The Happy Hormone Guide

by Shannon Leparski

A comprehensive, plant-based lifestyle program to help women balance their hormones, increase energy, and reduce PMS symptoms.

After struggling for years with acne, oily skin and hair, debilitating cramps, mood swings, brain fog, intense cravings, insomnia, bloating, and weight gain before her period, author and certified hormone specialist Shannon Leparski developed the Happy Hormone Method through extensive research. Her life changed for the better and Shannon made it her mission to combat hormone imbalance and promote women's health.

TheHappy Hormone Guide includes comprehensive, phase-specific (menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal) guidance including:

  •  Changes in fertility, libido, and basal body temperature
  •  Beneficial foods, micronutrients, and supplements
  •  Phase-specific recipes to support hormone balance (can also reduce symptoms associated with endometriosis)
  •  Common changes to mood and energy levels
  •  Exercise tips suitable to different times of the month
  •  Facial recipes, hair masks, and essential oil blends

Modern culture expects women to keep up with the same demanding daily routine, but women's cycles are anything but consistent. The Happy Hormone Guide explores the ebbs and flows of a woman's monthly cycle and provides a holistic view of the female hormone and endocrine system so that you can take control of your cycle and improve your quality of life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Cookbooks, Education

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2019

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going on 30 years old and I am just learning about how my hormones work. The only reason I am even looking into how my body works now is because of my endometriosis diagnosis and I am desperate for any type of relief from the pain and dysfunction my body causes me.

I learned a lot from this book and although I found this at the library I will be getting myself my own copy to keep for reference. Plus the recipes look amazing so I will be trying a bunch of them as I learn to implement what she has taught. I will not be going completely plant based, I have tried in the past, I get sick when I don't have meat.

The only tiff I have with this book is when she mentions that you need to see a gynecologist for an ultrasound to see if you have endometriosis, which is false. The only sure way to diagnose endometriosis is by diagnostic laparoscopy. I have had many, many ultrasounds and nothing showed up but once my doctor was inside he found a lot of endometriosis. So just FYI.

Overall, I thought it was a very detailed and informational guide to hormones. It was definitely visually pleasing as well with the colors and photographs.

[Julia Warner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Leparski provides a basic overview of cycle stages and general period health. She relates back to her own experiences of unbalanced hormones and the steps she took to remedy her symptoms.

Unfortunately this book is full of largely unsupported claims that rely on the reader trusting ‘certified hormone specialist’ Leparski. It is repeatedly stated that gluten, dairy and processed foods are inflammatory but this is never adequately explained or justified.

Leparski recommends specific foods for each cycle stage but again provides little justification or insight into why they may be beneficial.

The citations contain too few reliable medical journals and the other sources are anecdotal at best and not referred to in the text with any specificity.

If you know nothing about hormones and PMS management this could *potentially* serve as an introduction to the topic but nothing more.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am unimpressed! Some of the info is good, but a lot of it is not explained. For instance, it's a lot of "Eat this food! It's good for you!" but it doesn't explain a lot of the WHY it's good for you. I also wish it was broken down into information and then recipes rather than the recipes being thrown in.

[JADE · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helps me to understand my hormones—how to balance it, the right foods to eat when it’s that time of the month and realizing that we have Four Moon cycles during our Period. Wow who would’ve thought!? 🌖🌗🌘🌑 Some really helpful tips how to stay Healthy, and get the sleep you need because that will affect your hormones too. This book benefited me with my low iron. I immediately bought the vegan iron supplements the author mentioned because I have low iron deficiency. A Super important book for women to become more aware of what they’re putting into their bodies. There was also a chapter on Birth control that was eye-opening as well.

Highly Recommend if you’re about healthy living or if you want to make changes to a better new you today.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

The book is beautiful and arranged nicely but mainly it is eat well, exercise and eliminate toxins from life.

[Rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole book felt like a really long Instagram post. Good info but in reality...mad props if you can really live your life this way.

[Ibi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an easy to read book with basic information about the endocrine system and how our hormons function. If you never heard about cycle syncing this book is a good start because it walks you through the four phases of your cycle, explains the role of each hormon and gives some tips on what to do if you experience any kind of hormone imbalance. Most of them are food related - what to eat at each cycle stage - but you'll also read about exercise, energy level, DIY hair and face mask which I wasn't expecting - you can simply google this and find a bunch of these recipes, nothing really new here.
Read this if you're really new to cycle syncing but look for something else if you're knowledgeable on this topic and want to dig deeper.

