myFM: IWD - women's health

Women and those who love them, need better health education. When you think of women's health, there’s pregnancy, hormone balance, PMS, breast cancer, osteoporosis, and stroke could be top of mind. But what’s not talked about nearly enough is the perimenopause and menopause stages of life. I might be biased as my generation, are all going through it all now, and it’s not talked about. Conversations around what to expect, how to manage your diet, the change in exercise that’s needed, tests like the Dutch Test that can give an in-depth look at hormones, and then the therapies to help the very long list of symptoms that are much more than hot flashes! 

More risks of diabetes, dementia, and Alzheimer’s need to be talked about like headaches and migraines rapid weight gain, but especially around the middle; we talked about the risks of belly fat last week. Mood swings, and temperament changes from rage to anxiety, to anger and depression. Interrupted and crappy sleep, bone loss, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, irregular periods, incontinence and bladder issues, and higher risk of prolapse (which is your internal organs like your uterus that housed your babies, falling out of you). Thinning hair, thinning skin. Dryness on the outside, from the skin, hair, nails, and even eyes, to the inside, like vaginal dryness that can be painful during intercourse if you feel like having sex because of low libido. The memory loss or inability of the brain to connect to words that you’ve used your whole life but that just can’t reach your mouth to speak them, body and joint aches that make you feel 20 years older than you are. The list is long, but not recognized. 

While we celebrate women on this IWD andthe social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, I’d like to invite everyone to have a conversation and put more focus on women’s health, and this conversation from episode 152 of EAT THIS with Lianne. From postpartum depression to how to balance hormones, it was an emotional episode of being seen, emotions and all, that had me holding back the tears throughout. 

Listen to segment below!