Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2025 i Women's Health

CARDIOLOGY Jennifer H. Mieres, MD Professor of cardiology, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell; senior vice president, Center for Equity of Care, Northwell Health DERMATOLOGY Mona Gohara, MD Associate clinical professor, department of dermatology, Yale School of Medicine Ellen Marmur, MD Founder, Marmur Medical Joshua Zeichner, MD Director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City FAMILY MEDICINE Navya Mysore, MD Primary care physician; sexual and reproductive health expert FERTILITY Sheeva Talebian, MD Fertility specialist and reproductive endocrinologist, CCRM New York FITNESS Ariel Belgrave, CPT Board-certified health and fitness coach; Under Armour athlete; creator of the L.E.A.N. Method; DEI wellness expert Ben Bruno, CFSC Certified functional strength coach and private trainer Sohee Carpenter, MS, CSCS Evidence-based fitness coach and certified sports nutritionist; author…

Because I’m the executive health and fitness director of WH, people often assume I’ve got my workout routine on lock. (My friends joke that my tagline is “Don’t hug me—I’m sweaty.”) Sometimes that’s true. Other weeks, my fitness is looser, a little more mental, and a lot about finding rhythm. I recently moved with my husband and 1-year-old daughter (shout-out, Joey Love!) into a house in the suburbs. I’m figuring out what my new routine looks like. I’m in the process of setting up a basement home gym that I actually want to go downstairs and use. My goals at this moment? Less about PRs, more about consistency. Fine, I’m also working toward my first pullup and noodling over a Hyrox competition, but I’m mainly just trying to fit movement…

TRAIN THREE FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENT PATTERNS “I believe everyone should be able to do a pushup, a pull-up, and a good bodyweight squat,” Dr. Lyon says. Pushups in particular are a barometer of musclespan over time, says exercise physiologist Heather Milton. She points to a study that found that men who could do 40 pushups had a lower risk of morbidity and death than those who could do only 10. (Women would likely see similar benefits with fewer reps, though a comparable study hasn’t been done yet, Milton says.) Dr. Lyon recommends performing a self-assessment using these three moves—how many can you do with good form?—aiming for 10 pushups, 1 unassisted pull-up, and 25-plus squats as a benchmark. TEST YOUR GRIP STRENGTH In addition to being a “fundamental metric” when it…

I FOUND OUT I WAS IN PER-IMENOPAUSE two years ago, at 38 years old. A few months before that, I was diagnosed with Sjögren’s and PCOS. I had to learn the difference between PCOS and perimenopause, because a lot of the symptoms overlap. When you symptom-group, you’re able to determine what system in the body needs your attention first. And for me, it was inflammation. I gained nearly 50 pounds in four months. I know that part of it was stress-related because I was so hell-bent on figuring out what was wrong with me. Once I handled the inflammation, I was able to drop 45 pounds in three and a half months. To do this, I upped my protein and fiber intake, I limited overly processed sugar intake, and I…

These experts have dedicated their careers to ensuring that women have info, access, and the power to live their healthiest, happiest lives. You can find even more inspiring experts at WomensHealthMag.com/longevitylist, where we’re honoring the best of the best in all categories. Changing the Narrative Robin Berzin, MD, founder and CEO of Parsley Health Harnessing Hormones Anne Fulenwider and Monica Molenaar, cofounders and co-CEOs of Alloy Women’s Health Embracing Our Age Deborah Kado, MD, geriatrician and codirector of the Stanford Longevity Center Staying Strong Roma van der Walt, former member of the German national team in modern pentathlon, sports scientist, and CEO and founder of Vitelle Pushing Forward Jennifer Garrison, PhD, codirector of the Center for Healthy Aging in Women and cofounder and executive director of ProductiveHealth.org at the Buck Institute…

That’s the question we asked celebs and attendees at the second annual Women’s Health Lab, which took place in NYC recently. A few of our fave answers: “Strength means failing and getting back up. It means being willing to risk the unknown for trying.”—Selma Blair, actor and activist “Strength means perseverance and getting through hard things when you think you can’t.”—Lizzy McAlpine, singer-songwriter, star of Broadway’s Floyd Collins “Strength means not worrying about what other people think.”—Tamsen Fadal, advocate, journalist, author of How to Menopause “Strength, to me, is taking any challenge, any obstacle, setback, failure, and disappointment in your life and knowing that you will be able to rise above it.”—Scout Bassett, Paralympian, president of the Women’s Sports Foundation…

