The recipe for a chick magnet is insulin dependent

If you’re a red blooded male, I am sure you want to know how you can grow your own personal chick magnet… insulin determines how good you look.

Want to catch someone’s eye ?

Don something BIG and OUTRAGEOUS……

The bigger the better – this is how male thinking goes in the animal kingdom. Of course there is a fine line, between having a set of antlers the size of a tree and survival. Running from a lion with an enormous adornment wobbling on your head…… is risky business.

But as every lady will tell you………. size matters.

So, if you’re a red blooded male, I am sure you want to know how you can grow your own personal chick magnet…

Recipe for a chick magnet

Researchers from the University of Montana and Washington State University went in search of the recipe for chick magnet appendages.

The team turned to beetles, to explore why some Japanese rhinoceros beetles only manage to produce a tiny stump of a hump, while others are endowed, with a horn of gargantuan proportions.

Why big is sexy

The researchers disturbed insulin-signalling pathways, in the beetles and measured the resulting horns.

The absence of insulin, virtually de-horned the male beetles, but had little impact on the size of the rest of their body.
The result suggests male advertisements, are highly dependent on insulin levels. Since insulin levels are highly dependent on how much food is being eaten, the advertisement is actually telling lady beetles……

“I am well made, got all the nutrients needed to grow big and beefy – so I have lots of strong, healthy little swimmers on board, you would be wise to pick me to be the father of your kids”.

The window for BIG is small

The research team discovered, that the big horn signalling happened quickly (over a 72 hour period), when the beetles were just grubs.

Not getting good nutrition early on…….. deprived the beetle of its “manhood”.

Ornaments in humans ?

Rhino beetles have horns.
Peacocks have tails.
Kudus have antlers.
Humans have………………

Unfortunately the ornament that insulin seems to create in humans, is a midriff DOME i.e. a BIG BELLY.

Yes, it does still signal that the individual has been well fed, maybe TOO WELL FED.

It is seldom a signal that this is THE MAN. In fact, it can signal just the opposite…..

A dome of fat, tends to decrease testosterone levels and the odds of reproductive success.

Too much of a good thing

Insulin is released, in response to foods containing carbs and protein, especially carbs.

The trouble with too much carbs is that they spike the level of sugar in the blood vessels. Since sugar is inherently corrosive – the body scrambles to clear away the excess quick, quick.

The excess is sugar, is turned into fat and channelled to the body’s storage cupboards i.e. fat cells for a rainy day.

But when there are no rainy days, the storage capacity reaches its limit. Overstuffed fat cells protest, setting off insulin resistance and a whole host of health troubles.

A dome is not a chick magnet

An emancipated skinny bean pole look, is no turn on for the ladies, but neither is a BIG DOME.

To be a chick magnet, you need to ditch the dome – to do this, you need to keep your insulin levels in-check.

The easiest way to rein in your insulin, is to cut your carbs, eat a little more protein and a lot more fat i.e. obey the rule of thirds.

A Mechanism of Extreme Growth and Reliable Signaling in Sexually Selected Ornaments and Weapons. Science (2012) 337 (6096): 860-864. Douglas J. Emlen, Ian A. Warren, Annika Johns, Ian Dworkin, and Laura Corley Lavine.