Excellent research supports many of Kat James assertions in The Truth About Beauty. Her positive message, scholarly journal references, and product guide is of noteworthy interest and usefulness. However, her approach to diet relies heavily on meat, eggs, dairy, and vegetables only. Despite the fact that she says she eats real food and that this is not restrictive, the elimination of most carbohydrates is unrealistic for me. I love wheat bread, biscuits, baguettes, crackers, etc. After a day and a half of no flour or sugar my head was aching.
I find any diet suspect that tries to entirely eliminate a whole food group. I consider myself a healthy person who strives for a balanced diet with lots of water and few highly processed foods. Generally her dietary outline seemed logical, but perhaps too much of a leap from where I'm currently at. I noticed that on page 128 she says that extra virgin olive oil is a denatured or depleted choice, but later proposes using this oil on salads (I was always under the impression that olive oil is a preferable oil, so I can't help but wonder if that was a mistake.). As a person who would like to reduce my intake of meat rather than expand it I felt like this dietary approach was somewhat limiting. She only provided 6 days worth of recipes (many of which were unspecific, such as using a favorite meatloaf recipe with hemp seed bread crumbs instead of traditional bread crumbs). It would have been nice to see more variety of recipes and/or references to good cookbooks that utilize the same dietary guidelines she advocates.
I've had a shower filter for about 3 months. I have not noticed a significant difference. My arms may be slightly smoother, but I'm not entirely sure this is due to the filter.
Most significantly this lifestyle regimen she puts forth is very expensive for the average person. If one were to buy only organic food (such as hemp seed, coconut flour, and Xylitol), numerous supplements, and the cosmetics she recommends it would demand hundreds of dollars a month for one person. Though her discussion of supplements and the functions they support are of great interest, I can't imagine taking handfuls of pills a day either.
I think Ms. James has sound reasoning behind many of her ideas, but it would be very difficult for me to strictly adhere to this way of life. However, I believe there are many worthwhile suggestions in her book to pursue and I definitely plan on incorporating some of her ideas into my lifestyle. I would love to buy everything organic (and I love that she strongly supports organic companies), but right now I can only buy a few items at a time. Overall, I recommend this book as a good reference. |
The Truth About Beauty: Transform Your Looks And Your Life From The Inside Out Books In Print, Audio Books.