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Beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is a quality of the soul that permeates the physical body. Furthermore beauty is subjective and non tangible, it does not fall into categories and it does not obey “beauty standards”. Beauty is ephemeral! We all chase beauty- whether it is beauty of the soul, of our character, of our mind or simply physical beauty we all want to share beauty, love and grace with the world.

Beauty has also become a dirty word in our society.

It has been overexploited, stained and adulterated as a concept and as a word in our language.

The media and the social programming machine has turned the word “beauty” into a shallow, skin deep idea of perfection and soul-less flawlessness. Character, individuality and quirkiness have been removed from the possible beauty variations allowed in the media. Beauty has become some form of quantifiable, surgically achieved, cosmetically enhanced youth and perfection of detail rather than the acceptance of self and the freedom to be unique, authentic and simply confident. We are in fact all doomed to be imperfect and flawed if we fall for the beauty standards established by the media. We will never accept the beauty of our age or the strangeness of our nose shape as simply perfect for what they are; our breasts will never be big or perky enough and our complexion will always need some extra foundation and contouring so that we can “fit” in the beauty box standard. Oh how I love boxes. Box is my favorite shape 🙂 (sarcasm)

We see this form of co-opting in every aspect of our culture starting from politics, ideology, ideas, art all the way to our personal values and morals. Everything can get a little twisted and stained by the corporate and government establishments. Sadly most people are too eager to conform and never question. That is why your awake-ness at any time of your existence is needed! That’s why we practice awareness and mindfulness which leads to individuality, independent and critical thinking and … INTUITIVE thinking.

Now the physical forms of Beauty are supported by a calm, peaceful mind and a healthy lifestyle. What we do day to day and our thoughts will sooner or later be reflected on the outside. As pure souls in the non physical dimensions cannot hide their essence the same way sooner or later we as physical beings cannot hide who we truly are.

That’s why we continue pursuing self-betterment and health of the mind and body and emotions so that we can experience and then share our Beauty with the world.

All I meant to write about today was food and skin health but as usual I had to address the less mundane aspects of Beauty so that we all are on the same page. I will still touch up on skin but the subject changed as soon as my fingers hit the keyboard and we shall flow with the new subject!

We do need to be healthy. There is no questions about that! Beauty is not just a cosmetic quality. Beauty is health.

I always emphasize the importance of eating a varied diet. I love never shopping with a shopping list because this allows me to go out and buy what’s seasonal, what’s abundant and fresh at the moment. I don’t try to buy fruits out of season. I simply get excited about what’s in season right now and then I move on to the next season with equal excitement. That way I save money and I am constantly eating a new array of phytonutrients that my body needs. Also I always buy weird things I have never heard of before and I use weird parts of the fruits and veggies because I know the “ugly” parts often contain priceless nutrients in them.

Very little is known about the complex chemistry of plants. We have discovered a few phytonutrients and their effects on the body yet science has only scratched the surface of understanding the wisdom of plants so far.

That is precisely why I love reading both ancient texts and new research. I do not like the arrogance of Science is God type of mentality where only things measurable are of value. I love Ayurveda, ancient healing traditions and Chinese Medicine because they all offer their unique wisdom which is great when paired with modern research. Everything has energy to it and that’s what Eastern Medicine is great at describing.

Today I will briefly touch up on a Particular Bioflavonoid called Rutin and its benefits. Rutin is known to support collagen and skin quality, capillary walls, eyes and the circulatory system as a whole. It can protect us from the harmful effects of free radicals therefore protecting us from cancer, inflammation and heart disease. It is used to treat macular degeneration, allergies (it can inhibit the release of histamine), varicose veins, hemorrhoids, bleeding gums, easy bruising, carpal tunnel syndrome, and so forth.

Now as I am going through my pregnancy and using my pregnancy app to log in my daily state of health I can see that there is a huge list of symptoms that I can be expecting to be experiencing on a daily basis that come along with being pregnant. I can certainly certify that if I do not eat my fresh produce and do not do yoga all these supposedly unescapable symptoms start to creep up on me and I know what I need to do to prevent them from coming. Numbness caused by pressure on spinal nerves, pelvic pressure, sciatica, hemorrhoids, acid reflux, constipation, swollen feet, stretch marks and varicose veins are all to be expected in the western world as we get pregnant or if we have any other form of hormonal fluctuations.

That’s where nutrition kicks in. If we can create a lifestyle that can prevent a lot of suffering for us by simply trading a few bad habits that we also consider convenient with a few healthy habits why not do that. Many people think that fast food is more convenient than raw or fresh vegan food but I beg to differ. Nothing is more convenient than health and simplicity… NOTHING!

Healthy habits once established are easy to implement even when we are busy or out of our natural environment. So back to…

Rutin is a powerful flavonoid that is contained in apple peels, blackberries, cherries, buckwheat, millet, apricots, black tea and get this: the bottom parts of asparagus that we typically throw out and the white inside core of green bell pepper which we also tend to toss in the trash while cooking.

I happen to always use every part of the bell pepper in my dips and dressings (sans the stem) as I know I am adding crazy amazing nutrition to my recipes plus I find that it does enhance the flavor of food. A good blender can make everything smooth and creamy and I highly recommend you do get one so that you can use every part of your produce to the last bit. I use a commercial grade blendtec which I have had for over 7 years and I have used it daily for prepping not only our human food but my dog’s food as well. She gets to get the asparagus bottoms sometimes blended into her food 🙂  You can get any blender that has good reviews but here is a link to mine in case you are curious. BLENDTEC SMOOTHER. I did get mine for more than half the price back then so I scored but I cannot say enough good things about it. Also Nutribullet, Vitamix and a few other blenders have been highly prized.

Right now I can observe directly how immediate and powerful the effects of plant food diet and yoga can be. As soon as I eat fresh good food and I do my specific stretches and yoga exercises I can feel all nerves easing up, my back feeling free despite the 3 pound baby pushing on the spine and all tingling and discomfort 100% gone. My skin can reflect how I ate the day before. Pigmentation and dryness would creep up if I skip the fruits and veggies and load up on some bakery goods.  I have managed to be close to symptom free AS LONG as I stay on top of my routine. The reason I share this with you is because although it may not be as immediate or as obvious to you the effects of nutrition and yoga are simply profound. I have a friend who went through a stressful summer years ago and did not eat properly at the time and as a result she got varicose veins and stretch marks that she has to deal with until today. When I ask her did she have fruits and citrus during that period the answer was NO.

We shouldn’t be simply concerned with calories, proteins, carbs and fats. The wisdom of nature goes far beyond the macronutrients. One weird example is that by simply adding barberries to your rice dishes or dips you are adding a powerful antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, immunostimulant, antioxidant, liver-detoxifier and regenerator to your meals that has medicinal properties. (not to be used during pregnancy!)

So there! Eatyour red apples and blackberries along with some buckwheat porridge and some organic citrus zest graded on top (another powerful antioxidant); vary your fruits and veggies as all of them contain powerful nutrition some of which is not yet discovered other is already studied and proven powerful and keep building a beautiful body from the inside out! Your mind and heart will thank you for that!

Ali