The Hormone Balance Cookbook: 60 Anti-Inflammatory Recipes to Regulate Hormonal Balance, Lose Weight, and Improve Brain Function
By Mia Lundin and Ulrika Davidsson
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About this ebook
Complete with sixty easy and healthy recipes, comprehensive and accessible chapters on the science and facts behind female sex hormones, a list of hormone-friendly foods and their nutrients, and a two-week diet plan, The Hormone Balance Cookbook is an informative and practical guide for every woman.
Whether you are twenty-five or fifty-five, learn about the four hormonal phases—from menstruation to postmenopause—and how consuming the right anti-inflammatory foods and vitamins can balance out fluctuating hormone levels to reduce stress and weight gain; mitigate the discomforts of oncoming PMS or menopause; prevent against diseases like osteoporosis; and improve digestion and brain function.
Keep your body’s nutrients balanced, your hormones happy, your brain alert, your body strong, and your life full—and eat the pain away!
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Book preview
The Hormone Balance Cookbook - Mia Lundin
To all the women out there who struggle to find well-being and balance in life. And to all of you who are suffering in silence—please seek help and don’t give up. There is always a way!
MIA LUNDIN
Copyright © Text, Mia Lundin, www.mialundin.com
Copyright © Recipes, Ulrika Davidsson, www.ulrikakickstart.se, www.ulrikadavidsson.se, www.hemmahosulrika.se
English translation © 2018 Skyhorse Publishing
First published by Bonnier Fakta, Stockholm, Sweden
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.
Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.
Skyhorse® and Skyhorse Publishing® are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.®, a Delaware corporation.
Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ULRIKA POUSSETTE
GRAPHIC DESIGN BY KAI RISTILA
ILLUSTRATIONS BY KERSTIN NORD
PRINT ISBN: 978-1-5107-2349-8
EBOOK ISBN: 978-1-5107-2352-8
Printed in China
Title Page of Hormone Balance CookbookCONTENTS
FOREWORD : THE RIGHT DIET PROVIDES THE NUTRITION YOUR HORMONES NEED
Mia Lundin
ABOUT HORMONES
Are you losing your mind?
Your wonderfully interconnected body
Different types of hormones
The female sex hormones
Neurotransmitters
Serotonin and estrogen—a dynamic duo
Nutrients for serotonin production
Not enough food, or the wrong food
Your hormonal journey—from normal levels to menopause
The four hormonal phases
Phase 1: Normal hormonal balance
Phase 2: PMS—cyclically crazy
Phase 3: Perimenopause—no two days are alike
Phase 4: Menopause and postmenopause—where did life’s joys go?
Where are you on your journey?
Do you suffer from hormonal imbalance?
Good nutrition goes a long way
Make sure to eat foods that …
HORMONAL BALANCE
1. Food—the building blocks for hormones and a brain in balance
Fat
Protein
Carbohydrates
Minerals
Vitamins
2. Avoid inflammation
Stress and inflammation
Increase your intake of anti-inflammatory food
3. Balance your blood glucose
Opt for slow-release carbohydrates!
4. Keep your gut happy
Leaky gut syndrome
Dysbiosis
Common Symptoms of Dysbiosis
Dysbiosis and estrogen dominance
Modify your eating habits
5. Trim your digestion
A sign of good digestion
6. Lower your stress
What makes you happy?
Meditation, yoga, and breathing
Bioidentical Hormones
Bioidentical estrogen
Bioidentical progesterone
Hormone replacement therapy
Summary, diet lists, and tables
Practical diet tips—a summary
Include these foods in your diet
Avoid these foods
Examples of ingredients for hormonal balance
Nutritional deficiencies and their symptoms
RECIPES: FOOD THAT IS GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR HORMONES
Ulrika Davidsson
Breakfasts
Salads and warm soups
Main dishes
Desserts
A two-week diet plan
GLOSSARY
INDEX
SOURCES
CONVERSION CHARTS
FOREWORD: THE RIGHT DIET PROVIDES THE NUTRITION YOUR HORMONES NEED
Mia Lundin
Your body is a well-functioning, intelligent machine, but it needs the right kind of fuel to work properly. By providing it with the nutrients it needs, you can prevent hormonal imbalances experienced by eight in ten perimenopausal or menopausal women. Proper nutrition goes a long way in getting rid of the problems entirely, or at least it alleviates many of the negative symptoms.
