The Hormone Reset Diet (38 page)
Read The Hormone Reset Diet Online
Authors: Sara Gottfried
Blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth and creamy. Enjoy with celery sticks or sliced cucumbers.
Mung beans are not only easier to cook than other varieties of legumes; they are easier to digest as well. Since they don’t have a tough outer layer, mung beans make for a quick, light, and creamy homemade hummus.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
1 cup cooked mung beans
Juice of one Meyer lemon
⅓ cup tahini
1 garlic clove
½ teaspoon harissa paste or ground cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup almond milk
Blend the mung beans, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, harissa or cayenne, and salt for several minutes in a blender or food processor. Slowly add the almond milk until the desired consistency is achieved. Serve with grain-free crackers or crudités.
Adapted with permission from Heidi Swanson’s Mung Bean Hummus. Heidi Swanson, “Mung Bean Hummus Recipe,”
101CookBooks.com,
accessed March 8, 2014, www.101cookbooks.com/archives/mung-bean-hummus-recipe.html.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 13-ounce can full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup macadamia nuts, soaked overnight in water
Juice of one lemon
1. Bring the coconut milk to a boil in a medium saucepan, whisking frequently.
2. Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the xanthan gum, nutritional yeast, and ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk the mixture continuously for about a minute until thick.
3. Drain and rinse the macadamia nuts.
4. In a high-powered blender, combine the nuts, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the warm coconut mixture. Blend until creamy and thick.
5. Line a small round cake pan or wooden cheese box with cheesecloth, and spoon the macadamia mixture into a thick, even layer.
Mound the edges toward the center slightly so that the sides of the mixture are not touching the cloth.
6. Pour the remaining coconut mixture over the top, and smooth it into the channel you created around the edge so that a thin, even layer covers the top and sides of the cheese.
7. Cover loosely with cheese paper or the top of the wooden cheese box, and refrigerate overnight.
THE HORMONE RESET DESSERTS
Geek Out with Dr. Sara:
A study of sweet potatoes in the
Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism
found that the way in which the potato is cooked will affect its glycemic index. Boiling was found to be the optimum cooking method for a lower glycemic index. The glycemic load in these grain-free brownies can be reduced further by substituting additional xylitol for coconut sugar.
Makes 12 servings
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 large eggs
½ cup organic, hardwood-derived xylitol
½ cup coconut sugar
½ cup avocado oil
1 to 2 tablespoons sorghum flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup unsweetened pure cacao powder
For the icing:
2 dark chocolate bars, 85 percent pure cacao or higher
¼ cup organic, hardwood-derived xylitol (adjust to taste)
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a large pot.
3. Peel the sweet potatoes, and cut each into several large pieces. Add them to the boiling water, and cook until tender, approximately 30 minutes.
4. Strain the potatoes, and mash them with a fork in a large bowl.
5. Stir in the eggs, xylitol, coconut sugar, avocado oil, sorghum flour, baking powder, and cacao powder.
6. Pour batter into a greased 8 × 8-inch baking dish, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate bars in a microwave or double boiler. Stir the xylitol into the melted chocolate.
8. When the brownies are done, remove them from the oven, and pour the melted chocolate over the top to form a thin, even layer.
9. Allow the brownies to cool before serving.
Geek Out with Dr. Sara:
Chia seeds contain substantial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Recent studies have shown omega-3s to increase insulin sensitivity, one of the underlying issues with regard to obesity and weight gain. In other words, this delicious dessert may actually help you lose weight!
Makes 4 servings
½ cup dry chia seeds
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon stevia powder
Place all ingredients in a jar or other glass container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake vigorously for 1 minute. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Enjoy as a dessert or for breakfast.
If you are not an almond butter fan, you can use cashew or macadamia nut butter instead in this dish. Be sure to find organic, unsweetened, cold-pressed almond butter. Most commercial almond butters are made from nuts that have been roasted at very high heat. Cold-pressed almond and other nut butters retain the vitamins and nutrients of the raw nut.
Makes 8 to 10 servings
3 large pure cacao or 100 percent dark chocolate bars (4 to 6 ounces each)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, divided
1½ cups organic, hardwood-derived xylitol, divided
1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
1½ cups unsweetened almond butter
1. Break the chocolate bars into pieces, and melt them in a microwave or double boiler. Stir in the coconut oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ cup xylitol.
2. Line a shallow baking dish with parchment paper, and pour the chocolate mixture into an even layer on the bottom of the dish. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened.
3. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the xylitol and vanilla, the coconut milk, and the almond butter in a large bowl. Stir well.
4. Spread this mixture evenly over the hardened chocolate.
5. Cover, and freeze again for at least 1 hour. Cut into small squares. Serve cold, directly from the freezer.
For an updated list of resources, visit www.HormoneReset.com.
Roll Call: Your Metabolic Hormones
Estrogen
• A group of hormones produced primarily in the ovaries to promote female characteristics such as menstruation, breast growth, and hip growth.
• Other sources of estrogen include adrenal glands and fat cells.
• Estrogen grows your hips and breasts; regulates menstruation; builds uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy; and keeps women lubricated, from joints to vagina.
