Society and culture largely dictate the archetype of female beauty. Girls in the Kayan tribe who live on the border of Thailand and Burma begin wearing brass rings around their necks when they are five years old. They add rings as they age, elongating their necks into the ideal of beauty for that culture. In New Zealand, Maori women tattoo their lips and chins with a rich blue ink. Those with the bluest lips are considered the most beautiful.

Argentine model walking the runway at Las Leñas ski resort

Western society has developed its own standards of beauty. In the late 1800s, Victorian women began to reshape their bodies using corsets. The 1900s saw the hourglass figure transform to a lanky, thin physique. Although the middle of the century was punctuated by a return to the glamorous Hollywood curviness, a thin, boyish figure generally became the ideal body type for women. Maintaining this type of perfection was difficult, however, especially when the typical woman did have breasts, hips and curves. With advances in medicine and technology toward the end of the century, women were able to achieve the type of beauty they wanted. They could get breast implants and butt lifts to shape their bodies and Botox and collagen injections to hide signs of aging.

Throughout time, women have been willing to take dramatic measures in the name of beauty. Victorian corseted women often experienced cracked ribs or fainting spells because they did not get enough oxygen. Women today often perform extreme nutritional practices, severely limiting certain foods or exercising excessively to maintain a lithe physique.

More and more women who are not satisfied with their looks are turning to plastic surgery. A survey conducted in 2011 found that approximately 50 percent of American women approve of cosmetic surgery, regardless of their financial status. Breast implants were the most popular type of cosmetic procedure for women in 2010.

Transforming your body with surgery can have dramatic repercussions, however. In 2009, former Miss Argentina Solange Magnano experienced a pulmonary embolism associated with a recent butt lift. Donda West, rapper Kanye West’s mother, died in 2007 after complications from cosmetic surgery. Actress Tara Reid admits that the pressure to look perfect in Hollywood encouraged her to get breast implants surgery and liposuction that left her body deformed.

Enriching Beauty Naturally

Women today are influenced by media that did not exist 100 years ago. Everywhere they turn, there are images of smooth, sleek and thin women exuding sex appeal and so-called beauty. A U.S. News article reported in 2011 that preteen girls who feel pressured by their peers to lose weight also lose sleep. A recent news story also claimed that men often pay for breast augmentations for their significant others as Valentine’s Day gifts.

Instead of succumbing to the overwhelming pressure to take advantage of today’s technology and go under the knife for beauty, women can change their mindset to evaluate beauty in other ways. Moderate exercise releases mood-boosting chemicals, and meditation can help women clear their minds and focus on what is truly important. Surrounding oneself with loving and supportive friends and family members can help women reexamine their priorities and maintain a positive outlook on life, regardless of the way they look. Because beauty is an ever-changing ideal in an ever-changing world, it’s more important to focus on the values that will always be important, such as kindness, respect and love.

Written by Nancy Perkins. Article is solely for information purposes only and must not be substituted for professional advice. Some facts were provided by Plastic Surgery Guide.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man notic…ed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Happy Valentine’s Day in it’s most natural form…

I do! In fact I would have really liked to have seen it about 12 years ago, but apparently the student was not ready. I had to go through a bit of ‘borderline’ asthma, pneumonia, pleurisy, a few dizzy spells, low energy and a few other things that were all part of the figuring out and moulding of (me) the humble student. So in 2011, I was finally ready to hear what the best formula is for optimum health, optimum weight management, disease prevention and increased vitality.

The magic formula came from Dr Joel Fuhrman MD who specialises in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods (author of Eat To Live). His formula is so simple it leaves you wondering if that is all there is to it? Where is the rest of the equation that is designed to confuse the hell out of us? So the equation is (drum roll please):

H = N / C

Is that it?!? And in response to my own question, the answer is “Yes”. Rather than having you try and guess the letters and possibly get frustrated with me at this very pivotal moment, please let me explain:

* ‘H’ stands for ‘Health’
* ‘N’ stands for ‘Nutrients’
* ‘C’ stands for ‘Calories’

So in a sentence, our health is directly proportional to the nutrients that we get, for each calorie that we bring into our bodies.

Now to help us on this journey I am going to introduce you to a few old friends from the Nutrient family, which play a major role in the game of health and vitality. They are:

1. Macronutrients. These are fat, protein and carbohydrates (and water); which I am sure you are all familiar with. They are the only foods that provide calories. Fat = 9 calories per gram. Protein & Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram. All the macronutrients exist in both plants and animal products.
2. Next we have the Micronutrients. These include the vitamins and minerals. They all exist in both plants and animal products to varying degrees.
3. Then there are Phytonutrients. They are the chemicals that help plants defend against environmental challenges, such as damage from disease, injury, pollutants, pests or ultraviolet light. And who would not benefit from a little protection against pests in their life? These disease fighting nutrients do not exist in animal products.
4. The last one is Fibre, which is essential in maintaining healthy functioning elimination.

