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Eat for Your Hormonal Type
By Holly O’Dell

Susan Lark, M.D., reveals how menopausal women can identify their hormonal type and change their bodies and well-being by eating accordingly.

Throughout her 33 years in the healthcare field, Susan Lark, M.D., has seen thousands of menopausal and post-menopausal patients with complaints related to their estrogen deficiency. But not all women have had the same concerns. “Some had hot flashes, dryness of the skin and tended to be more nervous and anxious, and some were having the opposite experience—they were more depressed, had a slower metabolism and were more bloated,” explains Lark, one of the originators of health care and complementary medicine for women. “It became obvious to me that I couldn’t treat all patients 45 and older in the same way. The more I worked with these age groups of women, the more I had to customize a therapeutic approach.”

Lark realized that the issue was not only about a woman having too much or too little of any one hormone. Rather, these patients had lost their healthy middle ground, where the body and brain chemistry also became more imbalanced. Such experiences with patients, compounded by decades of teaching and writing on the subject, prompted Lark to share the results with women everywhere in her new book, “Dr. Susan Lark’s Hormone Revolution” (Portola Press, 2007). The book shows women the ways in which they can naturally restore and balance their own hormones—including the significant impact of eating correctly to one’s hormonal type.

Identifying Your Hormonal Type
Based on her extensive work with patients, Lark has identified two hormonal types in menopausal and post-menopausal women: estrogen deficient-fast processor and estrogen deficient-slow processor.

Estrogen deficient-fast processors have too little estrogen, and their chemical profile and metabolism are also more speeded up. They often feel more irritable, stressed and anxious. Their hair, skin, bones and muscles tend toward thinness. This group of women is also more likely to experience hot flashes, night sweats, osteoporosis and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Estrogen deficient-slow processors, on the other hand, still are low on estrogen but don’t show physiological deficiencies as an estrogen deficient–fast processor might. Bones, skin, hair and connective tissue tend to be thicker in women whose profile is estrogen deficient–slow processor, but they also typically retain lots of fluid, have difficulty losing weight, lack energy and experience a lower sex drive.

What to Eat—and What to Avoid—for Each Type
In addition to recognizing and defining the two types of menopausal hormonal types, Lark has created a diet plan for each group. Her theory is that by incorporating foods that complement your hormonal type and avoiding ones that interfere with it, women in menopause can bring balance to their bodies—and their lives.

Regardless of their hormonal type, women should follow some basic principles. Lark recommends that women eat like their ancestors did—close to the earth. “Women should be on a nutritionally rich, low-stress diet,” Lark says. “That means eating those foods that have a wide variety of essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. I recommend a whole food-based diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and fish. But different women need different combinations and proportions of these things.”

Because their metabolism is already in overdrive, estrogen deficient-fast processors should eat alkaline foods that expand, cool, slow down and moisturize their bodies. Ideal foods for this type include cooked grains, legumes, salads, lightly steamed vegetables, raw flax meal, papaya and melons, and spices like peppermint, cilantro, marjoram, basil, chamomile and saffron. According to Lark, these alkaline foods are packed with nutrients and minerals necessary to restore the alkaline reserves in cells, tissues and bones. Such foods also tend to be less likely to cause inflammatory reactions and help reduce the acid load estrogen deficient-fast processors tend to carry.

“The worst thing this woman could do is eat hot and spicy Szechuan, Indian or south-of-the-border type foods,” Lark says. “They’re poisonous for this type of woman and just make her hotter and drier. She should also avoid lemon juice, vinegar and all other very-low-pH acidic foods like the plague.”

Meanwhile, spicy and acidic foods are perfect for the estrogen deficient-slow processors because such items have a heating, drying and contractive effect. Among the preferred foods for this hormonal type are seafood; free-range beef, lamb and venison; acidic vegetables, including cucumbers; citrus fruits; berries; pineapple; legumes; high-fiber foods; soy; almonds and walnuts; and spices such as ginger, cinnamon and chili peppers.

“Foods that are heating tend to have a more dehydrating effect on the body and will speed up metabolism,” Lark explains. “These foods have a more acidic, contractive effect on the body and will help you burn calories more effectively, lose excess fluid and literally reduce body mass.”

This type of diet is also appropriate for estrogen-dominant women, who are younger and still menstruating. These women, who typically suffer from PMS, cramps, irregular and/or heavy periods and mood swings, produce too much estrogen and can benefit from a highly acidic diet that harmonizes the mind and body.

Making the Transition
Of course, a woman who has been eating one way her entire life might be a bit reluctant to shift gears. That’s why Lark proposes a five-step transition process for women who want to make the shift. The first step is to identify problem foods. Lark’s book features a pH chart that helps women determine which foods are too acidic or too alkaline. This extensive chart is based on research published through major universities. Step two involves examining why we eat the foods we do. Is it habit? Addiction? Emotion? Prioritizing foods for elimination from the old habitual diet is step three. The fourth step is to maintain a list of healthy food substitutes, such as olive oil, herbal or green tea and brown rice. Finally, Lark suggests keeping a food journal to track your changes, along with how you feel after eating a particular food, as step five.

In order to be successful, Lark recommends that women go at a pace that’s comfortable for them, but to continually work toward the goal of eating toward their hormonal type. “Women who can dive in and do it quickly may notice results within a day, but if somebody has to go slower, it will take more time,” Lark says. “For example, the slow processor who stops eating a lot of grains and starts eating a contractive diet will all of a sudden say, ‘My energy has perked up, and I don’t feel so sluggish.’”

And feeling refreshed, energized and healthy is the best gift anyone could give themselves. “The body really likes it when we eat within our physiological range,” Lark says. “The body likes that it feels better.”

Recipes courtesy of Kimberly Day, coauthor of ?“Dr. Susan Lark’s Hormone Revolution.”

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Tips for Restaurant Dining
Although we can control what goes into our shopping carts at the supermarket, we don’t always have such luxury when we go out to eat. Dr. Susan Lark offers general tips to ensure you continue eating toward your hormonal type.

Choose salads, non-dairy soups and vegetable and/or bean appetizers and side dishes.
Estrogen deficient-slow processors should not be afraid to add spicy condiments to their entrees, while estrogen deficient–fast processors should stick to dishes rich in omega-3 oils, whole grains and legumes.
Bring your own rice cakes for munching while others at your table eat the pre-meal bread.
Don’t be afraid to request vegetarian entrees, particularly if you are an estrogen deficient-fast processor.
If you’re out to eat with your hormonal-type counterpart, consider splitting something like a broccoli and beef dish. The estrogen deficient-fast process can enjoy the broccoli, and the estrogen deficient–slow processor can eat the meat.

Recipe for Estrogen Deficiency-Fast Processor Butternut Soup
Serves 6

In a soup pot, sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add sage, salt, pepper, broth and squash. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, or until squash is soft. Ladle ¾ of the soup in to a blender or food processor and purée. Pour back into pot and reheat for 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 184, Total fat 2 g, Cholesterol 1 mg, Sodium 459 mg, Carbs 37 g, Fiber ?7 g, Protein 9 g

Recipe for Estrogen Dominance/Estrogen Deficiency-Slow Processor

Turkey Chili
Serves 4

Sauté onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil. Add ground turkey and cook until brown. Add cinnamon, paprika, chili powder, cumin, allspice, marjoram, nutmeg and cinnamon stick and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, pepper and tomatoes and simmer 45 minutes. Serve warm.

Nutritional Info (per serving): Calories 275, Total fat 14 g, Cholesterol 90 mg, Sodium 360 mg, Carbs 18 g, Fiber 6 g, Protein 22 g