Hack Your Hormones

by Davinia Taylor

THE INSTANT NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'A wonderful book' Dr Chris van Tulleken, Sunday Times bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People

Sleep better thanks to cherries
Fix your brain fog with good fats
Improve your metabolism with brazil nuts

When we talk about hormones, we so often think of them as a 'women's issue'. But our hormones regulate everything from our sleep, to the way we eat, our stress response and our moods. In Hack Your Hormones Davinia Taylor, entrepreneur and biohacking pioneer, breaks down how best to optimise all of our hormones.

Davinia gives symptom-led advice, backed up with the expertise of a doctor, on how lifestyle hacks and supplements can balance our cortisol, adrenaline, dopamine and more, even Vitamin D (yep, it's a hormone). And the answers might be as close as your kitchen cupboards.

This groundbreaking new book is full of simple, accessible hacks that will make you feel not just better, but amazing .

'Let's get our hormones into the optimum place they can be. Because if I can feel better, then anyone can. This is proper, real empowerment, not tampon ad empowerment! This is your body, nobody can look after it like you can.' Davinia

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Audiobook

256 pages, Paperback

Published October 17, 2023

Reviews

[Ffion · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found it really difficult to decide how I felt about this book.

On the one hand there was a lot of information that was easy to digest, and a great breakdown at the end of each chapter of actions you could take based on the information.

On the other hand, the focus of the book seemed to be on treating the body like a broken system that needed to be hacked, rather than an incredibly nuanced and intelligent system that we can’t fully understand - never mind presume to try and ‘override’.

Attitudes to eating and nutrition were very rigid and restrictive. A lot of the content shouted ‘disordered eating’.

The book is full of suggestions of supplements to take to ‘hack’ your system. Unsurprisingly, the author has her own company that supplies many of them.

I do believe a lot of the content is well-intentioned, but for me this book was firmly stuck in 90s diet culture, and lacked adequate information on naturally balancing your hormones.

[M Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not really my style of writing but that's just a personal preference. It's very trendy, sweary, social media junky type persona from the author but some people might like that. The reason I'm giving it a one star however, is that she begins with going on about how she only wants science facts, everything about science and facts, only the science and facts.... until it comes to her personal hatred of vegans where she thinks its then OK to ditch the science and facts and uses it as a platform to say how much she hates vegans, plantbased diets etc with alot of claims based on her prejudiced and misunderstandings, and not actually science and facts. This means it's not only insulting and disrespectful to anyone following this lifestyle for ethical, religious etc beliefs but it also makes this book useless if you are plantbased/vegan because you'll get very little information to support your chosen lifestyle since she simply isn't open to helping you and has some warped hatred of you.

It's also very expensive sounding, again narrowing the margin of who can actually use this book. It would be more useful to give lots of options, present what she's discovered with kindness and consideration to a variety of people's life circumstances, then it widens who can access the "hacks".

There's nothing really new in the book either, the information can be sought from much better written and discussed sources so I'd personally suggest you go elsewhere and save your money. Wish I did.

[Kim Coenen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alleen al de tekst op de cover van het boek maakt me erg nieuwsgierig naar de inhoud en kennis die Davinia Taylor me over hormonen en mijn gezondheid kan leren. Ik heb me al veel met gezondheid en voeding bezig gehouden, maar nog weinig gericht op hormonen. Ik hoop dan ook dat dit boek me nieuwe kennis en inzichten gaat geven rondom een goede gezondheid.


Wist je dat hormonen heel erg veel van je lichaam beïnvloeden? Niet enkel je vruchtbaarheid, maar ook je slaap- een eetpatroon, je humeur en je reactie op stress. Met eenvoudige aanpassingen in je leefstijl, met de juiste vitamines en voeding kan je gemakkelijk je hormoonhuishouding weer in balans krijgen. Davinia Taylor beantwoordt in dit boek vragen als: Waarom kan ik niet slapen? Waarom kan ik niet stoppen met eten? Waarom voel ik me zo somber? Hormonen zijn de basis van je welzijn die je gemakkelijk kan beïnvloeden met eenvoudige hacks. Verbeter je slaap door het eten van kersen, eet voldoende goede vetten en voorkom hersenmist en zorg voor een goede spijsvertering door voldoende noten te eten.