Confession: I expected my sex life to flourish after I got married. Every newlywed couple I spoke to gushed about how marriage had strengthened their bond, leading to a hotter, more passionate connection. My husband and I had also agreed to go on a sex cleanse four months before the big day. This brief period of celibacy, coupled with the heightened emotional intimacy of saying “I do,” made our first time as husband and wife feel extra special. But one week after our wedding, the newlywed bliss bubble popped. What was supposed to be a (literal) honeymoon phase turned into an onslaught of stress. First, our marriage license got lost in the mail. This prevented us from completing the necessary tasks to begin our new chapter, like updating our marital…

Up to 80 percent of women experience hot flashes, otherwise known as vasomotor symptoms, at some point in the menopausal transition. Yet only about a quarter of women receive treatment for them. And, no, they’re not just inconvenient—they can actually have a lasting impact on your health. Hot flashes are correlated with increased memory problems and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in the blood. They’re also associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, particularly in perimenopausal women. Hot flashes that occur during REM sleep have greater ties to CVD. “I envision that hot flashes are going to be [treated] like blood pressure changes,” says Pauline Maki, PhD, a professor of psychiatry, psychology, and obgyn at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Once you reach a certain threshold of hot flashes, I think…

LAST YEAR, MY GYNECOLOGIST TOLD ME I was in perimenopause, and she immediately said the two choices [to treat my symptoms] were birth control or hormone therapy. I don’t feel good when I’m on birth control, and I don’t have enough information on hormone therapy. So I didn’t end up doing either. Over the past couple years, I’ve been working on exercise, movement, and eating more whole foods; I’ve been tracking my macros. Paying attention to my protein and fiber intake has helped a lot. I used to get around 10 grams of fiber per day, compared to the 20 to 25 grams that I’m getting now. I’m aiming for 130 grams of protein per day. I’m also cutting back on alcohol. I’m weightlifting three days per week in the…

CINDY ECKERT FIRST LEARNED ABOUT hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD)—the most common type of sexual dysfunction in women—while attending a conference as a cofounder of Slate Pharmaceuticals, a male-hormone company. (At the time, Slate’s main drug was a testosterone treatment.) During a presentation, scientists showed brain scan images comparing how women with normal desire and women with HSDD reacted to erotic materials. The condition is described by the American Sexual Health Association as “the absence of sexual fantasies and thoughts, and/or desire for or receptivity to, sexual activity that causes the person distress or diffculties.” Cindy compares HSDD to a light switch in the brain that can essentially shut off libido. The proof was in the pictures: Women with the condition had very little to no activation in the pleasure centers…

Longevity LIST ▸ We’re celebrating the experts, researchers, and doctors who are helping redefine this concept specifically for women: WomensHealthMag.com/longevitylist Longevity LIFTS ▸ This three-part video series breaks down the essential strength exercises every woman should have in her fitness toolbox—tailored to key life phases: WomensHealthMag.com/longevitylifts Longevity LIFE ▸ Menopause and perimenopause are huge factors in a woman’s healthspan, so we’re sharing even more advice and cutting-edge expert takes on those critical stages: WomensHealthMag.com/longevitylife IN MEMORIAM // GILBERT C. MAURER (1928–2025) was the director and former COO of Hearst, who, in 50 years of partnership with executive vice chairman and former CEO Frank Bennack, Jr., made Hearst one of the fastest growing media companies in the world. Proof that longevity can also mean a life well lived, Maurer…

Maria Arellano Simpson has been on and off restrictive diets since she was 9 years old. “As a young adult growing up in the 2000s, cardio was the focus, and I spent hours doing it to try and get smaller,” says Arellano Simpson, now 44. She logged hours on the stair-stepper and miles on the pavement. It worked, to some degree, providing her a small calorie deficit but no additional muscle or strength. Then, when she had her daughter 12 years ago, she quickly put on 100 pounds, was diagnosed as prediabetic, developed a fatty liver, and registered a body fat percentage in the 50s. Fast-forward to last year and her wake-up call, which came in the form of two sick relatives. “I felt like I owed it to my kids…

STEAL COACH ASH’S favorite sequence for nixing soreness and recovering faster as you age. Start by foam-rolling with gentle pressure and slow, controlled movements, rolling out each muscle group for 1 to 2 minutes and focusing on tight areas. Then run through the following moves, holding each for 20 to 30 seconds. 1 T-Spine Rotation HOW TO: Start in tabletop position with arms directly under shoulders and knees directly under hips. Keeping back straight, twist torso to right and lift right arm toward ceiling. Hold for prescribed amount of time, then return to start. Repeat with left arm. 2 Thread the Needle HOW TO: Start in tabletop position with arms directly under shoulders and knees directly under hips. Twist torso to right and lift right arm toward ceiling, then thread…

