Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues and improve their overall health.

Dr. Turner answers all your detox questions.

Beginning the fall with a cleanse or detox is a fantastic way to jump-start your weight loss process, clear your complexion, improve digestion and optimize wellness. Toxicity of the liver and the digestive system makes us feel bloated, tired and generally unwell, which makes it tough to begin an exercise program and to stay motivated.

Weight Loss and Toxicity
The majority of the toxins in our body are fat-soluble. This means they are stored in our fat cells and may be released into our system when we begin a weight loss and exercise program. Another important factor to consider is that being thin does not necessarily mean being healthy and that the steps used today to achieve your weight loss goals must be safe, well-planned and executed. Now, let's tackle a few questions you may have regarding detox so that you can get started and successfully complete your cleansing program.

How long should I stay on the detox?
A minimum of two weeks is best for a cleanse. However, individuals with chronic symptoms or conditions (arthritis, endometriosis, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc.) may wish to continue for four to six weeks. Before beginning, and in order to avoid cheating or falling off the program, it is best to eat the foods currently in your fridge that will not be allowed in your detox program. Plan your meals to prepare for the detox, shop for specific foods and supplements and make sure all your social commitments are out of the way. Revisit The Hormone Diet for a detailed detox plan.

Which supplements should I take?

I just got back from the farmers' market where I saw, among many other things, tomatoes of every conceivable shape, size and colour! Canadians, it's time to get out there and experience what real tomatoes taste like and let me tell you, they're nothing like the bland, powdery, tasteless fruit somewhat reminiscent of tomatoes you find in the grocery stores throughout the year.

And if you really love tomatoes, as I know many people do (although, oddly, I'm not one of them), take a page from the Italians and start canning. If you see a true Italian eating a tomato in December, you can bet that it came out of a mason jar, packed in the late summer, and left in the garage until needed. Italians, and I know a few, will not touch what passes for tomatoes in our grocery stores throughout the year - they've got to be fresh or canned fresh out of the field, not out of the greenhouse and they've got to be local. I like the way they think.

Tomatoes have a very well-rounded nutrient profile and contain a variety of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. They're a good source of vitamin C, K, E, B vitamins and beta carotene. They've also got molybdenum, potassium, manganese, chromium, magnesium and are a decent source of iron.

But where most of the research on tomatoes has focused is on the carotenoid phytonutrient called lycopene. Tomatoes have several different types of carotenoids, which is part of what gives them their red colour, but lycopene has been the major focus of much of the research. This may be because lycopene is possibly a more powerful antioxidant than other carotenoids such as beta carotene and that scientific studies have found the consumption of lycopene-rich foods can reduce the risk of heart disease in women and can protect men from prostate cancer and atherosclerosis. It's also been found to help prevent cancers of the cervix, bladder and pancreas.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

The world is divided into two types of people: Pilates folk and yoginis. Find out which one is right for you by answering these questions.

Before you make the decision to go gluten-free, consider this: Several non-glutinous foods have been found to be contaminated, so eat with caution.

Wishing you could see colours as vibrantly as that double rainbow guy? Studies show that a bit of extra sleep can help you do just that.

If you've never tried Swiss chard, it's time to give it a chance. Here are some tasty ways to enjoy from someone who knows.

Want to add some spice to your love life? Maybe all it takes is a little green tea ...

We're antioxidant-crazy these days. From berries to green tea to pomegranate and even red wine, people are filling up on antioxidant-rich foods more than ever, and there's one primary reason for this: Antioxidants are believed to be key in slowing down the aging process. Right?

Not quite, according to new research that is shedding light on how we age. Apparently, aging might not have much to do with free radicals after all.

Let's back up a minute here and explain the whole antioxidant/free radical thing. Antioxidants are thought to be key to keeping us youthful because they hamper the production of dangerous free radicals that are roaming around in our body and supposedly cause the aging process. Free radicals -- a inevitable byproduct of metabolism and toxic chemicals in the air and additives in the food we eat -- damage our healthy, productive cells, which causes us to slow down over time.

One of the benefits green tea is often celebrated for is weight loss. I'm a little hesitant to promote this claim, to be honest. It's not that I don't think it works as there have been several studies over the last few years that have shown green tea to be effective in inducing weight loss, I'm just not a big believer in magic pills.

And as an advocate for overall holistic health, the idea that someone can add a few pots of green tea to a poor diet and expect to magically be healthy is insane. Your weight is a symptom of your health, but doesn't always indicate it exactly. A person with a wasting disease or parasites or even someone suffering from starvation is pretty darn lean, but I don't think anyone would dream of calling them healthy.