Wat een onwijs leerzaam, helder en inspirerend boek. In het boek vertelt Davinia Taylor alles over en rondom je hormonen en hoe je deze op positieve wijze kan beïnvloeden. Daarbij vult aan het einde van ieder hoofdstuk dr. Mohammed Enayat een huisarts met kennis van functionele en regeneratieve geneeskunde nog wat aanvulling op het verhaal van Davinia Taylor.

Het verhaal begint na een inleiding die je enthousiast en nieuwsgierig weet te maken met de meest prangende bewering 'Wat we verkeerd begrijpen over hormonen'. Hierin laat Davinia Taylor dat wel veelal op verkeerde wijze onze gezondheid en daarmee ook onze hormonen aanpakken, want wist je dat alles in je lichaam zo ongeveer samenhangt met je hormonen?

Vervolgens volgen er meerdere hoofdstukken waarin Davinia Taylor de volgende vragen beantwoord: Waarom kan ik niet slapen? Waarom blijf ik maar eten? Waarom lijkt het of ik gek word? Waarom ben ik zo neerslachtig? Waar komt de woede vandaag? Wat is er aan de hand met mijn hormooncyclus? In deze hoofdstukken behandelt Davinia Taylor de belangrijkste hormonen en op welke wijze deze invloed uitoefenen op het besproken onderwerp. Wat ik erg goed vind aan dit boek is dat Davinia Taylor zich niet enkel richt op supplementen om je hormonen te optimaliseren, maar zich ook richt op de totale leefstijl. Je leefritme, je voedingskeuze, je slaap, je rustmomenten en of dat je voldoende beweegt. Het boek wist me echt nieuwe inzichten en kennis te bieden.

Hack je hormonen is een super leerzaam, inspirerend en helder geschreven verhaal. Davinia Taylor geeft op toegankelijke wijze uitleg hoe je door middel van aanpassingen in je leefstijl je hormonen positief kan beïnvloeden en zelfs bepaalde klachten zelfs kan verhelpen. Het boek heeft me veel nieuwe kennis en inzichten bijgebracht. Ondanks dat ze zich ook richt op de vrouwelijke hormooncyclus zijn de overige hoofdstukken op zowel mannen als vrouwen gericht.

[Cherrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read because I ended up just reading bits and pieces of it in the end. The positives to this book is that there is a lot of information in it and it is in an easily read form and it is easy to take it in however that's where the positives end for me. The author seems to have a few issues with certain things which clearly come across in this book. I am not Vegan but she essentially trashes being a Vegan with nothing much but her opinion to back it up. She does the same about the pill which she talks negatively about yet she says there isn't enough research done to back up either argument about what she says about the pill and she offers so solution to her views or any positives about the pill so then why this is in the book makes no sense to me. I genuinely think that this author is stuck in the past and you would be better buying a similar book written by an actual medical professional.

[Kerry Hemmings · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trashes vegan lifestyle on insta, so didn't bother reading

[Sarah Junko Atanacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned so many important facts about what it is to be a woman and the hardship of the female body. Being a struggling woman myself, the advice on what types of food and supplements to take were especially helpful. However, a point that didn't make this a 4 star was the fact that most of their references weren't done right? Like most of them were just website links copy and pasted at the bottom of a page - which I, having to cite someone accurately during my Uni years for all my reports, found it unprofessional. Some references were derived from blogs?
I understand that a huge part of women's health is understudied, but I still believe in good, credible resources.