Insulin
• Drives glucose into cells as fuel and deposits fat.
• Chronically high insulin increases estrogen (specifically estrone) and increases cells’ resistance to insulin.
Leptin
•
Regulates appetite, satiety, and adiponectin, which adjusts how you burn fat.
Cortisol
• The main stress hormone, member of the glucocorticoid family.
• Governs blood sugar, blood pressure, and immune function.
• Cortisol is produced in your adrenal glands under most conditions, stressful or otherwise.
Thyroid
• Essential to the smooth operation of hormone pathways.
• Adequate thyroid hormone is necessary to make pregnenolone from cholesterol, and then to further refine it into progesterone.
• Affects metabolism and energy, weight, mood
Growth Hormone
• Helps burn fat and gain lean muscle. Determines how much fat is deposited on your belly.
Testosterone
• One of the sex hormones belonging to the androgen family.
• Although it is often thought of as the male hormone, women need to have some testosterone in their bodies as well. The difference between men and women lies in the quantity of testosterone (men produce much higher quantities).
• Hormone of vitality and self-confidence
• Producing too much is the main reason for female infertility in this country.
• Also involved in sex drive; producing too little is linked to low libido in women and men.
Adiponectin
• Secreted by fat cells and adjusts how you burn fat.
Ghrelin
• Raises appetite in order to initiate eating.
• Acts in counterpart to leptin.
• Produced in stomach cells.
Oxytocin
• Both a hormone and a neurotransmitter, which means it acts as a brain chemical that transmits information from nerve to nerve.
• Called by some “the love hormone” because it increases in the blood with orgasm in both men and women.
• Oxytocin is also released when the cervix dilates, thereby augmenting labor, and when a woman’s nipples are stimulated, which facilitates breast-feeding and promotes bonding between mother and baby.
DHEA
• Can convert into testosterone when needed; member of androgen family.
• Affects mood and sex drive.
• Too much DHEA has been associated with acne and depression in menopause.
Melatonin
• Regulates our sleep/wake cycle.
• Helps control the timing and release of female reproductive hormones.
For the measurements in chapter 2, use the following websites for handy calculators:
• Waist-to-hip ratio: www.healthstatus.com/calculate/waist-to-hip-ratio
• Body mass index (BMI): www.bmi-calculator.net
• Waist-to-height ratio (WHtR): www.health-calc.com/body-composition/waist-to-height-ratio
• Basal metabolic rate (BMR): www.bmi-calculator.net/bmrcalculator or www.bmrcalculator.org
These are my favorite devices for measurement:
• Sleep: Fitbit, UP by Jawbone
• Blood pressure: Omron for wrist or upper arm, Panasonic for upper arm
• Blood sugar: TrueResult Blood Glucose Starter Kit, OneTouch Ultra
• Steps: Fitbit, UP by Jawbone, iPhone
• Body fat: Omron Fat Loss Monitor, Tanita Body Fat Monitor
To learn about ways to talk to your doctor about ordering tests, see page 334–35 in
The Hormone Cure.
Estradiol level,
in blood or saliva, ideally performed on Day 3 or Day 21 if you’re still menstruating regularly, and performed anytime if you’re irregular or menopausal.
Fasting glucose level,
drawn by lab personnel in a laboratory or measured with your own glucose meter and a finger stick.
Fasting leptin level,
drawn by lab personnel in a laboratory.
Morning cortisol level,
in blood or saliva.
Thyroid panel,
including thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (free T3, or FT3), and reverse triiodothyronine (reverse T3, or RT3).
Growth hormone level,
typically measured in the blood as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).
Free testosterone level,
in blood or saliva.
Recommended Laboratories
• Quest Diagnostics
• LabCorp
• Hunter Labs
• ZRTlab.com
• WellnessFx.com
• MyMedLab.com
Resources for Maintaining Your Hormone Reset
• To make sure that your seafood is safe from mercury and other toxins, check out Seafood Watch by the Monterey Bay Aquarium: www.seafoodwatch.org.
• To find a shake that’s compliant with the Hormone Reset, go to my store at www.DrGottfriedStore.com. I’ve personally formulated a delicious protein powder, fiber, and other supplements.
• For grain-free crackers, try flackers from Doctor in the Kitchen or dehydrated vegetable crackers from Lydia’s Organics.
• For collagen—a source of clean protein—check out Bulletproof: www.bulletproofexec.com/bulletproof-upgraded-collagen/.
• For high-powered blenders that will purée your vegetables but keep the fiber, try Blendtec, Magic Bullet, NutriBullet, or Vitamix. I like the Magic Bullet for travel!
• For extra-dark chocolate, a few of my favorite organic brands are Dagoba organic chocolate; Sacred Chocolate, founded by health expert David Wolfe; and Tazo.
• I formulated a delicious bar that’s compliant with the Hormone Reset. Find it at my online store: www.DrGottfriedStore.com.
• For coconut kefir, try Donna Gates’s recipe: bodyecology.com/articles/secrets-for-making-perfect-young-coconut-kefir.php.
My first book is called
The Hormone Cure
(www.TheHormoneCure Book.com)
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