The Hormone Diet: A 3-Step Program to Help You Lose Weight, Gain Strength, and Live Younger Longer

629 Pages·2011·2.98 MB·English

by  Natasha Turner ND

For my husband,
“Hey Tim,” thank you for believing in me.
I am so blessed to share my life with you.

For Mom,
Thank you for your continued reminders to keep things simple,
be positive, make time for others, live life to the fullest, and
to never take it or your loved ones for granted.
Your courage, strength, wisdom, and humor
inspire me—always. I love you.
CONTENTS

Introduction

PART ONE: YOUR HORMONES, YOUR BODY

1. The New Formula for Fat Loss

2. Are You In Balance? The Hormonal Health Profile

3. Your Fat-Loss Foes: The Hormones That Pack On Pounds

4. Your Fat-Burning Friends: The Hormones That Help You Lose Weight

5. Skinny or Fat Isn’t Where It’s At: The Facts About Body Composition

PART TWO: THE THREE-STEP FIX

INTRODUCING THE THREE-STEP FIX

6. Laying the Groundwork: Getting Prepped for the Three Steps

Step 1: Renew and Revitalize

7. Superb Sleep for Hormonal Balance

8. Your Anti-Inflammatory Detox: Look and Feel Better in Just 2 Weeks

9. Strategies for Stress Survival

Step 2: Replenish Your Body and Balance Your Hormones

10. Nasty Nutrition: Eating Habits That Disrupt Our Hormones

11. The Hormone Diet Nutrition Plan: The Glyci-Med Approach
12. Replenish with Something Extra: Basic Supplements to Support
Hormonal Balance and Fat Loss

13. Getting Back in Balance: Advanced Supplements and Bioidentical
Hormone Replacement

Step 3: Restore Strength, Vigor, and Radiance

14. Sex and Sweat: Why We Need Both for Hormonal Balance

15. Strength, Stamina, and Stretching: The Hormone Diet Exercise
Prescription

16. Look Lovely, Live Well: The Importance of Natural Skin Care

17. You’re Almost There! A Refresher to Keep You Going

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Understanding Blood Tests

Appendix B: Tackling Toxins in Your Space

Appendix C: The Hormone Diet Recipes

Acknowledgments

Resources

Index
INTRODUCTION

If you are looking for a big opportunity, seek out a big problem.

H. JACKSON BROWN JR.
My Story of Hormonal Havoc

Just a few months had passed since I had graduated from college in
1993. I was 22. I arrived home one day from my summer job in tears
and feeling overwhelmed. I felt weak and feverish. I couldn’t think—
my head was buzzing with confusion. I couldn’t understand people
when they spoke to me. I couldn’t seem to process information fast
enough to make sense of anything. My best friend, Lise, who was
living with me at the time, was talking to me about some mundane
household incident and all I could do was stare blankly back at her.
She said, “Don’t worry, I can tell you’re just not getting it. It’s okay.”
I started to cry again. I thought I was going crazy and was certain I
had a serious neurological disease.
Later that day, I wound up in the emergency room, where the
doctors found I indeed had a fever, along with severe anemia. They
told me to take some iron and to go home and rest, which was about
all I was capable of doing. I would wake up feeling okay, but within
minutes the confusion and fogginess in my head would return. I
couldn’t even watch TV.
When I thought about it as best I could, I realized something had
been off for months before my breaking point. I had needed so much
sleep—over 16 hours a day—and was too tired to go to the gym, even
though I was an exercise fanatic. I was gaining weight—25 pounds, a
lot for my small frame—and I felt fat and unattractive. My periods
were irregular and I was losing fistfuls of hair. I had chalked it all up
to the stress of finishing school and ending a relationship with my
boyfriend at the time.
Thank heavens the emergency room doctor who treated me decided
to investigate more thoroughly into why I was so anemic and tested
my blood to rule out hypothyroidism. Days later, I received a call
letting me know my TSH was over 25; a normal level is considered to
be less than 4.7, and an optimal level is less than 2. (TSH is a
hormone that increases when the thyroid is not functioning well.) I
was severely hypothyroid, with extremely low iron levels. Confusion
was overcoming me because my brain function was slowing down
along with the rest of me. I started taking thyroid medication
immediately. Within a week I felt like a completely different person,
and I continue to take thyroid medication today.
Looking back, I know I had the telltale symptoms of
hypothyroidism as early as age 13. I remember waking up with my
pillow covered in my hair and being taken to dermatologists for hair
loss, but nothing those doctors proposed ever helped. I remember
feeling tired all the time and having horrible menstrual issues,
including pain, cramping, and irregular cycles. I always had belly fat
and would never wear a two-piece bathing suit. I hated my body.
Now I know my disease was missed because I seemed to be slim.
Because my weight appeared “normal,” my doctors did not think of
looking for hypothyroidism, a condition commonly found in
noticeably overweight people.
Fast forward to 2000. After finishing 4 years of training, I began my
practice as a naturopathic doctor. Between patients, I was skipping out
to buy cookies or muffins because I craved them so badly. I never
used to like these foods, though I sure had to have them now. But
within about 20 minutes of the last sugary bite, I would be falling
asleep in a “carb coma.” Still, I couldn’t stop my seemingly insatiable
snack habit. At the same time, my periods were becoming more
irregular, my breasts were shrinking, my waist was getting wider, and
I was losing hair—again.
On a professional hunch, I underwent a thorough investigation
involving blood work and ultrasounds. My suspicions were confirmed
—I had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is a condition
characterized by irregular periods, hair loss, acne, and weight gain;
it’s also linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, infertility, and
diabetes. So I now had not one, but two metabolic diseases. My