Creatine has built up a serious personal brand in the fitness space. It’s known as the go-to supplement for sweat devotees chasing strength, better recovery, and that extra rep. But its talents go way beyond the weight room. The powerhouse compound—it’s naturally stored in your muscles and brain and plays a key role in producing cellular energy—boasts benefits in areas like cognition, hormonal health, and healthy aging. And supplementation can help nearly everyone, regardless of gender, says Gabrielle Lyon, DO, a physician and WH advisor. But given that many women eat smaller portions of food, they tend to get less creatine (from red meat, fish, and dairy), adds Dana White, RDN, a sports nutritionist and athletic trainer in Fairfield, Connecticut—all the more reason to supplement. So, should you be thinking…

HEAT FACTOR: On a scale of 1 to 5, the more peppers, the spicier the scenes. Fourth Wing By Rebecca Yarros Perfect for ACOTAR fans ready to fall in love with another “shadow daddy,” Fourth Wing proves that forced proximity between sworn-enemy dragon riders can create a fiery connection. The Serpent & the Wings of Night By Carissa Broadbent Twilight meets The Hunger Games in this swoon-worthy story in which a human enters a deadly competition and allies with a dangerously irresistible vampire. The Crimson Crown By Heather Walter This sapphic reimagining of the tale of Snow White tells the Evil Queen’s origin story, and though the spice is minimal, it features witches, magic, and female empowerment—what’s not to love? Quicksilver By Callie Hart Come for the diverse group of fantastical…

For people with a family history of certain cancers—including breast, ovarian, uterine, and colorectal—screening and testing might be recommended at younger ages, even up to 10 years earlier than when your relative was first diagnosed. But that means finding out your family’s health history. There are plenty of reasons someone might not be able to access much info about their blood relatives’ medical histories, and that’s okay, says medical oncologist Veda Giri, MD. Doctors are able to work with the info you do have and can help sleuth out as much as possible. But here’s what to aim to get details on. If you can speak to relatives about their health history, find out this info: ASK IF THEY EVER HAD CANCER, what kind it was (keep in mind that sometimes…

I’VE BEEN IN PERIMENOPAUSE SINCE I WAS 43 YEARS OLD. After nearly a decade of supplementing myself into oblivion and doing lifestyle mitigation stuff, I decided to try hormone therapy prescribed via Alloy Women’s Health, a telehealth company that focuses on menopause care. (Full disclosure: I now work for Alloy as a community manager, but I did not work for them when I joined as a patient.) Within a few days, I received my oral estradiol and progesterone and my vaginal estrogen. I took it that night and, for the first time in I don’t know how many years, I got a solid, deep eight hours of sleep. Within two days, my night sweats resolved. In under a week, my hot flashes resolved. The next time I was intimate with…

Spoiler alert: Women produce three times more testosterone than estrogen before menopause. Testosterone gradually declines as we age, and that can impact mood, energy level, libido (a.k.a. sex drive), bone health, and muscle mass. As menopause has gone mainstream, some female urologists are advocating that women add testosterone to their hormone therapy regimen. The problem? There are zero FDA-approved testosterone products for women, which makes it diffcult for us to access and afford it. “The role of testosterone is just a lesson in gender bias,” says Kelly Casperson, MD, a urologist. “Because 100 percent of women will have low testosterone and there’s zero FDA approved products. About 20 percent of men will have low testosterone and there are plenty of FDA-approved products.” Not all health care practitioners agree that women…

FOR YEARS, we’ve been bombarded by the trope of aging gracefully—staying small, moving slowly, playing it safe in the gym and in life. But a growing number of women are rejecting that tired script and picking up heavy weights instead. Supported by research, they’re building bone density, muscle mass, mental resilience, and a fierce sense of self at every age. Lifting heavy—at any age—is backed by science. Take an investigation aptly named the LIFTMOR study: When postmenopausal women with low bone density added 30 minutes of supervised high-intensity resistance and impact training (think deadlifts, overhead presses, jumping chinups) twice a week for eight months, the bone density in their lower spines increased by 2.9 percent on average. The control group, which did stretching and light weight resistance, lost 1.2 percent.…

1/What time is your alarm? I don’t have an alarm. I wake up naturally at 4:30 a.m. because of life. That’s sleeping in for me. I used to wake up at 3:30 [for Today]. 2/Who inspired you early on? My mom—she led by example. When she turned 60, she ran the Marine Corps Marathon. She was drenched in sweat and delirious by the end. But I will always have the memory of her running up that last hill to the Iwo Jima memorial. When I need inspiration, I think to myself, If she could do that, then I can do this. 3/First job? I delivered The Washington Post when I was 12 years old. It was a 4:30 a.m. wake-up. There’s a through line here.… 4/Fave hype-up song? “APT.” by…