The problem with women's health, is male.

 I declared last month in my first blog that I’ll be using this platform for sharing my thoughts, opinions, and any articles that capture my attention.  This week I stumbled upon and shared an article that has done more than capture my attention. 

My determination has been fueled and my frustration is palpable by the obvious truths that are undeniably ignored.

The article is titled  “The female problem: how male bias in medical trials ruined women's health”  and is based on an extract from “Pain and Predjudice” by author, editor, and journalist Gabrielle Jackson (@gabriellcj). 

After reading the article, I am blown away by what can only be explained as a lack of progress in the opinions and practices of Western Medicine.

 

Here's a sample they've used in the article:

“Observing that women tended to have lower rates of heart disease until their oestrogen levels dropped after menopause, researchers conducted the first trial to look at whether supplementation with the hormone was an effective preventive treatment. The study enrolled 8,341 men and no women ... And a National Institutes of Health-supported pilot study from Rockefeller University that looked at how obesity affected breast and uterine cancer didn’t enrol a single woman.”

"..medicine persisted with the belief that all other (non-reproductive) organs and functions would operate the same in men and women, so there was no need to study women. Conversely, researchers said that the menstrual cycle, and varied release of hormones throughout the cycle in rodents, introduced too many variables into a study, therefore females could not be studied."

 

As a woman, and as a medical scientist myself, I find it mindblowing that we don't actually have a clue how to help women to heal based on any of the findings and data from all of "these" scientific studies. 

 

Why aren’t we – women - leading the way in researching women’s health?

How many women are contributing in these research teams?

How many women are monitoring and reporting results based on male biology?

Why? Just Why? Isn’t it obvious?

 

Regardless of our varying opinions and the array of articles, books and videos offering research and discoveries, my thoughts have returned full circle to the only truth we can rely on – whether you’re a man or a woman:

 

You! YOU, are the single most important advocate for your health and wellbeing.

 

You must foster a deep connection with your intuition to be able to navigate what is appropriate and healing for your body.  Without a doubt, You are worthy of an effervescent, joy filled life.

 

Although I am continually appalled at the lack of basic common sense in some of the current foundations of modern Western medicine, I have a solid foundation of trust and belief in our own bodies being a reliable ‘source’ of truth. I believe in our cells ability to heal if we can provide them what they need.

 

With this mindset, where modern Western medicine fails us, we are not failures. 

 

 

 Have you read the article? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Here's a link to The Guardian's website and the article:

“The female problem: how male bias in medical trials ruined women's health”

(The article was written by Gabrielle Jackson, and published by www.theguardian.com.)

 

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