Dr. Natasha Turner, author of The Hormone Diet

Natasha Turner is one of Canada’s leading naturopathic doctors and natural health consultants. Her passion for promoting wellness, fitness and integrated medicine makes her a sought-after speaker for corporations, the public and the education of other medical professionals. Her book, The Hormone Diet, is a national bestseller and has been receiving critical acclaim, including praise from Christiane Northrup, MD.

DietsInReview.com had an opportunity to speak with Dr. Turner and her approach for hormone balance. Here is an excerpt of that conversation:

This book is one of the first book that talks about the importance of hormone balance for men. Why should men be concerned about keeping their hormones in check?

Most people hear hormone and think women and menopause. But the approach outlined in The Hormone Diet can be used by both men and women. I see many men in my office of all ages that are experiencing anxiety, depression, weight gain, belly fat, low testosterone levels and low libido.

Hormone imbalance is the cause of so many of our health conditions. The research and clinical experience that is included in this book is applicable for both men and women. It is important to recognize that men will naturally get quicker results than women on The Hormone Diet. Both men and women will ultimately get to the same place, but at a different rate.
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One of the newest and most buzzed about new weight loss books released this year is The Perfect 10 Diet by Dr. Michael Aziz. In the book Aziz suggests he can help readers lose 14 pounds in just 21 days by following his weight loss plan that focuses less on the haves and haves nots of dieting and more on stabilizing 10 key hormone levels.

You can see Dr. Aziz today on The Doctors, where he’s discussing The Perfect 10 Diet and how you can implement this into your own life to balance hormones and get your weight under control.

Some of the pros and cons of The Perfect 10 Diet include:
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If you read my previous post on the top three ways to prevent diabetes then you know eating healthy, exercising more, and losing weight (especially belly fat) are keys to preventing diabetes. But there are actually lesser-known actions that can help you slash your diabetes risk because they help you stick to the “top three” more effectively. In this post, I’ll describe how sleep and stress management can help prevent and control diabetes.

Manage Stress

Is it me or are most people pre-wired for high anxiety and the go-go-go mentality? Work pressures. The economy. Life drama. No matter what day it is, you can bet there’s something going on that is making your blood boil. You don’t see it, but it’s killing you.

Chronic stress is linked to six of the leading causes of death. The link between stress and diabetes is hormonal. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a stress hormone that increases with severe or prolonged stress. The main effect of the hormone is increased food intake, increased proportion of energy stored as fat, and decreased physical activity. Uh oh. If you read the post on preventing diabetes, you know that excess fat, especially in the belly area, significantly increases your diabetes risk.
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Who here hasn’t had suffered from a food coma a time or two? Well, some history is not worth repeating. Take it from me, you can have fun, enjoy all the Thanksgiving harvest, and still fit into your jeans the next day. But how do you avoid this whole “food coma” thing? It starts with understanding what makes you feel that way. There’s a couple things going on and it’s hormonal.

Tryptophan, Serotonin and Melatonin

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid (protein building block the body cannot make). It is high in many protein rich foods, like turkey. Tryptophan helps build muscle like other amino acids, but it is also a specific precursor of serotonin. Nearly all serotonin is in the gut where it regulates GI movement, but about 20% is actually dispersed in the central nervous system (CNS) where it regulates mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions including memory and learning. Some serotonin can become melatonin, which regulates your sleep/wake cycles.
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There is more than one way to skin a cat. And that strange and grotesque cliche happens to apply to your weight loss approach. There are many diets that will get you to your goal weight, but not all of them will also have the added benefit of improving your mood.

According to a new study, only low-fat diets will help with long-term mood improvement.

“This study looked at one factor, and prior studies haven’t focused on psychological factors,” says Dr. Ewald Horvath, interim chairman of psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “This is a great study focusing on something very important.”
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