foods are a joy to eat, they are savored with pleasure and they make you slow down.
The secret to eating well lies in one word ”low-glycemic”. The glycemic index measures the impact of food on the blood-sugar levels in our body. Generally speaking, high-glycemic foods are based on white flour or sugar, such as pasta, starchy vegetables as well as candies, desserts, and baked goods.
It is also good to know that eating eggs has no significant impact on cholesterol levels, let alone heart disease. On the other hand, it is a fact that high-glycemic foods and related problems like insulin resistance can cause obesity and raise triglycerides, causing much more danger to our heart.
Based on her own metamorphosis, Kat James offers solutions that can produce astonishing results without drugs, surgery or deprivation. At the end of the book, you will find an extremely useful “Living Beauty Resource Guide” which provides science-backed information, supplements and solutions.
The more you know, the better you live and the more beautiful you look. This book will show you the painless way which will help you change your physical destiny.