[Audille Bardon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really easy book to read - I haven’t learned anything really mind changing but I appreciated to get to know about the « seed cycling » method that I will apply to myself. Also this book is really useful to be able to eat in accordance to your cycle’s phase. It was interesting to learn about the link between nutrition and the ovulation cycle.
I bought this book because I suffer of short term depression and mood swings during my lutheal & menstrual phase and so I will apply the nutrition especially at that time - she says it takes 2-3 months before seeing any result so let’s see how it goes.

[Jennifer Haug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life-changing!

[Tori Tj · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book itself is good, however since it's about hormones and she talks a lot about fertility awareness method and balancing your hormones without medication, I decided to look up the author to see if she'd had any children since writing the book. To my surprise, the author is no longer vegan, has one child but is now dealing with secondary infertility, has a multitude of other medical issues, and is involved in an MLM. As such, it's made me turn a hugely skeptical eye to this book. While I do believe that a balanced whole foods diet (which she promotes the plant-based version of) is the best approach, is anything else she shares accurate if she followed it to a "T" and now has messed up hormones herself? Even small details like the hair masks and foods that give you glowing skin and healthy hair can't be real if she now sells expensive shampoo since her hair was "so dull and unhealthy before" (when she was following her happy hormone method).

[Kealey McGray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book so much!!!
Have been deep-diving into hormone balance recently, and was so excited to find a plan that’s plant-based. Shannon breaks down the science behind the hormones in a way that’s easy to digest, and covers all of the topics I wanted to see with clear, actionable advice. Super excited to try some of these recipes and face masks.
Recommending to all my lady friends for sure! :)

[Alma Teszák · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every woman should read this book

I love this book. I've just started to learn about my body a few months ago. This book was my biggest help to understand my hormones system. Now I can make my meal plan based on my menstrual cycle, hopefully to help my body prepare to get pregnant easier.

[Lianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really good easy to understand guide to hormone health and syncing your cycle. Information is quite accurate. Just wish it was a bit more in depth.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Might be good stuff.... I just couldn't drive in. I felt like the book kept saying, I'll explain that bit later.

[Silent Repost · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to hormones and how the body works but when you finally get to the food portion it feels more rushed and doesn’t explain enough of how and why to choose certain foods in certain parts of your cycle. I would say this book is not 100% science backed but it is a good bit of information.

I would recommend reading this book as a stepping stone of the hormone world and trying to understand how to balance your hormones.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to pursuing a natural wellness lifestyle. It was an easy, informative read and I enjoyed all of the recipes I have tried so far from this book. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about their cycle and trying to live a more natural lifestyle.

[Dani Wojtalewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the connection made in this book between women and nature. Lots of helpful info and tips. Seems out of reach to make these changes between work, society, and finances. Either way I think making even some of the changes recommended would make a big difference in PMS and other symptoms. It's a good read, I think.

[Kalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent source of inspiration. The book now lives permanently on my kitchen counter, and I prepare all family menus based on the advice inside. It is so well structured, well done! I paired it with "Hormone Intelligence" by Aviva Romm, and I believe the two together provide a full toolkit for diagnosing yourself and adopting the lifestyle that is good for you.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly this isn’t the one for me. It reads like she put all of her blog posts in a book. It’s a lot of “you need to do this!” Which I hate. Also I tried some of the recipes and even though I’m sure there are people out there who love them, they sadly weren’t to my taste.
Not the educational book I was looking for.

[Sasha Siler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It helped me think more about what foods I eat and how it affects my hormones. Highly recommend this book if you have a hormone imbalance or want to learn more about hormones.

[Noa Solove Aleksivich · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Hard to get through. Too much “this worked for me so it will work for you” not enough supported material. Some stuff was included in other well written and supported books but this one just doesn’t cut it.

[JD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Promising description and a nice summary of some information, but no sources. Given that it covers nutrition and hormone chemistry with using the actual moon to predict your cycle, I have some doubts.

[Assia · Rating 4 out of 5]

get out your notepad! this is stuffed with tips and tricks for just being a woman. As she writes one of the benefits of being a woman is that we every month gets a pinpoint how our health is if we follow up. i wish they thaught this at school. loved this book

[Genna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful and so well written. So empowering!

[Darlene Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every woman should own this book!

[Celeste Doiron · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kim Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt like a lot of the info could have been condensed. Overall a good reminder to eat whole foods and pay attention to our bodies and stress levels. Haven't tried recipes yet, but going to.

[Orinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I lost interest when the writer started about connecting with the moon. Nice recipes but I'm missing some information to get creative myself when cooking.

[Abigail G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good with a lot of practical wisdom, but there were a few sections that touch on rather unique concepts that caused a skeptical reaction from me.

[Cici · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not plant based, but found the information helpful. I use it more as a reference book.