A beauty queen, a diet book and a load of nonsense

George Hook

SHOULD I ever feel the need to punish myself, I might consider sitting down and reading Rosanna Davidson’s latest book. The former Miss World has decided to use her good name to revolutionise modern science as we now know it and the result is something called ‘Eat Yourself Beautiful’.
The title alone immediately set off alarm bells in my head, because the last person I can remember that tried to ‘eat himself beautiful’ died of morbid obesity and a massive heart attack. Upon inspection of the book, however, it soon becomes clear that Rosanna is not promoting a massive gorge-fest, where readers will be inspired to cram as much junk into their stomachs as possible.
No, dears. Our Rosanna doesn’t do junk food. Or cooked food. Or most of the normal food that you and I take as part of our daily balanced diets. This model knows better. And she has decided to tell the world.
I have always been an admirer of anyone willing to push the boundaries of accepted science and seek out new and better ways for life improvement. The laziest option is always to sit on one’s bloated behind and accept, without question, that what we are given is gospel and sacred.

Monkey business
Take the well-known scientific experiment involving five monkeys. Five hungry monkeys are put into a room one day and immediately set about climbing a fixed pole in the middle to get to a bunch of bananas.
Unbeknownst to the monkeys, however, the bananas are rigged to an electric current and as each one tries to grab a piece of fruit, they are hit with an electric shock. After several attempts, they all finally give up. The next day one monkey is taken out and replaced with a new one. The newcomer immediately starts to climb the pole towards the bananas when the rest of the group start roaring and screaming to warn him away. Reluctantly, the new fella retreats down the pole without getting shocked and stays away.
Each day one of the original monkeys is replaced by a new one and the same thing happens. So that, by the end of the week there are five new monkeys in the room, none of which has ever witnessed the consequences of grabbing the bananas, but all of whom daren’t go near them for fear of what might happen.

Claims
Society is a bit like that. We all accept certain wisdoms without ever really understanding the consequences of the information that we are being given.
Which is why I have so much respect for people that are willing to challenge conventional norms. Some scientists devote their entire lives to developing cures for stubborn diseases, or coming up with new and better ways to make all of our lives more comfortable. Theirs is a devotion and, at times, a thankless task. I have nothing but admiration for their work.
It is on this basis that I am slow to throw our Rosanna friend here in with the world of established science. You see, aside from the strange title of the book, Rosanna decided to make some pretty outlandish claims about the medical advantages of her own strict vegan diet.
According to the author, those that decide to follow her into a life of raw food and general pallet misery can experience some dramatic health benefits. Her own husband, Wesley, saw an instant improvement in his knuckle and knee rheumatoid arthritis when he cut out pizza and beer, for example.
The real evil in Rosanna’s book is gluten. Gluten, she explains, ‘could manifest itself in the joints or muscles’, thus exposing gluten intolerants to the risk of everything from skin acne to arthritis to autism and schizophrenia.
That is, I’m sure you’ll agree, quite an astounding assertion to make. Particularly without any actual scientific or medical knowledge to back up the claim. And not only does she seem genuinely convinced by her own ‘research’, she has decided the tell the world through her book.

Conflict with medical science
I wonder how the whole thing will be received? It is quite possible that Davidson has stumbled upon something that, even without any meaningful research, has been baffling the brightest and best minds in the business for decades.
It is more likely, however, that the author has decided to make a quick buck on the back of her famous name and good looks. And, if she ever decides to come up with a theory that doesn’t undermine serious medical conditions like autism, rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia, she might find the medical community slightly more receptive to her work.
Until then, however, I suggest giving ‘Eat Yourself Beautiful’ a wide berth. Unless raw food, an absence of dairy products and nothing tasty ever passing your lips is your thing? In which case, go nuts!