Hello Reader

Have you seen the advert about how Nurofen is committed to "closing the gender pain gap by making women's pain more visible in healthcare"?

Have you heard about the case of the unfair dismissal of a woman who was suffering through endometriosis?

Did you also know that until the 1990s, women were largely excluded from clinical trials in the United States? And even today, much of the "standard" nutritional advice we hear is based on studies conducted primarily on men.

As a nutritionist, I see the fallout of this every day. Women come to me feeling lost and confused because the regimen that worked for their husband or brother left them exhausted, bloated, or with a disrupted cycle.

Women's hormones, metabolic rhythms, and nutritional needs are vastly different. Yet, for decades, women’s health has been treated as a niche "special interest" rather than the fundamental pillar of society that it is.

When I was choosing my topic for my research study, my professor gave me one advice. As I am studying part-time, she advised that I pick a topic that will keep me passionate about the subject for the next six years. Naturally, I was initially thinking diabetes or gut health.

Then, I started thinking about my own journey and many of my female clients. In my teenage years, I was told that my painful period cramps were "normal" and it was only when I studied Ayurveda that I discovered that this pain was anything but normal. Even after the birth of my daughter, rather than addressing my health challenges with my period, I was advised to go on the pill rather than the GP investigating any further. To date, I still do not have a diagnosis, but I self-manage through my diet and lifestyle.

This is why I wanted to focus on women's health for my PhD research. Like many other women, my symptoms were and still are often dismissed. Therefore, I chose PCOS because it is one of the most underserved and misunderstood areas of women's health. It can take women up to five years to get diagnosis and once they do, they are offered little to no support. PCOS is fundamentally a metabolic and lifestyle condition.

The Bio-Individuality Gap

While general guidelines (like the ones I mentioned last week) are a great start, they often fail to account for the cyclical nature of a woman's body. A woman of menstruating age has different metabolic needs in her luteal phase than she does in her follicular phase. When these variations are ignored, the state of hormones are also being overlooked. There needs to be a greater understanding of how women's bodies burn energy, manage stress, and digest food.

In my practice, I combine the latest clinical research with the wisdom of Ayurveda to fill these gaps. Ayurveda has understood for thousands of years what modern science is only just beginning to "discover." Which is that health is not a straight line, and there is no such thing as a "standard or average person."

Are you ready to master your own metabolic health?

If you are tired of trying to fit your body into a "standard" health model, I would love to help you find a simpler, more scientific way forward.

Starting this Monday in the Holistically Healthy Membership, I am kicking off a month-long deep dive into Metabolic Health for Women. We will be moving past the generic advice and looking at the specifics that you can use to stabilise your blood sugar, manage your energy, and support your hormones. All without the need for expensive supplements or testing. This membership is open to all ages and genders as knowledge is power.

Go ahead and sign up today!

In the mean time, I would love to hear from you. Have you ever followed "standard" health advice only to find it did not work for you? Reply to this email and tell me about it.

Health & Happiness,

Varsha

P.S. If you have not heard of PCOS, then do not worry. I will share more about it next week!

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