Recently in London, England, an Italian professor at the Palermo University has suggested that perhaps the reason for Mona Lisa’s grim outlook is ill health, specifically high cholesterol.

The colors of Mona Lisa noted from the painting indicates that she should have suffered from several health problems. Especially the yellowish color that Da Vinci gave around her left eye opens suggestions that that could have excessive sediment of fat. When there very high level of fat it will be externally visible beneath the eyes.

His claim stems from his belief that the artist captures the subject as she sits before him. Therefore an ill subject will be rendered such in the portrait whether or not the artist intended it to. Skeptics are very quick to point out that it is a painting not a photograph and the colors choices may have simply been just that: color choices - indicating mood instead of a physical state.

Xanthoma is a condition where fatty acids settle under the skin and shows out as a bump or bruise. It is an indicator of high content of fat in the body. Professor Franco cannot be written of just like that. What he said is also quite possible.

Digital cameras are not available earlier, so portraits are the only option to know about our ancestor’s lifestyle and even diseases. Apart from professor Franco many people have spoken about this. Paintings are the only source through which physicians and historians look at the past.

The ancient Egyptian religious leader, Akhenaten, has been the subject of such debate because of a portrait of him that depicts him as having very abnormal body features. There has been speculation that he may have suffered from one of many ailments, including diabetes. Edvard Munch’s painting, “The Sick Child,” is a clear depiction of his sister who was seriously ill with tuberculosis and died at the age of fifteen. One cannot ignore here that the art does inform us about the health of those during that time. Johanne Sophie, Munch’s sister, is a clear image of how tuberculosis manifested itself on the exterior of the body.

It is not unreasonable to believe then, that perhaps the Mona Lisa did have high cholesterol. Perhaps her ill health is the reason for her unusual expression. What is particularly interesting, however, is that way in which Professor Franco used visible signs of illness to diagnose - even something internal like high cholesterol. In an age where most diagnosis occurs from within, it is certainly remarkable to question how one might diagnose with only what we can see.

In olden days there hardly any improvement in technology to diagnose diseases. The same method used by Franco is the regular method of diagnosing medical conditions in olden days.

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Blue Heron Health News is a leading firm in the field of natural health. The firm has just released it’s latest guidebook to help lower cholesterol naturally.

Tags: Cholesterol

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