As regular That's Fit.ca readers know, my approach to weight loss is always to recommend turning the entire diet around: eat whole unprocessed foods, avoid sensitivities and hidden chemical ingredients and let your weight sort itself out (which it will). Return the body to a state of health and the symptoms (including excess weight) disappear.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.


Don't let stress get the best of you. Use these simple tips for taming tension and increasing weight loss success.

Researchers have known for years that physical stress is detrimental to our health and well-being. However, it is only recently that psychological stress has become linked to a number of health complaints. In fact, a study conducted by researcher Paula Rhode, PhD and her colleagues revealed that higher stress and depression were linked with weight regain, typically due to seeking comfort from food, especially calories from fat.

How we handle stress is up to us, but it could make a difference in weight loss success. "Incorporating stress, and mood-management techniques into future weight-loss programs may help to prevent or delay weight regain that occurs as a result of poor coping and/or increased high-risk or unhealthy behaviours," Rhode revealed in the study.

How Stress Affects Us
Most of us are all too familiar with the feeling of being stressed: Your heart races, your breathing becomes rapid and shallow, your blood pressure rises and your hands become cold or clammy as blood flow is directed to your arm and leg muscles in preparation for escape. This is our initial response to stress, otherwise known as an adrenalin rush. The relaxation response is just the opposite: Breathing rate slows and deepens, muscles relax, blood pressure lowers, pulse rate slows down and more blood flow is directed to the organs of digestion. It is this state that is best for our mind and body.

Three Tips on How to Handle Stress Effectively after the jump

Dear Sarah,

I have decided I need to lose weight, I am stuffing myself into my pants, and the buttons on my shirts don't close up like they used to. I am a busy mom, working full-time. I know that exercise would help, but honestly I am just not there yet. Are there some simple ways I can start losing weight, without launching into a full-fledged fitness routine?

Kathleen

Dear Kathleen,

I am going to very honest: The very best way to lose weight and see measurable results ( i.e. loser pants) is with a healthy diet of fresh foods, exercise, plenty of fresh water and rest. However, I know that making a whole bunch of major changes at once, such as throwing out all your junk food, and hitting a treadmill can be overwhelming. You are aware that you need to make a change, and one of the best ways to do that is to become conscious of your lifestyle and how it affects your health.

Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.


With all my patients I always stress that it is not knowledge that ensures good health, but action. Think about it-how many diet or self-help books have you read but never applied the principles to your daily life? Or worse, how many have you purchased and never opened?

There are myriad theories, guidelines and information sources surrounding the nutrition and wellness industry. Sometimes it seems as though the more you read, the more confused you become. But the basic principles of healthy living are not rocket science. The baby steps taken today may result in giant leaps in your wellness in the future.

We all want a quick fix for better health, weight loss and more energy. The Hormone Diet provides you with a road map to wellness, but if you are not yet on the road to health, you can begin with this sample of a healthy day to get you moving. You can tweak the hours if you need to, just use this as a guide. Remember the old adage that definitely rings true when it comes to nutrition, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

6:30 – 7:00 am: Drink two cups of warm water with lemon each morning. This simple habit increases the flow of digestive juices, helps to cleanse the body and resets our pH balance, making us less acidic, which helps reduce the risk of disease. If you have sugar or carbohydrate cravings, add 1 tsp. of glutamine powder into the water.

The last time you suffered through a sinus infection, sprained an ankle or felt the irritating itch of a mosquito bite, you experienced the effects of inflammation first hand. Infections or injuries trigger a chain of events called the inflammatory cascade. The normal, familiar signs of inflammation such as redness, pain, swelling and fever are the first signals that our immune system is being called into combat.

Behind the scenes, the body strives to maintain a critical balance between the signals that enable and sustain this protective response and the signals that announce the battle has been won. Eventually, the inflammatory response stands down and the body's powerful, natural anti-inflammatory compounds move in to initiate healing.

In 101 Optimal Life Foods, registered dietitian David Grotto explores how what you eat can affect every aspect of your health - including your ability to get pregnant. Here, Grotto explains the connection between nutrition and fertility and offers an eating plan to increase your odds of conceiving quickly.

Q: What is the connection between nutrition and fertility/infertility?

A: Adequate nutrition is needed for egg and sperm production as well as proper hormone balance needed for a fertile environment. Five to ten percent of women of reproductive age suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), which is a condition of excess androgen production and affects menses. But following a diet that improves insulin resistance and targets belly fat has been shown to improve fertility. Optimal foods for fighting PCOS include salmon, walnuts and almonds, whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean proteins, dairy, plant sterols ( pistachios, quinoa, benecol spread), dark chocolate, red wine and concord grape juice. Cinnamon can also lower insulin resistance.

