How one study made midlife miserable for millions of women
+ Avoid Holiday 'Debt' Hangover/8 Tips for Compassion & Wisdom
‘Sup with women’s health, Doc?
As Christine Yu writes in Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes:
“According to a 2019 survey of family medicine, internal medicine and ob-gyn residents across twenty residency programs in the United States, less than 7% percent felt they were prepared to help someone manage the menopause transition.
When subjects like menopause aren’t taught as part of the routine medical school or residency curriculum, it’s left to residents and physicians themselves to stay up to date on the latest research and seek out specialty training.”
The Controversial Convo on Hormone Replacement Therapy
What about the misconstrued Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study data released in 2002?
The media ran with the headline of increased breast cancer, heart attacks, blood clots, and stroke risk in women using hormone therapy — out of context
Along with a panicked public, many medical professionals took their cues from major print, television, and internet media outlets that hyper-sensationalized the out-of-context data.
Too bad these media outlets didn’t blow up their retractions just as bigly.
The quality of women’s lives traded for a few moments of attention, ad space and millions of clicks.
Personally, my mother immediately stopped using estrogen, proceeded to tailspin and can’t be convinced otherwise — suffering to this day — because she watched Ann Curry report this to America on The Today Show in 2002:
“…and to be very specific here, you actually found that heart disease, the risk increased by 29 percent. The risks of strokes increased by 41 percent. It doubled the risk of blood clots. Invasive breast cancer risk increased by 26 percent.”
The epidemiologist Curry interviewed in that segment, Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, failed to correct the soundbite.
On the 15 Minutes Group blog article “Context Is Key” you’ll find a great, digestible explanation of how the data in that interview was utterly flubbed by bad communication.
In the National Institutes of Health report, “The Controversial History of Hormone Replacement Therapy,” Angelo Cagnacci and Martina Venier write:
“In the following years, a reanalysis of the WHI trial was performed, and new studies showed that the use of HRT in younger women or in early postmenopausal women had a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, reducing coronary disease and all-cause mortality. Notwithstanding this, the public opinion on HRT has not changed yet, leading to important negative consequences for women’s health and quality of life.”
Cagnacci A, Venier M. The Controversial History of Hormone Replacement Therapy. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Sep 18;55(9):602. doi: 10.3390/medicina55090602. PMID: 31540401; PMCID: PMC6780820.
Profits Over People
On the faddish flipside…
… every snake oil salesperson/online company of late has jumped on the “bioidentical HRT” bandwagon since Oprah and other celebrities have brought menopause awareness mainstream.
Beware.
Slick social media sales funnels abound with grifters positioning themselves as experts… and very little regulation.
Check out the resources below so you can begin to perform your due diligence and make the informed choice about what’s right for you.
Remember that a large social media following or letters after your name doesn’t equate to someone looking out for your best interests.
Legit-looking followers from bot farms can be bought easier than a politician with a slippery grip on power.
Moreover, ethics can get dicey when there’s BILLIONS of dollars to be made off women desperate for relief.
P.S. I’m light years away from being an expert and definitely NOT a doctor…
… but I can totally see myself playing one on television. Gruff exterior – and rough on the talented interns – still, a heart of gold with a myserious past.
You know the trope. Now gimme my Emmy.
If you’re 40+ and experiencing menopause symptoms (or medical conditions associated with menopause), the resources below can help.
Hormones aren’t the only answer, especially for hot flashes.
Not every menopause symptom or medical condition is hormone-related but might be aging-related and/or lifestyle-related.
To become a better advocate for yourself (or someone you love), and learn more about the actual risks (that do exist for some) of Menopause Hormone Therapy here’s some info to get started:
Podcasts:
Dr. Peter Attia, The Drive #42 - Avril Bluming, M.D., and Carol Tavris, Ph.D.: Controversial Topic Affecting All Women – the role of hormone replacement therapy through menopause and beyond…
Body Stuff With Dr. Jen Gunter: Is Menopause the Beginning of The End?
