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":

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 will illustrate a health issue she commonly sees in her practice and advise readers on how to remedy the problem as well as improve their overall health.

This week she tackles the connection between hormonal balance and weight loss.





There is a new formula for fat loss and it's no longer based solely upon calories:

Hormonal Balance + (Calories In - Calories Out) = Lasting Fat Loss

You can ensure the elements of this equation are in check by requesting the basic blood tests I have outlined below from your MD or ND. This little bit of extra effort just might make all your hard work at the gym and in the kitchen pay off this summer.

1. Thyroid Hormone Assessments

Blood test(s) you want to request: TSH, Free T3 and Free T4

Why: These four tests are required to accurately assess the function of the thyroid gland, our master gland of metabolism. An optimal TSH should be less than 2.0, not the currently accepted 4.7 reported by most labs. T3 and T4 should be in the middle of your lab's reference range. It's almost impossible to have a low body fat with an improperly diagnosed or managed case of hypothyroidism. In fact, even a modest increase of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) within the reference range may be associated with weight gain according to a study reported in Archives of Internal Medicine (March 2008).