Cigarettes are especially bad for your sex hormones and DHEA. They
also contain a chemical called thiocyanate which can disturb the thyroid
gland. Nicotine leads to premature aging. Cigarettes will also damage
your skin, stain your teeth, and make you look unattractive long before
you develop emphysema or lung cancer.- Limit your alcohol intake. Habitual drinking raises your insulin level and
shuts down your sex hormones. Alcohol also makes you age faster. If you
need help quitting, contact Alcoholics Anonymous or ask your doctor for
medications. Many prescription pills to help you quit are now available. - Do not use recreational drugs. They mess up your sex hormones long
before they make you an addict. Get help. - Get some sun. A little bit of sun helps your body make vitamin D to
support your sex hormones. But be careful—if you’re a sun worshipper
or if you get too much midday sun, you won’t be young looking for long.
To protect yourself from the sun, use coconut-or cocoa butter– based
sunscreens and not synthetic oils. After prolonged sun exposure, apply
aloe vera gel to your skin. - Don’t stay up too late. You need to sleep at least eight hours a night to
get a perfect 10 body. A lack of sleep may disrupt the hormones that
control your weight. If you don’t get enough sleep, your production of
growth hormone, the hormone that keeps you young and fit, shuts down.
You can also impair the production of leptin, the hormone that controls
your hunger. Getting enough sleep is the cheapest and simplest advice I
can give for losing weight. - Have sex regularly.Research indicates that people who have sex regularly
have increased sex hormones, have improved immunity, stay younger,
feel happier, and live longer. In fact, having one hundred orgasms per
year can add eight years to a person’s lifespan. It also increases
endorphins by over 200 percent for several hours postsex. For those of
you who are not in a committed relationship and want to act on my final
hormone makeover suggestion: practice safe sex, please.
Fiona’s Story
Fiona is a 42-year-old nanny who had emigrated from Ireland more than
20 years earlier. She was a pretty girl, but looked unhealthy. At 5 feet, 4
inches tall, Fiona weighed 170 pounds. Her face was round, her skin was
thin, and her waist was much bigger than her hips. Fiona came to see me for
chronic insomnia and wanted some sleeping pills. Even without the benefit