Book review

A Smart Woman’s Guide to Weight Loss by Lorna R. Vanderhaeghe, MS Headlines, 2010, 280 pages, $24.99 ISBN: 978-0-9813517-3-5 Anyone who has heard Lorna Vanderhaeghe deliver a public lecture will already know her as an advocate for a more intelligent and holistic approach to women’s health. While it’s unclear from the title if this guide is by a smart woman, or intended for a smart woman, either way—Vanderhaeghe is qualified to author this book. She is savvy, sensitive, and skilled at communicating her subject to those who will benefit most. Her deep understanding of women’s biochemistry, hormone function, and thinking all combine for a text that is comfortable to read with suggestions that are easy to adopt. It’s like taking advice from a dear friend who truly cares about our well-being, and who also happens to be extremely knowledgeable. Vanderhaeghe’s approach is simple: understanding hormone function is the key to weight loss for women. By learning how food cravings are directly linked to our hormones and by managing hormones with smart lifestyle choices, it is possible to prevent and treat diabetes, restore low thyroid function, banish cellulite, and—yes— achieve and maintain weight loss. Do you know the seven factors that make us fat? They include basal metabolic rate, stress, genetics, and...? Armed with an understanding of these factors, readers of A Smart Woman’s Guide will be able to achieve a “new self” in just six weeks. There are quizzes, checklists, and practical recommendations for foods and supplements. Any woman who, like me, struggles with weight issues will be happy to learn, for example, which herbs block absorption of saturated fats and which foods reduce blood glucose. Speaking of glucose, the subject of diabetes cannot be ignored by anyone who is overweight. Vanderhaeghe weaves this thread through the pages of her book and closes with an entire chapter dedicated to natural treatments for diabetes. Hers is a thorough approach, and a painless one. A Smart Woman’s Guide is the updated version of Vanderhaeghe’s out-of-print Body Sense Natural Diet (Wiley, 2004). This is a timely release because, more than ever, today’s smart women are ready and willing to learn the science behind their health issues. Thanks to Vanderhaeghe’s unwavering commitment, women who care about themselves and their loved ones can now achieve and sustain not only weight loss, but better overall health more naturally, and with full understanding.