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Sunday, January 31, 2016

Lose Weight With Turmeric (and Hormone Balance)

I have just made another breakthrough in my health journey. The last breakthrough was with milk kefir (which allowed me to go off my hormone supplements). I want to take care to specify that I am NOT a physician. This post is about MY OWN body. What works for me, may not work for YOUR body.

In My Body
Stress increases oestrogen levels. See HERE. Oestrogen encourages the body to accumulate fat. See HERE. Fat cells, in turn, produce more oestrogen. See HERE. High levels of oestrogen depresses thyroid function. See HERE.

I had to keep taking thyroid meds because my oestrogen levels were so high that it knocked out all the thyroid hormones in my bloodstream. Thyroid hormones help body cells to burn sugar, converting into energy for a fulfilled and energetic lifestyle. Without these thyroid hormones, my body was not able to burn sugar. I felt tired. Without these thyroid hormones, my body stored away sugar, as fat. I grew fatter by the day.

I couldn't even exercise to burn fat without collapsing from exhaustion.

Mystery of Kefir
When milk kefir had the unexpected effects of reducing my reliance on thyroid meds, I was beyond intrigued. I asked some GP friends but received no answers. However, one ophthalmologist pointed me towards the idea that bad gut bacteria could produce toxins that would make people feel ill. Beyond that, no one was able to clearly explain WHY kefir enabled me to live a higher quality of life without resorting to hormone supplements.

Then, I found a study that elucidated the relationship between gut bacteria and levels of oestrogen. The more types of beneficial gut bacteria you have, the less oestrogen you have. See HERE. Once I started taking kefir, my weight gain stopped. I was able to exercise more.

I cycled 3 hours a day 4 times a week. I experienced no weight loss.

Enter Turmeric
I noted however, that during the last 2 weeks of my menstrual cycle, I would start to get tired again. If I took a dose of thyroid supplement, I obtained relief. This made me wonder if (during the last 2 weeks of my menstrual period) I had such high levels of oestrogen that even kefir failed to metabolise.

Working on that assumption, I searched for anti-oestrogenic foods. I found many testimonials on turmeric... usually on bodybuilding sites where men discussed how to get rid of man-boobs. I found a few things that were easily available...
- apple cider vinegar
- citrus fruits
- turmeric
- pomegranate

I decided to try turmeric alone. The PMS water retention had started. Headaches and night sweats were starting. I was beginning to look tired. I took a teaspoon of turmeric morning and night. Within 3 days, the water retention melted off. The headaches and night sweats disappeared.

In the last 2 weeks, I lost 2 kgs.

How Does Turmeric Work?
I am guessing it reduces oestrogen levels. See HERE.

How To Eat Turmeric
Turmeric is best absorbed along with fat (coconut oil or olive oil). Curcumin (the main bio-active substance in turmeric) dissolves in fat, and then can be better absorbed by the human body. Piperidine from black pepper also facilitates the absorption of curcumin. Hence, my recipe to prepare the daily dose of turmeric tea is as follows. Of course, you can eat it in curries but there is only so much curry I can eat.


1 teaspoon pure turmeric powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 turns of the the black pepper mill

1. Stir the powder into the olive oil till a smooth paste ensues.
2. Heat the paste VERY gently till it is streaked with yellow when you stir. Very gentle heat.
3. Put in pepper.
4. Add 200ml of water.
5. Simmer till only 70 ml is left.
6. Just drink (it tastes horrible... but hey... I can get used to anything that helps me lose weight and gets rid of all those horrible PMS symptoms)

Now, I am able to lose weight when I cycle 3 hours a day 4 times a week. Also, I will check out everything I put in my mouth to see if it is oestrogenic. This means I stay away from...
- durians
- avocado
- chocolate
- tea
- coffee

I bring along a glass bottle of filtered water everywhere I eat out too.



2 comments:

Karmeleon said...

cycle 3 hours a day?!!!!! outdoors or indoors?!

Petunia Lee said...

Indoors... I cycle and read. Sometimes I do Chinese mo xie.