Books:
Estrogen Matters: Why Taking Hormones in Menopause Can Improve Women's Well-Being and Lengthen Their Lives -- Without Raising the Risk of Breast Cancer - Avrum Bluming, Carol Tavris
Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes - Christine Yu
The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Own Health with Facts & Feminism - Dr. Jen Gunter
Dr. Jen Gunter’s Substack Blog:
The Vajenda: “Imagine a Venn diagram with overlapping circles labeled: Medical Facts, Feminism, and Fire. You've arrived at their intersection.”
💸Avoiding the Holiday “Debt” Hangover
My favorite financial writer, Morgan Housel, on Wealth:
“Wealth is what you don’t see.
It’s income not spent.
Wealth is the nice cars not purchased. The diamonds not bought. The watches not worn. The clothes forgone and the first-class upgrade declined.
Wealth is financial assets that haven’t yet been converted into the stuff you see. That’s not how we think about wealth, because you can’t contextualize what you can’t see.”
And one more idea…
“Every dollar you save is a piece of your future you own.
Every dollar of debt is someone owning you.”
Atiśa’s 8 Simple Tips for Universal Wisdom & Compassion
As described by Buddhist Mindfulness teacher, Jack Kornfield, on Episode 684 of The Tim Ferriss Show.
Atiśa was an 11th-century Indian sage. There is liberation in every one of these lines if we keep practicing. Which would you pick for a New Year’s resolution?
Consider all experiences to be dreams. Everything disappears back into the void from which it came and then something new is born. The Universe wants to keep recreating itself through you. You have The Creator within you.
Be grateful to everyone. People all have a lesson to offer us, even if it is painful or unpleasant.
Let suffering teach you compassion. In some of the Tibetan teachings, they actually pray for suffering: “May I be granted enough suffering so that the great heart of compassion will open in me.” Michelle note: Oof! Hard one.
Don’t be swayed by outer circumstances. This is tough. People want you to be this or that based on a lifetime of conditioning. Let your life be guided – when you are still and quiet – by your own values, in your own heart.
Don’t brood over the faults of others. This one can save a lot of agony because people don’t act the way we want them to. People have their faults but so do we. Michelle note: This is going to be a 2024 work-in-progress for me.
Explore the timeless nature of consciousness.
Michelle note: Author and grief counselor Christina Rasmussen explains this for me best…
“Imagine this: life is both physical and non-physical.
Those who die, die only for a moment in this reality.
In the reality of their consciousness, which persists beyond time, they move to another reality, another world.
The other realities, other worlds, are connected to ours.
There’s a presence inside us that makes us aware of these other worlds.
This presence exists in all realities, all dimensions, along with the people you’ve loved and lost.”
Einstein wrote:
“People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
Time, in other words, he said, is an illusion. What do you think?
At all times simply rely on a joyful mind. Kornfield offers a poem by Jack Gilbert to illustrate ‘joyful mind’ titled “A Brief for The Defense.”
Michelle note: I swear to you, fren, if I was taller with a longer torso, I would get this poem tattooed on my back… But then only the people behind me at the grocery store would see it… but that would mean I’m shirtless in the store buying spring mix which wouldn’t happen because it’s winter and I’d be wearing a coat. So just forget it.
Drink this in:
And, finally, my favorite:
Don’t expect a standing ovation. We keep looking for The Universe to affirm us. Stop. The Universe has already affirmed you. You wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Thanks for digging into the Deep Kimchi with me, frens! ♥️🙏🏽💪🏾 Wishing you the happiest of holidays, safe travels, peace, joy, and good tidings.
Awesomeness awaits!
Michelle
P.S.
For those of you committed to getting after the 12-Week Complete Physique on Jan 8, I’ll be posting some “head start” preparation stuff next week so you’ll have plenty of time. No pressure. You’ve got this and I’ve got your back!