Michelangelo, born 1475, is perhaps the most well-known renaissance artist in human history, and exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

The statue of David – a colossal marble sculpture, standing 14 ft 3 inches tall, completed in 1504 – was created as a symbol of Florentine freedom, and placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence, Italy.

The choice of the biblical King David at the moment he decides to do battle with Goliath was meant to reflect the power and determination of Republican Florence against surrounding rival states.

If Michelangelo were to create a symbolic sculpture for today, it’s not impossible it would look something like this photo; an image of the wasteful, bloated greed of our U.S. government and megalomaniac pharmaceutical- and biochemical industries that lead to the poor health of man, environment, and our financial- and medical systems. 

Most of you know that two out of three U.S. adults, and one out of three kids, are overweight. Another 32 percent of adults, and 17 percent of kids, are obese. Not surprising considering the average American consumes 2.5 pounds of sugar each week, which leads to an excess rise in insulin – the effect of which is grandly and accurately portrayed here, in the form of a bulging stomach, and fat rolls in his thighs and chin.

High insulin levels suppress two other important hormones -- glucagons and growth hormones -- that are responsible for burning fat and sugar and promoting muscle development, respectively. So insulin from excess carbohydrates promotes fat, and then wards off your body‘s ability to lose that fat. Unless this cycle of raised insulin levels is reversed, King David’s sculpted abs will be gone forever, and he’s looking at a future filled with irresponsibly dangerous prescriptions for synthetic drugs, whose spiraling side effects will eventually destroy his health and kill him before his time.

And this goes for you too.

The bottom line is very simple. Keep your insulin levels low, very low. You can measure this with an inexpensive blood test that nearly any doctor can draw for you. Your level should be about 2 or 3. The way you lower it to these levels is by exercising, avoiding processed foods and refined carbs, and by eating the appropriate amounts of carbs for your nutritional type.

All it takes to keep your weight at an optimum level is a faithful program of exercise and an optimized nutritious diet designed for your unique biochemistry, and your overall health will more closely resemble Michelangelo’s original David, than the image depicted here.