The Menoblog

I am excited to have officially pivoted from a weekly to a monthly Menoblog. Now, instead of sharing something average on a weekly basis I can focus on creating optimal content, and you deserve that!

That leads me to ask you this question… are you settling for "average" when it comes to your health as a menopausal woman?

Last week I was watching a virtual health summit and Dr Felice Gersh was one of the guests. If you don’t know Dr Gersh, go to YouTube and watch her videos on menopause! Anyway, during the discussion she shared how women receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT)/ menopause replacement therapy (MRT) should be prescribed doses for OPTIMAL hormonal levels, not just "average" hormone levels. This was a bright light moment for me!

For decades, in fact centuries, women have been largely excluded from medical research. Historically, clinical research favoured male subjects, viewing women as "too emotional" and thus too unpredictable and risky due to hormonal variability. This perception stemmed from ancient views of women as "incomplete males". Consequently, medical research often defaulted to male subjects, neglecting significant physiological differences that affect female health outcomes.

It wasn’t until the late 80s and early 90s that women's health as a distinct field began gaining momentum. Less time studying women’s health, combined with limited funding to support research, means that so much is still "incomplete" and even misunderstood. Research needs to catch up! And this lag will indeed impact what is considered "average" for women when it comes to all areas of our health.

We deserve to be in "optimal" health, and have a medical system that supports optimal versus average health. However, being in optimal health is also our personal responsibility ladies! Let’s start to strive for optimal, instead of average, in all aspects of our health and wellbeing. It’s time to stop "settling" and that starts with YOU and WE!