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.

Proper diet and nutritional supplements can benefit everyone suffering from allergies by boosting immunity and optimizing health. Allergies, ranging from sinus congestion and hay fever to asthma, dermatitis and hives are all symptoms of reduced immunity. Presented here are some recommended supplements and dietary advice to keep you sniffle-free!

Multivitamin/Mineral
A full-spectrum multivitamin and mineral product in a highly absorbable form is essential to ensure the foundation of health. Vitamins and minerals are necessary for proper growth, metabolism, digestion, immune system function, muscle and nerve function and detoxification processes in the liver. Scientific studies have shown that the majority of us are deficient in many essential nutrients because of poor dietary habits and other factors which may deplete nutrient levels such as caffeine, drugs, stress or pollution.

Acidophilus/Probiotics
Studies have proven that taking acidophilus helps to reduce the frequency and severity of infections. Acidophilus is the friendly bacteria that live in our digestive tract. This bacteria balance is affected by the use of antibiotics, the birth control pill or excess sugar and carbohydrate intake. Everyone can benefit from the use of probiotics for healthy digestion and immunity. Acidophilus has also been found useful in the treatment and prevention of skin conditions, allergies and thrush. Be sure to follow any course of antibiotics with supplements of acidophilus for double the length of time you took the antibiotics.

Dear Sarah,

I usually try to hit the gym for an hour, three to four times per week. Once there, I walk on the treadmill for about half an hour, perform a strength training circuit (machines for legs, chest, back etc), and then stretch. I am in my mid-thirties and am starting to notice the pounds slowly creeping up. Do I need to exercise more?
Thanks,
Carley

Dear Carley,

An hour at the gym three to four times per week should be enough to keep the pounds away IF you are working hard enough.

Cardiovascular exercise burns calories and works your heart and lungs, and stretching brings your body into recovery after exercise. Strength training is the king when it comes to keeping the pounds away. Performing strength training with a vigorous effort using exercises such as squats, lunges and push-ups, burns calories while you are performing them, AND the muscle you build will help you to continue burning calories all day long.

Workout plan after the jump

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.

We all have our personal reasons for exercising and most of us do it because we want to look and feel great. This is because, as you've all heard, exercise is one of the best ways to improve your overall health. Unfortunately, there are many things we can do that sabotage our efforts to get in shape and here are the top four I run across all the time.

1. Working out too much
Over-exercising will do more harm than good, especially when it becomes a compulsion. If your exercise routine lasts longer than two hours more than five days a week, you are over-exercising. While exercise is good for your body, too much has the reverse effect. Muscles do not grow while you are working out; they grow while you are resting. Muscular training stresses and damages the muscles slightly, and then your body reacts by building up the muscles in order to handle the extra work and stress. A period of 48 hours is recommended to obtain adequate rest and fuel to repair the muscles. For cardiovascular exercise, a rest period of a minimum of 24 hours is recommended to obtain adequate rest and fuel to prepare for the next workout. And every week, your body requires one to two days of complete and total rest, less than that is sabotage!

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Dear Sarah,

I joined my local gym a few months ago and while taking a step class the other day with my favourite instructor, who I thought was in her mid 20's (at the most), she announced that she had just celebrated her 35th birthday. I couldn't believe it! I am 38, how is it possible that she was almost the same age as me and looked ten years younger, was it all the exercise? Is it true that exercise makes you look younger?
Thanks,
Joyce

Dear Joyce,

Exercise can definitely make you look younger! While we don't have any control over our actual age (chronological age), we do have control over our biological age (how old we look and how healthy our bodies are). As time passes, your cells regenerate and your biological age is determined by how quickly (or slowly) this happens. The faster this happens the younger you appear. This regeneration process naturally slows down as your actual age goes up in number, fortunately exercise is one of the best tools to combat this process.

Dear Sarah,
I confess that I read entertainment headlines, and I am always intrigued by what the stars do for exercise. Many celebs claim they got their 'hot bods' from Pilates. What's that all about? Can you explain exactly what part of the body Pilates works?
Thanks, Bethany

Dear Bethany,

Celebs who credit Pilates for their hot bods know that you just have to workout on a regular basis to get results. They have simply found an exercise program that calls them back day after day. Because they enjoy it, they do it. Because they do it, they have hot bods.