One thing that research and science is starting to discover is that just like the phytonutrients protect the plants, they produce very similar results for humans, such as protecting tissues and cells from free radicals and their harmful effects. From what I have read I believe that there are 1000′s of phytonutrients and they cannot be isolated because they work like a concert symphony in ways that science is a long way off figuring out. What a lot of studies do agree on is that phytonutrients are great for increased health and disease prevention (from heart disease, to cancer, to diabetes and high blood pressure). In a word they are ‘essential’ to optimum health and disease prevention (I love that word ‘prevention’).

The stuff that is not essential to good health, and can contribute to heart disease is cholesterol; in particular the LDL variety. Too much cholesterol in your blood, and it builds up in the walls of your arteries, causing a process called atherosclerosis, which is a form of heart disease. The body actually needs cholesterol, but the liver produces all the body requires. The main sources of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) are from animal-based foods like milk, eggs, and meat. Cholesterol does not exist in plants.

Now back to our equation H = N / C. To recap, we want to have the highest nutrient value, per calorie. We have also seen that phytonutrients are starting to get a big name in the prevention and reversal of disease game. Plus we have seen that both plant-based and animal products have all the macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate and protein). And finally we saw that cholesterol (LDL) exists in animal products. So now you are armed with a lot of great information let’s move to the next stage.

The next stage is simple. If you need to consume about 2000 calories of food (and drink) per day for your energy requirements, make sure that every calorie comes loaded with ample amounts of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. And since phytonutrients only come from plants, make the majority (80-90%) of your diet consist of unprocessed plant-based foods. Plus significantly reduce the amount of foods that have cholesterol and high fat (i.e. animal-based products).

What I will do now is provide some of the very best Tips I have learned over the years to show how you can use Dr Fuhrman’s formula. As an aside, I like Dr Fuhrmans work because he has worked with about 10,000 patients, he has 90%+ of his patients that start with Type II diabetes off their medication within 30-days, he has reversed heart disease in his patients, his patients have lost huge amounts of weight, and he has caused his patients LDL levels to go down. Plus he is an athlete and generally a healthy dude. Unlike old Dr Atkins who suffered coronary problems as a result of following his own Atkins diet (doofus!). If you are a meat eater and you think I want you to go hug some trees, skip down to Tip 11 before you read the other 10 Tips.

1. The body will naturally shed weight when a diet high in nutrient dense foods is adopted.

2. It is not about restricting calories, it is about eating more food that is nutrient dense and crowding out the crap food in the diet.

3. Most highly processed or ‘refined’ carbohydrates (sweets, cakes, white bread, sugar, etc.) have high calories but practically no nutrient value.

4. Water has 0 calories, so it needs to be the drink of choice. “If you are serious about losing weight, don’t drink your fruit – eat it. Too much fibre and too many nutrients are removed during juicing, and many of the remaining nutrients are lost through processing, heat, and storage time.” Dr Fuhrman.

5. All animal products have high saturated fats and cholesterol, so they are best minimised. They also have no fibre or phytonutrients.

6. Dark green leafy vegetables are the most nutrient-rich foods on the planet! Eat lots of these. I highly recommend a green (vegetable) drink daily. I swear by it – for energy and vitality.

7. Milk (and dairy food in general) is not a health food. It is high in saturated fat and cholesterol. In April 2000 a Harvard study reported that having 2.5 servings of dairy each day boosted prostate cancer risk by more than 30%. That is just one study…

8. Dietary factors that induce calcium loss in the urine are animal protein, salt, caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol, nicotine, and aluminium-containing antacids drugs such as antibiotics, steroids, thyroid hormone and vitamin A supplements. So minimise these.

9. On average, 25% of the calories in vegetables are from protein. Just so that you know there is protein in plants and you won’t get ‘protein deficiency’ without meat.

10. 100 calories of broccoli has more protein (11.1g) than 100 calories of steak (6.4g). Obviously the sizes of each are different, but what we are working on here is the best nutrients for our 2000 limit. The greens are king! Mum was right…”Eat your greens or you can’t leave the dinner table.”

11. “Following a strict vegetarian diet is not as important as eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. A vegetarian whose diet is mainly refined grains, cold breakfast cereals, processed health-food-store products, vegetarian fast foods, white rice, and pasta will be worse off than a person who eats a little chicken or eggs, for example, but consumes a large amount of fruits, vegetables, and beans.” Dr Fuhrman

The bottom line. A diet that is low in fruit and vegetables is not protecting your body from disease and future illness. Your aim should be to eat lots and lots of green leafy vegetables, a mix of coloured vegetables and fruits. Plus eat nuts, seeds and legumes. If a ‘diet’ rules out fruit, chances are it is a short-term diet and not focused on health and disease prevention.

So if you want to lose weight, regain your health, or understand the relationship even better between nutrition and health, I highly recommend Dr Fuhrman’s book ‘Eat to Live‘.

Here’s to a healthy and more well informed you!!

Written by Carl Massy of World’s Biggest Gym