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Diet Review: The Hormone Diet

By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Expert Review

Everyone is talking about hormones these days but not usually in connection with weight loss -- until now. The Hormone Diet outlines a 3-step program designed to balance hormones, improve your health, eating habits and result in weight loss for both men and women.

Balancing hormone levels is the secret to losing weight, sleeping, being more energized, stress-free and feeling better, says naturopathic doctor and author Natasha Turner, ND.

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The Hormone Diet starts the three-step, six-week program with a two-week detox phase where foods are removed that have the highest allergenic, inflammatory or migraine causing ability, says Turner.

Expect to lose 4-12 pounds in the first two weeks. That includes fluid loss. In the following weeks, weight loss will be closer to 2 pounds per week, similar to accepted weight loss guidelines.

Step two advises you to slowly add back foods into your diet and observe for signs of tolerance.

And finally in step three, yoga, cardiovascular and strength training exercise are included for strength, vigor, and emotional balance.

Hormones' Role in Weight Loss

A study scheduled to appear in the November issue of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism shows that levels of appetite hormones prior to dieting may predict weight gain after dieting. But Turner goes beyond appetite, hunger, and diet-related hormones to suggest that the entire endocrine system affects your weight.

According to Turner, weight loss is directly associated with all of your body’s hormones. “Hormones dictate every aspect of weight loss, from appetite cravings to how well you burn and where you store fat, yet 80% to 90% of adults are hormonally imbalanced,” Turner says.

Pamela Peeke, MD, a diet and fitness expert who blogs for WebMD, adamantly disagrees with the overall hormone concept of the book. “This is absolutely not a credible statement, nor can it be scientifically proven, because hormones are always in a constant state of dynamic flux and to indicate that all weight is linked to hormones and most adults are imbalanced is meaningless,” Peeke says.

The Hormone Diet: What You Can Eat

The Hormone Diet promotes a clean, natural, preferably organic diet of foods free of preservatives and processed foods.

Surprisingly, only a small portion of the 471-page book is devoted to the diet. The bulk of the book is quite complicated -- more like a text book, and deals with a whole host of issues about wellness, living longer, exercise, sleep, sex, and hormones.

Foods allowed in the detox phase are gluten-free grains, vegetables (except corn), fruits (except citrus, canned, and dried), nuts, seeds, fish, meat, feta or goat cheese, olive, avocado, flaxseed and canola oils, eggs, nondairy milk, and soy products -- that’s it.

Turner also recommends lots of supplements, including a probiotic supplement, herbal cleansing formula, bowel-cleansing formula with fiber and omega 3 fish oil during detox.