women’s health tips

What’s the best way to enjoy being a girl? Rodgers and Hammerstein compiled a few ideas in their musical, The Flower Drum Song, but that was over fifty years ago. Today, if you ask doctors (instead of songwriters) they are likely to bring up bone health.

“Osteoporosis didn’t used to be a problem 50 years ago because our life expectancy was age 65,” says Dr. James Schermerhorn, an obstetrician and gynecologist in East Dallas. “We all died before our bones gave out. Now life expectancy for a woman is 86. Her bones are aging and losing calcium density and strength.”

Because women build bone mass up until the age of 29, today’s young women have the opportunity to optimize their bone health before they reach 30. This is both the good news and the bad news. Good, because it is easily understood, and bad, because young women aren’t usually concerned with their calcium intake in their teens and twenties. Worse, women in their thirties and older hear this news and assume there is nothing more they can do to improve their bone health.

“We are going to be losing bone from age 30 on. That’s going to happen,” says Dr. Schermerhorn. “But our goal is to minimize the loss. The foundations of good bone health are: adequate calcium, adequate vitamin D and adequate exercise.”

The latest findings suggest that healthy levels of estrogen are a factor in promoting healthy bones. If a woman’s menstruation is erratic, it might be a sign of low estrogen levels, which could be caused by problems with the ovaries, or even too much exercise and weight loss for athletic women. During the precious bone-building years, any disruption in a woman’s menstrual cycle merits the attention of a doctor to help ensure hormone levels are adequate.

What about estrogen supplements later in life? In 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative study caused widespread concern due to overwhelming evidence that the risks of taking hormones were greater than the benefits. Recently, doctors are re-evaluating the data. “We know it’s not good if we give hormones to the 60- and 70-year-olds, but the 50-year-olds come out pretty good,” says Dr. Schermerhorn. “If we stay with the lowest effective dose for symptom control, we can get most women through menopause so that it’s not a bad time of life.”

• Heart disease

• Cancer

• Stroke

• Respiratory diseases (bronchitis, emphysema)

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Accidents

The biggest threats to women’s health are often preventable, according to Dr. Jane Nokleberg of Walnut Hill OBGYN. “Women should be proactive and aggressive about their health, and stay attuned to changes like bloating or fatigue.” She worries that younger women are sometimes not vigilant enough about changes that might signal an early diagnosis. “Women of all ages need to do self-exams,” says Dr. Nokleberg.

Amid all the awareness of pap screens and mammograms, women shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that heart disease is still the number one threat, ahead of cancer and stroke. Dr. Jesy Joykutty of Park Lane OB/GYN Associates — A Baylor-Health Texas Affiliate says, “I like to put the emphasis on preventative health

Park Lane OB/Gyn Associates proudly announces the addition of Jesy Joykutty,