In this book, I will focus on the food and nutrients that will maintain your body’s natural hormonal balance for as long as possible, and that will also keep your brain happy and sharp. You will also learn about the food that can cause hormonal imbalances.
If you’ve read my first book, Female Brain Gone Insane: An Emergency Guide for Women Who Feel Like They Are Falling Apart, or if you follow me on Facebook or read my blog, you’ll know that I endorse the use of bioidentical hormones in perimenopause and menopause and for the treatment of PMS (premenstrual syndrome). Whether you’re already planning on using hormone replacement therapy, or you’re not yet on the journey from ordinary hormone levels to menopause and beyond, I recommend that you first build a solid foundation with balanced nutrition through food. If hormone therapy is not an option for you (perhaps due to breast cancer or past blood clots), it’s even more important to focus on providing your body with the right nutrients to lessen the symptoms caused by hormonal imbalance.
I am a certified registered nurse, and a certified nurse practitioner specializing in gynecology and obstetrics. I have treated thousands of women suffering from PMS, postpartum depression, perimenopause, and menopause since 1989, focusing mainly on how hormonal imbalances affect brain chemistry.
I ran my own private clinic, the Center for Hormonal and Nutritional Balance, in California for seventeen years, where my employees and I used functional medicine (see p. 9) as the foundation for treating patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, or hormonal imbalances.
Your body is a well-functioning, intelligent machine, but it needs the right kind of fuel to work properly.
Our team consisted of a nutritionist, a psychologist, an NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) therapist, and me. Together, we looked at all aspects of health, physiological and psychological, and offered treatment, support, and education to enable our patients to find their way back to a place of balance, well-being, and vitality.
At my clinic, we also worked extensively on our patients’ diets. It wasn’t only about which foods they ate, but also about what their bodies would absorb. Did their gastrointestinal tract produce enough enzymes, gastric acid, and bile to break down all the food particles into smaller nutritional molecules that pass through the intestinal wall and into the blood? Or did most of the nutrients go straight through the body to end up in the toilet?
I met Ulrika Davidsson when I was invited to give a seminar on hormones and women’s health at her restaurant on the Swedish island of Gotland. It didn’t take long for us to realize that we had a lot in common, and that we might be able to help a lot of women if we published a book about food for hormonal balance. Ulrika has worked on diet, nutrition, and health for many years and has a great knowledge base in those fields. Combining her expertise with my years of experience, I knew we could write a great, accessible book for any woman who wished to take charge of her physical and emotional life.
Sooner or later, most women will experience hormonal imbalance.
Sooner or later, most women will experience some hormonal imbalance. Perhaps you’re currently in good health, have lots of energy, and feel hormonally balanced, but still wish to support your body, mental health, and hormone production for as long as possible. Or perhaps you feel depressed, hormonally imbalanced, and exhausted due to overwhelming demands at home or at work. Either way, this book is for you.
The book is divided into two parts: a section about the facts and science, written by me, and a recipe section created by Ulrika. At the beginning of the facts section, I’ll go over the different types of hormones, your sensitive hormonal system, what can cause imbalances, and various symptoms you might experience. Next, I’ll explain what you should eat to provide your body with the essential nutrients that promote the production of important hormones. I’ll also touch on other key topics, one of which is very close to my heart: bioidentical hormones.
Mia Lundin (on the left) has written the book’s section on facts and Ulrika Davidsson (on the right) has created the recipe section.
The book’s first section concludes with a summary, lists of foods to include in your diet and foods to avoid, and a table of various nutritional deficiencies and their symptoms. Then you’ll find Ulrika’s large collection of recipes for long-lasting health and hormonal balance, plus her practical two-week meal plan to shift your production of hormones and neurotransmitters into high gear.
Finally, I want to tell you how excited I am to have the opportunity to teach you about the nutrients your body needs to bring you back to hormonal balance, vitality, and joy.
ABOUT HORMONES
Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers. Here,