A Word About Women's Health

And how little we understand

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But first, an important disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and nothing written below should be considered medical advice. These are my own opinions about resources that have been helpful to me.

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Nearly all of us have been vastly undereducated about how our bodies work. For example, most women don’t know that the signs of a heart attack present differently in women than they do in men. Or if we do, we don’t know what those symptoms are.

More at American Heart Association

Now you do.

And, for the most part, our understanding of menopause beyond, “it’s a weird few years of hot flashes and plummeting estrogen where our periods get wonky and eventually stop” is nonexistent. The primary problem here is that we don’t know the right questions to ask, nor do we pay attention to symptoms as we would if we knew what we were looking for. What do plummeting estrogen levels even mean for us?

Another problem is that there are LOADS of people out there promoting b.s. health information — targeting women with bogus and expensive products that not only do not help, but many do active harm. When we lack thorough, accurate information, it’s easy to get scammed. It’s a mess.

Some tips here on where to check

So what’s to be done?

I have some ideas

1. Find the trustworthy sources and ignore everyone else.

2. Spend time reading and learning about your health and your body. Everyone is busy. Your life and health are worth it, though.

3. If a doctor or nurse or “health expert” is also selling supplements or “miracle cures,” be aware of the conflict of interest.

   

   Link to this Instagram Post

4. Be discerning when people quote medical research or say “studies show.” There are all kinds of research and studies. Some more valid than others. Most often, problematic claims are based on a single research study with a very small sample size published years ago. Or using only animals. Or funded by pharmaceutical companies or lobbies or supplement manufacturers. To save you from reading through tons of PubMed articles (assuming that’s not your thing), go back to number one. Find a trustworthy expert and listen to them.

Two professionals I trust:

1. For all things women’s health: Dr. Jen Gunter.

She’s not selling anything except information, in the form of books and deep-dive articles on her science-based Substack, The Vajenda (how ‘bout that name!). Here’s one:

Ten Takeaways: The Vajenda

I highly recommend all three of her books. I trust the information she provides. And I guarantee you’ll learn something.

You can find her books here:

The Menopause Manifesto

Blood (just released in January 2024)

The Vagina Bible.

If you like podcasts, Dr. Gunter did a 25-episode series with TED Audio Collective called Body Stuff that’s worth a listen.

*The easiest thing to do is to follow her on Instagram where she debunks myths around menopause and women’s health in general and goes after the accounts shilling bogus ideas and products. For example:

Link to this Instagram Post

Link to this Instagram Post

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2. For stress and burnout as they specifically relate to women:

The book Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by sisters Emily Nagoski, Ph.D. and Amelia Nagoski, AMD can’t be beat.

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

I think this book is a must-read for every woman. If you want to know more before diving in, check out this 18-minute TED interview of the authors discussing the topic.

It’s confusing out there. Let’s learn what we can.

xo,

Beth