Natasha Turner - The Carb Sensitivity Program: Discover Which Carbs Will Curb Your Cravings, Control Your Appetite, and Banish Belly Fat

To Uncle Bruce and Aunt Betty,
For your endless generosity of spirit

To Nan and Gramp, Mary and Darrell Rivers,
For showing me unconditional love

And for my Dad,
You taught me to persevere

CONTENTS

APPENDICES

Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.

NORMAN VINCENT PEALE

Hair loss, incessant carb cravings, followed by the classic carb coma, an out-of-control appetite, an unwavering obsession with food, hunger that returns soon after eating, belly fat and bulging love handles. Does any of this sound familiar? While you may be nodding your head with recognition, these are actually my own telltale signs of an increased sensitivity to carbs.

I have been managing these symptoms for more than 12 years. And believe it or not, they intensified shortly after I began my practice as a naturopathic doctor. There I was, the natural health and nutrition expert, secretly downing chocolate chip cookies and muffins in between patients because I just had to have them!

It wasnt until the fall of 1999, when I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), that I grasped the common link between my symptoms and my health condition. While I knew PCOS was often associated with an imbalance of insulin (specifically insulin resistance), I did not fully understand how such an imbalance could affect ones metabolism and bodily functions until it happened to me.

At the time, I was prescribed metformin (a diabetes medication often used in PCOS patients to enhance insulin balance) and the birth control pill (to regulate my cycle). But as readers of my previous books already know, I used my own protocols to bring my hormones back into balancethe same process I originally outlined in The Hormone Diet. Within just a few weeks, I learned how sticking to my strength-training routine, taking my supplements, getting enough sleep, and choosing the right amount, timing and types of carbs enabled me to be symptom free and to lose my belly fat. It then became my goal to share my personal experiences and help others achieve the same level of health and well-being.

Sounds easy, right? Not always. Like you, I stray off course from time to time. I enjoy dining out. I consume too many carbs in times of stress, frustration or celebration. I get busy and miss workouts. Luckily, the efforts Ive made over the years allow me to do these things occasionally, without a return of life-hampering, body-disrupting symptoms.

Knowing this has made me more motivated than ever to constantly seek the best ways to maintain a healthy insulin balance for optimal health and wellness. My research for this book has led me to a definitive conclusion: The long-term health consequences of this state of hormonal disruption arefor lack of a proper medical termreally scary. (Even more frightening is the current worldwide epidemic of insulin imbalance that you will learn about in .)

From my personal experiences and my years in clinical practice, I know that optimal insulin balance is the most important factor in living a vibrant, strong and healthy life. And this book is designed to help you take advantage of all that Ive learned so that you can skip past the trial-and-error phase and go right to results. If you asked me the three most important things you could do for your health right now, I would give you the following advice: Improve your sleep, discover your current state of carb sensitivity and consume a few essential supplements. How simple does that sound? Surprisingly, though, the effects of implementing these basic suggestions are huge when it comes to restoring and maintaining your insulin balance, achieving your ideal body composition andperhaps most importantfeeling your best for the long term.

The Hormone Diet and The Supercharged Hormone Diet both help to restore insulin balance, as well as the levels of many other hormones (including the stress, sex, mood and thyroid hormones). Although both of these plans provide a hormonally balanced program that is personalized according to the readers food allergies or sensitivities, my clinical practice led me to discover that following these plans alone did not always achieve the desired results. Indeed, a few of my patients failed to continue losing weight, while others had cravings, water retention, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other symptoms that would not resolve. Clearly, something else was going on, and I had to keep digging to find the solution.

It wasnt long before I had my aha moment. It was all about the carbs! It is known that carbs have the potential to be food allergens that can trigger inflammation or chronic symptoms such as headaches, digestive upset, dark circles under the eyes, puffiness in the face, fatigue, joint pain, abdominal bloating and more. But heres where it got interesting for mecarbs also generate a metabolic response that is directly linked to the insulin spike their consumption produces. And there I had it: Just like with food allergies, each persons metabolic response to carbsor what I have termed carb sensitivityis unique.

In , I explain more about how I came to figure out the process presented to you here as The Carb Sensitivity Program (CSP), a 6-week nutrition plan that will help you identify the perfect types of carbohydrates for you. You will achieve this by rotating specific carb-based foods in and out of your diet, while carefully monitoring how your body reacts to each new group. You will also follow an exercise program, as well as a supplement regime to aid detoxification and your metabolism. In the pages that follow, each step of the process is outlined for you in a clear and concise way. I have also provided weekly meal plans and recipes to help you get started and stay on track. Everything you need to achieve optimal health is right here.

As I discovered the CSPs true potential to reinvent and revitalize ones state of health, I moved from that original aha moment to a full-fledged Eureka! My hope is that you too will soon share in my excitement as you come to understand the far-reaching benefits of improved insulin balance.

I want to assure readers of my previous books that my basic philosophy of care has not changed. It is still centered on the importance of balancing all of your hormones, thinking big picture when it comes to correctly restoring balance and considering the interrelatedness of the hormones at work in your body. I still believe a process such as the 4-week nutrition prescription in The Supercharged Hormone Diet, which helps to identify food allergies or sensitivities as well as restore hormonal balance, must be followed to achieve optimal health. But some of you will need to take the extra step to gain control of erratic or escalating insulin levels. Meanwhile, all of us must focus on achieving and sustaining our metabolism and insulin balancefor life. The Carb Sensitivity Program helps with this exact goal.

I believe that everyone will eventually need to complete the CSP because our carb sensitivityand therefore our tendency to accumulate belly fat and find ourselves at risk for chronic diseasenaturally increases with age. Thank goodness theres finally a solution! Besides helping you look your best, I want to help you live your life to the fullest and become your greatest self. You can do this by taking control of what, when and how you eat. I wish you the best as you embark on this plan, which has the potential to change not only your life but also your metabolism. I encourage you to share your feedback, questions and outcome through https://drnatashaturner.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/thehormonediet, where you will also find instructional videos. These sites offer a great opportunity to connect with the carb-sensitive community and to help encourage others. Together, we can achieve perfect balance.