Research shows that biochemical imbalances caused by nutritional deficiencies are a contributory factor in chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, auto-immune conditions and cancer. This handbook for practitioners explains how to identify and treat such biochemical imbalances in order to better understand and manage a patient's ill-health. The book examines a range of biochemical imbalances, including compromised adrenal or thyroid function, gastro-intestinal imbalances, immune system problems and sex hormone imbalances, and explains how and why such states occur. It pulls together a wide range of evidence to show how such imbalances are involved in the most common chronic diseases. It helps practitioners to understand how to identify the imbalances through appropriate case history taking and laboratory testing, and how to design and implement effective nutritional interventions. Developed by leading academics and practitioners in the fields of nutritional therapy and functional medicine, this evidence-informed approach can be used with all patients who present in clinic, regardless of whether or not they have a 'named medical condition'. In the final chapter, a case example illustrates how to use the theoretical information in the practice of treating patients with chronically compromised health. Biochemical Imbalances in Disease is an essential text for nutritional therapy practitioners, as well as for students, and will be welcomed by complementary and conventional healthcare practitioners alike.

Unbalanced hormones play havoc with women's lives and cause problems ranging from PMS and endometriosis to fibroids, breast cancer and menopausal problems. In BALANCE YOUR HORMONES Patrick Holford explains how, by making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle, you can restore the natural hormone balance in your body and return to a state of good, natural health. BALANCE YOUR HORMONES is packed with practical advice, backed up by the latest scientific research which continues to reveal new understanding of the role of food, nutrition and environment in hormonal health. The new chapters cover how hormones work; why hormonal problems are on the increase; what you can do to promote your own hormonal health; safe, natural strategies for restoring, maintaining and promoting your health; nutritional advice for preventing and overcoming problems associated with hormonal imbalance; and the problems associated with the synthetic hormones used in the Pill and HRT and how to overcome them naturally.