The future for us as women and our health has to look different to how we get served at the moment through the mainstream medicine systems and health & fitness industry.
It's simply not serving our needs.
In this episode, I share my thoughts on how you can get ahead of that, so you can take responsibility for your health to ensure the best possible outcome and health into old age.
I would love to hear from you, so send me a direct message on Instagram or Facebook (you can find me as @vandghie) or email me at wellness@vandghie.com.
Transcript:
Hello friend, and welcome back to the last episode of the 3 part series that I’ve done on the past, present and future of women’s health.
I hope the last 2 episodes have been validating and have given you hope that there are solutions out there for you as a woman and your unique health struggles.
And I certainly hope that it’s given you a new perspective on why western medicine is not serving women in a way that is effective.
In the first part, we talked about the massive gap in research in terms of women’s health, in the second part I shared 3 strategies that you can start implementing today to start treating your body and hormones in a way that is supportive instead of working against your body, so definitely go back and listen to that episode and today, in the part 3 of this series, I wanna share my thoughts on what I believe the future of women’s health look like.
Now from the start, I just wanna let you know that this is my professional opinion.
I usually make sure that the information that I share is solidly based on the latest research. I actually take that responsibility very seriously.
But what I’ll be sharing today is more of an observation in working with clients and other healthcare practitioners, and what I believe the future holds for women and our health. Therefore, it is my own opinion and not medical advice.
And the reason that I’m sharing this with you today, is that I’m hoping it will help you to change your behaviour and patterns in a way that will support your future health.
I’m of the opinion that mainstream medicine and the health & wellness industry is not supporting us as women in a way that is specific to our needs.
So we need to look outside of those systems. We need to look elsewhere to find the real solutions that will help us to have health and wellness long into the future.
I’ve come up with 5 important mindset shifts that I believe will have to happen for you. These are things that we focus on in my 9 week coaching program with great success.
And the very first thing that needs to change, is to focus on prevention, rather that hoping for a cure one day when something significant develops.
The problem with our western medicine system is that it is an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff approach, rather than stopping people at the top of the cliff from falling down.
Chronic conditions develop over a long period of time.
Our bodies are amazing.
It can cope with dysregulation for a very very long time before systems start to fail.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, some of that could be reversible, but in many cases this now becomes a chronic disease that needs to be managed through medication.
I love to use thyroid function as an example.
It often takes the thyroid years before it get’s to the point where medication is required.
In other words, tracking trends in blood test results is more important than doing single testing.
For example, a blood test can show that thyroid function falls within the normal ranges, but if those tests are repeated every year for 5 years in a row, you may see a steady decline in thyroid function. And it’s at this point that it is critical to take preventative measures to prevent the thyroid from failing permanently.
The current medical system is focused on treating individual symptoms, instead of using the entire clinical picture to understand the underlying cause.
And of course there are some doctors out there that do amazing things and practise preventative care, but the majority will send you off with a prescription for some form of drugs.
So what can you do to do things differently?
Well, you can take your health in your own hands and stop relying on the system to take care of you. And we’ve all been doing this, because this is the system we are raised in.
But times are changing.
You can get enough information from a professional like myself, to keep yourself an your family healthy.
And I’m truly of the opinion that, if you don’t invest in your health and wellness, you’re passively investing in your illness.
Most of the beautiful ladies that join my 9 week coaching program, have been living with debilitating symptoms for so very long and have tried various avenues through mainstream medicine to try and get to the bottom of it.
Some have joined after being diagnosed with a chronic condition.
And I can tell you with so much joy in my heart, that the majority of them finish this program with a way better understanding of what their body needs and also, how to look after and tune into the subtle language of their bodies.
The strategies that I teach in the program not only help you to prevent, but I’ve seen in many cases how it reverse symptoms.
Like periods that have been disrupting lives for years, or the debilitating emotional rollercoaster, fatigue, low libido, brain fog, anxiety, weight gain, the list is genuinely very long.
It’s critically important to pay attention to these symptoms and address the underlying cause. That is part of prevention. And you my friend, can take care of your own health if an expert come alongside you and teach you how.
Moving on to number 2: You need to play the long game and resist the urge to have instant results.
I’m sure you’ve talked about and thought about how every thing in life is instant in the 21st century.
And this is exactly the problem.
Everything with instant in front of it should raise alarm bells for you.
Instant noodles
Instant oats
Instant weight loss
Instant riches.
Etc etc.
When you consider your health, it’s probably where it’s at right now because of years of neglect. We can’t fix that in a few days.
I always tell my students that we need to allow at least 1 month of healing for each year that you’ve been suffering from symptoms.
But here’s the thing.
If you do the right things, you address the stuff that are major needle movers, you start seeing small results very quickly. And that is usually enough to help keep you motivated and for you to know that you’re actually heading in the right direction.
And the problem with our medical systems is that doctors are trying to fix everything with medication.
Quick fixes.
Easy fixes that take no effort on your part at all.
And if you’re listening to this podcast, I know you’ve come to the realisation that medication does not fix anything. IT just disguises symptoms while the underlying root cause is creating further havoc.