[Katarina Gerlich Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy to understand deep dive into the world of bio-hacking. There is a particular focus on the fact that this is not a one-size-fits-all solution, which I really appreciate. Unbeknownst to me, I have already been bio-hacking for some time with some of the dietary tips Davinia talks about, and it's nice to have an explanation of how and why this works. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for ways to hack their lifestyle a bit in manageable ways, but as others have mentioned, I will probably need to re-read to fully absorb all the info.

[Milla hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I think every women should read. It was super insightful and a symptom led approach to understanding our body over the regular hormone led books. I do want to point out there were a few things which I did think could be seen as healthy diet culture but beside that it was a great book. I’ve already changed a different things in my day and the way I eat because of this book. Particularly fascinating learning about ingredients in food and even ‘healthy bars’ and vegan burgers which are super anti inflammatory and not great for you.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book every woman should read! I couldn't put this down. So much information but explained so easily and in a great format. It's made me feel so much better when I was feeling really overwhelmed with my lack of energy, weight, cortisol levels etc. I really feel this book has put me in a good headspace and a path to better my body, mind and hormones.

[Jenna McBryde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this a bit boring, too medical. Some interesting bits in places.

[Kim Beagley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting read but think I need to read it again to actually take it all in!

[Gem ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along a similar vein to her first book, This Is Not A Diet, Taylor explores biohacking to balance out the systems in the body but this time with more focus on hormones that specifically control different issues such as sleep, mood, anger, appetite etc. It is backed up with scientific research and advice from a Dr throughout to give tools to combat issues through diet, supplements and other techniques plus advice on how to approach a GP to test and treat such imbalances.

[Ally Sunman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my new bible! I have managed to improve my sleep already (and I have had insomnia for years!) women should be taught about their hormones and their cycle and how diet has such a huge impact. This book is written in a way that makes the information easily makes sense without loads of technical jargon.

[Enja · Rating 2 out of 5]

I mean, I liked some parts of it. There was quite a bit on the science behind hormones and I thought that was great. What I didn't like is the crusade against vegans. Like, what's your beef? (Pun not intended). A lot of what she was saying can also be applied to a plant based diet, like avoiding food that causes inflammation, so I'm not sure why she's so against it. I know she is saying that a lot of vegan alternatives are heavily processed, which is true, but a lot of vegan don't eat the processed stuff exactly for that reason. How anyone can criticise (by that I mean bash in her case) people for avoiding animal suffering is beyond me... Other authors seem to be able to advocate for plant based eating while not being plant based themselves and acknowledging the detrimental effects of animal agriculture while describing meat and butter as "real food". If you want to eat it, you can do that while acknowledging that what vegans do, is a good thing! Also, I listened to her audiobook and I wish someone would tell her that it's not pronounced "aDvocado", "cArcadian rhythm" or "hippocLampus". Overall I was.more annoyed by her nonsense than impressed by her work.

[Daniella BP · Rating 2 out of 5]

The real problem I found with this book is that the author is not a doctor, therefore the only “case study” is herself. She does mention everybody is different (of course!) but the book is quite redundant in some information as the only reliable source of “testing” is her.

There’s another book called “The Hormone Cure”, written by Sara Gottfried, an actual doctor, which gives you more sensible advice and goes deeper into the science behind it by analysing her real patients. I.e. she is way more conservative in caffeine intake as it can affect hormonal balance while this book recommends caffeine, A LOT.

Also, our bodies need nourishing and nutrition, I’m not sure fasting for hours is really acceptable advice by taking just powders and bone broth.

Or also read “Glucose Revolution” by Jessie Inchauspé, a biochemist, which gives you enough data and science driven information about how glucose affects your hormones, and recently she has shared information about how fasting doesn’t make a difference.

[Delena Cassar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I applaud Davina for her wisdom through personal experimentation and I found the advice on supplements and more natural remedies super. However I am not the target audience for this book.

