Sophie is a young lady who came to see me last year for help with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I wrote a case study about her - read about it here. Sophie experienced some great improvements at the time and she was very happy with her health and weight. Last week she came to see me again. She had regained 12 pounds and was feeling tired and depressed again. She noticed that she had started losing some scalp hair from the front and sides and this was worrying her. Sophie had experienced significant stress in her life with the death of her father, and the stress led her to go off the rails with her healthy eating plan. She said to me “I’d be very grateful if you could help me get more energy, so I can start making an effort to cook healthy food again, because right now I just feel like I can’t do it”. Sophie was an emotional eater. She kept it under control most of the time by consciously eating more protein and healthy fats, and snacking on nuts if she felt peckish. However, recent stressful events led her to feel out of control with her diet. She said to me “There’s a cheesecake place around the corner from where I work and I developed a habit of buying a piece every afternoon. Once I’d eaten it I felt so bloated, sluggish and disgusted with myself, that I kept eating junk food all afternoon”. For Sophie, once she started eating sugar, she felt she couldn’t stop. I reiterated the importance of including adequate protein and healthy fats with breakfast and lunch, and how that would reduce the tendency to snack in the afternoon or evening. Having a healthy breakfast also puts you in the right frame of mind for eating well later on in the day. I asked Sophie to make smoothies using Synd-X Slimming Protein Powder because they are easy, quick and very filling. The eating guidelines I gave Sophie are in my Syndrome X book. I gave Sophie magnesium powder to help her get a deeper, more restful sleep at night. This would help to lift the terrible fatigue she had been experiencing. Last time she saw me Sophie had been using progesterone cream and it helped her immensely. She had stopped using it though, because she thought it was no longer necessary. Having had polycystic ovarian syndrome, Sophie was insulin resistant and her body did not manufacture enough progesterone. The fact that she had recently been very stressed only worsened this scenario. When you are stressed, you convert a lot of the progesterone in your body into cortisol. Progesterone deficiency can cause problematic periods, mood disturbances and scalp hair loss. Progesterone is a very calming hormone and I expect resuming it will help Sophie to control her strong food cravings, as a lot of binge eating is due to anxiety and stress. Along with progesterone cream I asked Sophie to take Hair, Skin and Nails Food capsules. I asked her to come and see me every fortnight for a while, to make sure she sticks with the eating plan and to address any struggles that may arise. I look forward to seeing her next week.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.