So invest in your health, so you can look back in a year and feel like an entirely new person.
Which is what I’ve experienced and most of my students too.
Number 3: I believe the time will come, when women will only visit healthcare providers that specialise in women’s health. And you can get ahead of that.
The thing is, our healthcare system is completely overloaded. Here in NZ, a doctors appointment consists of 15 minutes. There is no way a doctor can do proper diagnostics or care in 15 minutes, let alone stay on top of the latest research.
GP’s are completely swamped.
Our systems are overloaded because people don’t prevent disease.
We are not proactive, but trained to be reactive.
So when those symptoms pop up, we rush to the doctor.
So if a GP has to cope with the large volume of patients, and don’t have a special interest in women’s health, they will have absolutely no clue about the current and recent research that has been done in terms of women’s health.
They’ll still be treating you with medical guidelines that are based on medical research that was done on male subjects, you’ll remember we talked about this in part 1 of this series.
So here’s my advice friend, find doctors, physios, dietitians, osteopaths, whatever, that specialises in women’s health.
They are the people that will dig out the research and stay on top of the latest developments in terms of women, our hormones and the unique needs that we have.
In the last 2 years, I’ve had to do hours and hours of research to get a grip on what women need.
And this will not stop. If I want to remain relevant, I will have to keep this up, because women’s health is such a fast evolving field.
And you deserve to get care that will address the underlying cause of your symptoms.
For me, my experience with doctors has been nothing short of frustrating. I’ve felt helpless and desperate for the better of 6 years before I found genuine solutions that have helped me to resolve increasing allergies, acne, fatigue, weight gain, inflammation, irritability and so much more.
Today, I can honestly say, with so much gratitude, that I feel the best I’ve felt since I was in my early 20s.
And this is how it should be for every women, you included.
The 4th mindset change that I believe you’ll need, is to see pharma for what it is.
The pharmaceutical industry is a multi billion dollar industry, and it depends on you being sick. Pharma does not want you to have a preventative approach, it needs you to get progressively worse so it can continue to make billions of dollars of profits.
Naively, for many years, I didn’t see things this way. It has cost me in terms of my health. That mindset has prevented me from seeing the value of natural medicine and how important lifestyle is. Although I’ve always had a pretty healthy lifestyle, my family still relied on chronic medication to deal with certain symptoms.
Doctors kept my husband on omeprazole for over 5 years, although it is only indicated for a maximum of 3 months.
With the help of natural medicine, we got him off the omeprazole and a handful of symptoms disappeared at the same time.
Don’t be fooled my friend.
There is tons of research, showing that the use of chronic medication is detrimental.
Now as always, please know that I’m not against the use of medication or doctors. I think they play a very important role when needed.
But from my perspective, 90% of doctors visits can be prevented.
We live our entire lives inside our bodies, but we are never taught to understand it and how to care for it. Which is why we end up in the doctors office.
And I believe it’s time to change that.
Instead of spending thousands every year on doctors appointments, medication and unnecessary supplements, invest in education and getting to understand your body.
And this is exactly what I do in the 9 week coaching program
I teach women how to care for their body, with the unique needs that we have as women, in a world that is designed to ruin our health.
And then finally, it is time to start recognising the importance of your lifestyle
I find it really interesting that most women who go through my program, comment that they’ve always thought they have a pretty good lifestyle.
We are so influenced by the media, companies again that make money off of us, that we have a very skewed perspective of what a healthy lifestyle is.
I teach my students how to care for their individual body systems, so that they can thrive in their body.
This includes the liver, gut health (so much amazing research is now available on the massive role the gut plays), it also includes the adrenal glands, ovarian function, and heart and vascular health
And I think the biggest challenge for most mums our age, is how to implement all of those things in our already crazy busy lifestyle.
I think it is critical to offer solutions that people can actually implement, that is practical.
This is what helps us to be consistent and keep at it for the long run.
If you’ve never known this friend, let me be the first to tell you.
It is NOT any of the big changes that will bring any results.
Like the diet that you’ll start on Monday, or the exercise challenge that you’ll start as soon as you get back from holiday.
It’s the consistent small things that you’ll do every single day of every month, all year round.
Please don’t follow the male fitness trainer that tells you what to do.
With all respect, he has no idea what life is like in a female body.
The challenges that come with hormonal fluctuations.
How it feels to have no energy during your menstrual cycle and then having to do the high intensity interval training and the effect that will have on your body.
Trust health experts that study women’s health, that implement women’s health guidelines in their own lives, and have got the reputation of helping women to do the same for themselves.
Now if you’ve listened to this today and the penny dropped for you, I would love to hear from you.
What is it that is suddenly making sense to you?
Let’s have a conversation, I would love to hear your story.
So get in touch via email at wellness@vandghie.com or find me on instagram or facebook and let’s have a conversation.
Thanx for being here friend
Thank you for allowing me to share my research and experiences with you
I hope we get to make this conversation a 2-way conversation real soon
Please remember to share this episode with a friend, and subscribe to the podcast while you are here.
Until next week
Bye for now