Dear Sarah,

We are often told that first and foremost exercise is essential to keep our hearts healthy. As I like to walk to work (it takes about 40 minutes and I walk briskly), I'm wondering if this is enough exercise to keep my heart in tip-top shape, or do you think I need more? And can you tell me how exactly exercise benefits the heart?
Thanks,
Lisa

Dear Lisa,
Your heart is the most important muscle in the body, far more important than that six-pack you have been longing for! Unfortunately, heart health often falls off our radar, which is probably why heart disease is becoming one of the biggest epidemics -- and greatest challenges -- in our culture. According to the American Heart Association, 910,000 Americans die each year due to cardiovascular disease. That is equivalent to the death toll of 9/11, every 27 hours. Canadians are not any better -- the number of overweight and obese Canadians according to the Canadian Community Health survey is 59 percent. And yet, cardiovascular disease is the number one most preventable disease.

Dear Sarah, I love working out. I go to the gym five days a week and I do this because exercise makes me feel great. I'm always challenging and pushing myself. I am also trying to conceive and to be really honest, I'm dreading being pregnant as I don't want to stop working out! I NEED my cardio. I need to go running. Do I have to stop?
Charlotte

Dear Charlotte,

Cardiovascular exercise is one of the best forms of exercise, not only does it train your heart, lungs and muscles, but it also releases endorphins, the feel good hormones, which is why it can be addictive. A fit, healthy, happy body makes a wonderful place for a baby to grow. It is important to remember that when you are preparing for pregnancy, during and after (breastfeeding) you are sharing your body with another life, and that other life needs to be considered by eating healthy, getting adequate rest and ensuring that your exercise program is safe.

Dear Sarah,

Just how much exercise does it take to lose weight?
Mary

Dear Mary,

Obviously every person is different, but I will answer this question in general terms. First let me say that using fitness as a weight loss tool is terrific, however it is important to recognize there are many factors involved in weight loss including nutrition, stress, and lifestyle.

How much?
In accordance with Health Canada's recommendations, experts say you should accumulate 60 minutes of exercise daily in the form of cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training. And the American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercising 250-300 minutes per week (which equates to 4-6 hours per week) for weight loss and 250 minutes or four hours per week to maintain a slim physique.

I suggest a minimum of five hours per week, spread out over five days. Give your body 24 hours of rest between cardio workouts and 48-72 hours between resistance training workouts.

What kind of exercise?

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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.

Many people, myself included, think one of the most attractive parts of the opposite sex's body is their stomach-and maybe a nice set of shoulders...In any case, the last place you want fat hanging around is at your waist. It seems this is the first place it goes when you gain a few pounds and it is the last place to leave.

Believe it or not, those pesky fat patches have more to do with hormonal balance than a pregnant woman eating pickles and ice cream!

Love handles aren't just unattractive, carrying weight around your abdomen is bad for your health-worse than carrying weight on your hips or thighs. Excess fat around the waist, or an apple body shape, is suggestive of insulin resistance, a condition that is linked to the development of heart disease and diabetes. It is also indicative of an imbalance in cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone, which, if chronically high, can result in increased deposition of fat around the abdomen. To further complicate the situation, feeling stressed out or depressed may worsen the problem.

Insulin resistance

Insulin is the chemical signal that allows sugar to enter your cells to be used as fuel. Insulin levels also have a direct impact on body composition, as these sugars are later stored as fat if they are not consumed as a source of energy. Insulin resistance causes levels of insulin in the blood to increase. This increase is related to a reduced sensitivity of the body tissues, like muscle, to normal levels of the hormone. As a result, the body tries to overcome this by secreting more insulin from the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes ensues when the pancreas fails to sustain this increased demand for insulin production.

It is currently estimated that one out of every four Americans has insulin resistance. A primary cause is excess intake of sugar or carbohydrates typical of many diets today. This includes foods such as pop or candy as well as cakes, muffins, pastries, chips, crackers, pizza and many other processed foods. Insulin resistance may also be attributed to lack of exercise, overindulging in alcohol, stress, a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure and excess body fat, especially around the abdomen.

Six sure-fire ways to lose "the handles":

Dear Sarah,

Will doing yoga help me lose weight?

Petunia

Dear Petunia,

Yoga is a wonderful workout for the mind, body and soul. And, yes, it can help you lose weight (along with a healthy diet).

Yoga is a practice, which means it is a method of learning by repetition. Practicing yoga has many physical benefits including increased overall body strength, increased flexibility, increased muscle tone and increased mental clarity (and don't we all need that?).

There are many types of yoga, and each has it benefits. The best type of yoga for those looking to shed a few pounds is the technique that combines a cardiovascular workout alongside strength building and flexibility, such as a vinyasa-style.

In a vinyasa-style class each movement will flow from one to another with the breath. There are two vinyasa-style yoga types that I recommend for weight-loss.