To start with I had to give up the audiobook because I found her voice and exclamations grating, her style is definitely niche and most likely targeted towards women of her age. I also found the whole read to be a little dumbed down. This is not necessarily a negative, just not for me, I prefer more science and less ‘instagram conversational’.

Overall, I did take away knowledge regarding what supplements are available and how they can benefit us, and her ‘Why Can’t I Stop Eating’ chapter came across well and will resonate with a lot of women.

[Alžběta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how grounded and down-to-earth Davinia Taylor is. She suggests lots of different ways to improve hormonal health and feel better and stresses that everybody is different and different things will work best for different people.
The book is practically divided into chapters focusing on sleep, eating, energy levels, brain fog and menstrual cycle, and you can either read the whole book or start with whatever chapter you like.
"Hack Your Hormones" is quick, clear, fun, and full of tips and ideas on improving your hormonal health and overall well-being.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hack Your Hormones
Davinia Taylor

I knew a lot of this already but I loved her no nonsense approach and she’s so funny! ( I listened on audible)

Such a great book for anyone who wants to improve their health. Small tweaks can make a big difference and Davinia makes it easy to understand. Especially relevant to hormonal women but the underlying message is relevant to us all. Highly recommended!
( do check her out on Instagram too- her videos are great and very informative!)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

[Lou Gillies · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was all praise for this book until near the end the author talks about her diet during her menstrual cycle, and she doesn’t eat solid food until 6pm for some weeks??
Everyone’s entitled to what works for their body, but I personally think not biting anything until the evening is extremely unhealthy and can ruin your relationship with food.
Also she thinks 14 stone is very overweight. That definitely made my 16 stone self very uncomfortable.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read on ways to improve your health by understanding your hormones. Handily split into different health sections, you can easily dip into chapters that appeal to you more at specific points.

Backed up by science and with comments from a GP, this offers suggestions on ways to improve naturally as well as suggestions for supplements that may help.

Not every idea will appeal to everyone but there are enough ideas to try and see what works for you as an individual.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Implemented a few things as I listened to this book. Probably better to get a physical copy to dip back into the points. Some advice not veggie friendly. However, keto powder for breakfast and cutting out as much vegetable oil as I can, ive seen the numbers drop on the scale which i wasnt getting from exercise. Davinia's instagram is also a treasure trove of information.

[Laura Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to fairly review this. I think take my rating as a pinch of salt. The books offers scientifically supported facts on how to improve your health which I desperately needed at the time of reading, therefore in essence does everything it says on the tin but in truth majority of the tips don’t fit with a lower income budget

[claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and follow

Learnt so much from this book. Davinia explains things in an easy to follow way and it all makes total sense. I have particularly found the sleep advice helpful and have implemented some of her hacks. I now look forward to reading her next book and putting bio hacking into practice

[Ritzo ten Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na het lezen van de eerste drie hoofdstukken was ik belachelijk enthousiast over dit boek: laagdrempelig, lekker geschreven en toch bomvol wetenswaardigheden en vallende kwartjes. WOW! Alleen daarom is dit boek een echte mustread, want het bevat basiskennis over hormonen en bijvoorbeeld slapen en gelukkig zijn. Heel eenvoudig uitgelegd. Verderop wordt het allemaal wat wateriger.

[Louise Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and easy to understand. Written based on symptoms and how the writer has dealt with her hormones. So much of it was relatable, and so much makes sense now!
Have ordered some supplements and hoping to turn into Wonder Woman 🤣

[Emma Elizabeth Plews · Rating 3 out of 5]

some interesting ideas, but the majority of the book felt more opinions based than actual facts. the references weren't done properly and were just Web links copied and pasted to the footnotes for sites like health direct...

[Suzanne Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting information to consider if you are trying to understand your hormones and health.

[Amanda Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book and will change your life. Very simple and easy to understand language anyone can do this

[Niamh Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good information but also in some places the lack of correct information can be noticed. Also written to dip into specific sections so reading it through was repetitive.

[Gill Osmant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Amazing insight. Worth reading