Q: What kinds of foods should a woman eat to optimize her chances of conceiving?

Each week, holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy tells us about a common health problem she's seen in her practice and how she came to a solution.

This week's client: Nellie, 37, a yoga instructor and waitress dedicated to green living.

The Problem: Nellie's energy levels were unpredictable due to the fact she often forgot to eat (not hungry) and drank a lot of coffee. When she did finally get around to eating, the first thing to often hit her stomach was a muffin and coffee (not nutritionist-approved, FYI). She complained of having low energy mid-afternoon to which her solution was more coffee. This is a vicious cycle as drinking coffee when you are tired only makes you more tired once the artificial buzz wears off.

My recommendations to Nellie after the jump.

Carole is a 68-year-old retired woman and "snowbird" who spends half her year in Florida. She suffers from fibromyalgia and arthritis and hopes to get some relief from the constant pain. She also has three children and an eight-year-old grandson who keeps his Nana on the go and Carole hopes this nutrition challenge will give her a little more stamina to keep up with him. Carole is also self-confessed recovering "yo-yo dieter" who considers herself to be overweight and is hoping to achieve some weight loss.

I asked her a few questions about her daily diet and gave her tips and ideas on what she could eat instead during That's Fit.ca's 30-Day Nutrition Challenge. If you missed our other posts and want to follow the challenge here are some resources to get you started: What exactly you can and can't eat. How to wean yourself off coffee and start eliminating the other items. Recipes and resources to get you through the next 30 days.

Healthy Foodie: What do you normally have for breakfast?

Carole: Orange juice (with cod liver oil added), oatmeal or cereal with fruit, ground flax seed and one percent milk. Or a muffin, large mug of coffee with cream or Coffeemate.

HF - This is not a bad breakfast, but you'll need to make some changes for the purpose of the challenge. Make sure the oats you're using are gluten-free (available at health food stores) and you might want to skip boxed cereals. Instead of using cow's milk, try experimenting with nut milks or rice milk. The ones bought from the store are usually full of sugar, but making your own is surprisingly easy. Obviously, coffee is going to have to go, so try switching to green tea. I often recommend those who are transitioning from coffee try a green drink in the morning, such as chlorella, spirulina or other green blends. These drinks are full of B vitamins, which give you natural energy instead of the artificial buzz of caffeine and they have a lot more magnesium than coffee. You can add them to smoothies in the morning. And even if you decide to switch back to coffee at some point, skip the non-dairy creamers - they're all hydrogenated oil and contain trans fats.

Have you been feeling less than 100 per cent? Perhaps you are low on energy, have had headaches or digestive issues or are carrying around a few stubborn extra pounds, all of which is dismaying as you think of yourself as a fairly healthy person. And there is the catch: Many of us have hidden food sensitivities that put a wrench in our ability to feel 100 per cent. And many of the foods that zap us of energy, bloat our bellies or mess with our metabolisms are ones we had never considered to be bad for us; in fact, we had thought they were part of a healthy diet.

In the spirit of spring cleaning and our ongoing mandate to feel great, That's Fit.ca is running a 30-day diet clean-up challenge: eliminate all processed foods, gluten, sugar, dairy, alcohol and caffeine from your diet!

We opened the challenge to our Facebook fans and found three willing participants who will report on how they're feeling, what they find challenging and what they're eating for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Throughout the challenge, I, That's Fit.ca's Healthy Foodie will weigh in with advice, tips and encouragement along the way. We are calling this a challenge, which it most certainly is, but really it's more of an experiment and we are keen to get the results and find out how our three participants, all of whom have minor, nagging health issues, feel at the end of the 30 days. The challenge kicks off on Monday April 12 and we encourage all of our readers to follow along.

But first, let me address the burning question on all your minds:

Why on earth should I eliminate gluten, dairy, sugar, alcohol and caffeine from my diet?

The official start day of the 30 Day Nutrition Challenge is April 12th! That being said, you can start your own challenge at any time. Just make sure you give yourself 30 days to remove these foods from your diet.

Before you start there are a few things you need to do:

First of all, you need to begin removing sugar, coffee and black tea before starting the challenge. These things are quite difficult to give up, so getting a head start via slow elimination will make things easier on you. I recommend you follow my instructions in this post 5 Tips For Getting Off Coffee. You'll see that I advise you take it slow, but if you want to start the challenge right away and don't have time to spare, I recommend switching to decaf now and then switching to green tea or herbal tea as soon as you can (one cup of green tea per day is acceptable during the challenge).