Food Changes Body Shape (draft)

Dear Dr. Meinig: I’m not pleased with the shape of my body. It’s not that I’m overly fat but my proportions leave something to be desired. Can anything be done about the way one’s body looks? – E.G.

Dear E.G.: The shape of things to come can be better or worse depending to a large extent on the types of food one consumes. We can’t change certain inherited body forms as does General Motors each year but we can significantly alter body proportions by what we eat and the amount of exercise we employ. People are quite aware of how exercise affects body shape but know little about the role diet plays in how we look.

When we place people on better nutritive programs and they stop the NO-NOs, good things happen to every cell and every tissue of the body. With these cell changes come physical improvements as well. Skin becomes more radiant and pliable, eyes sparkle, hair develops sheen and beauty, minds become alert and energetic and body proportions change. Those underweight often gain and those overweight lose, but strangest of all is that the normal weight person usually stays the same but complains that none of his clothes fit any more.

Because the scales have not varied up or down, these people are puzzled. Anyone who has seen a farm animal fed on high grain knows they become fat and look different than animals on natural forage. When we take away excess carbohydrate it improves one’s physique. Another way to observe that body shape changes is the way a ring fits the finger. At times it is loose and wobbles around and at other times becomes quite tight. Our feet experience the same problems with shoes. Such changes in body shape are directly related to your day to day table eating habits.

Nutritionists have worn out the phrase–“You are what you eat”, but the fact remains…the statement is true.