Natural Radiant Beauty

Radiance, beauty…that elusive glow that we all seek to achieve.  I would venture to say that we would rather look good than feel good.  Unfortunately, you can’t have one without the other.  Like love and marriage, looking great is usually the result of feeling great…and conversely, if you don’t feel well, it’s hard to put your best face forward.

Beauty isn’t limited to surface appearance.  It is the total sum of being.  There are no absolute standards by which we judge beauty.  It truly is in the eyes of the beholder, with each culture varying its concept of what is considered attractive.  And while beauty changes from culture to culture and even season to season, with what’s “in” and “out,” what never changes is the fact that beauty is dynamic and whole, not the fragments of an image. 

It is our birthright to be beautiful.  By that, I mean that it is our nature to be healthy, to be our very best selves.  That natural radiant glow comes from within and is not the result of artificial application of cosmetics to mask the truth.  Our beauty–or lack thereof–is a simple reflection of our day to day life.  Elegance, grace and beauty arise naturally from good health, with little need for enhancement or artifice.  Our glow is from within, rather than purchased and applied.

The word “cosmetics” has its roots in the Greek word, “cosmos,” a word used to describe the order of nature.  By classic definition, to be beautiful was to be in harmony with nature.  Beauty, therefore, is a reflection of natural harmony. 

In contrast to the modern approach of dealing with surface appearance, there are many factors that influence our natural radiant health.  Remember that the body is an interconnected being, not simply a collection of parts.  Problems with the skin, hair, nails and overall appearance are clear reflections of internal conditions and no amount of lotions, potions, creams, oils, shampoos, rinses or powders will solve the internal dilemmas causing the complaints.  They will simply mask the symptoms; the disorder will continue and the symptoms will perpetuate.  We will spend more money and grow more despondent over our deteriorating appearance. 

To achieve our own natural radiant glow, we must begin to understand the relationship between our internal and external conditions.  As we grow more aware of the connection between health and vital beauty, we can begin to realize that our appearance is a reflection of our daily life–from our food choices, to exercise and activity, to our environment, to our attitudes and emotions.

As with health, our natural radiant glow is something that we create daily, through the choices that we make.

Achieving naturally radiant beauty is actually quite simple.  It really doesn’t require expensive spa treatments (although they are a lovely indulgence to be enjoyed on occasion) or the expenditure of large sums of money for products to simulate the look we so desperately seek.  By simply making choices appropriate to us, as humans, we can achieve the radiant health and beauty that is ours by virtue of who we are.

Beauty and Food

Food choices are the primary way in which we maintain balance in the body and keep our physical condition and appearance in greatest harmony with nature.  We can begin to understand the power of food’s affect on us, if we understand how it affects our bodies

In general, meat, poultry, eggs, dairy foods, seafood, fish and other animal foods are considered to have more contracting, constricting or tightening effects on the body.  Rich in hemoglobin, sodium and other contracting minerals, saturated fats, and heavy, dense proteins, these foods are very difficult for the body to digest, making it work hard and inefficiently to assimilate the nutrients.  This difficulty and work, this added stress on the body, causes it to contract, producing a dry, constricted condition.

On the other hand, foods of vegetable quality produce a more relaxing, even cooling effect in the body.  Rich in chlorophyll and potassium, as well as other more expanded minerals, the fats and oils in plant food are lighter, less dense and unsaturated.  These kinds of foods provide us with fuel that burns more efficiently and allows energy to flow freely through the body, with no blockages to stagnate, which can cause everything from sluggish energy to dull skin and hair.

Within the plant kingdom, it is said that whole grains lie at the center, since they are the perfect fusion of seed and fruit in one organism.  It is said that whole grains are also the perfect reflection of the balanced proportion of energies of the earth (seven to one), which is reflected in the balance of carbohydrates to proteins to minerals, each being seven to one, making whole grains quite balancing for us as humans.

On top of that, whole grains are composed of a quality of carbohydrate that is most nourishing to us.  The complex carbohydrates in whole grains are made up of small, tightly bound molecules of glucose, which are gradually broken down and not actually absorbed until they reach the small intestine.  On the other hand, the simple carbohydrates found in sugar are composed of many, loose molecules of glucose that lack the cohesive nature of complex carbohydrates. These carbohydrates, in the form of sugars, will bypass the digestive process of the small intestine and absorb rapidly into the bloodstream, producing chaotic fluctuation in our metabolism…and we all know how that can affect both our health and our looks.

It’s all about balance and understanding how to dance as close to the center of that personal balance as possible.  There is no such thing as perfect balance or perfect health or perfect beauty.  But understanding food and creating internal harmony allows us to walk the tightrope that is balance with a bit more confidence, with delicate swaying to the left and right.  We stay on the rope with fewer close calls. 

Choosing foods that are closer to the center of balance creates a calmer polarity in the body.  The energy within us is less extreme.  Choosing foods that are extreme, however, will create an atmosphere of tension and stress in the body as it struggles to maintain some kind of equilibrium.  If that kind of extreme energy continues in the body and becomes its normal state of being, it becomes quite difficult to maintain.  We begin to tire and wear down, with our vitality fading and our natural glow growing dim.  Imbalance in the body that is allowed to continue will result in symptomatic conditions of the hair, skin, nails and overall appearance.

Foods like whole grains, beans, bean products, seasonal fruits and vegetables are all easily balanced within the body, because their energies are not extreme…and their nutrients are many.  On the other hand, foods like animal protein, sugar, eggs, alcohol and dairy, will be will lead to the need for a lot of work on the part of our bodies to maintain energy and balance.  Over time, rather than maintaining a vital, well-toned, firm body, we will experience the extremes of tightness in the muscles and joints, along with loose, flaccid skin, swelling and lack of defined character…not to mention that we’ll always feel less than great.

As you can begin to see, food has a direct effect on how we look.  Eating well will create the foundation upon which we can build our vitality, which will show itself as natural, radiant health and an enviable glow.  Diet and lifestyle influence our appearance as they affect our health and vitality.  Our skin, nails and hair reflect the affect that our life choices are having on our overall well-being.  Eating and living well will not only maintain, but can restore our body to optimum health and our appearance to natural radiance.