Health & Women

hormonal issues more often and many of their illnesses are related to

The list could continue, but the point is women’s health issues aren’t

For years, women died from heart attacks because doctors treated them the same as men. In the 21st century, there still is much to learn about the difference between men and women and their health issues.

Aside from the obvious differences that are celebrated, men and women experience health issues very differently. The gastrointestinal tract muscles function differently, as do the large intestine and gallbladder. Enzymes in the liver and small intestines mean men and women process medications differently. Women also deal with

More women are finding, however, that what you eat makes a difference in how you feel.

According to a recent study by Nielsen, there are four factors creating the stronger focus on clean eating: people are getting older, the number of chronic illnesses has increased, people find proper nutrition decreases health problems, and technology provides more health information.

According to Lori Esarey, MS, ARNP-C, FAARFM, ABAAH, whose practice is Total Nutrition and Therapeutics (TNT) in Lady Lake, most women come to her with these symptoms: fatigue and hormonal issues such as hot flashes, poor sleep, and irritability.

“Those who are completely frustrated with their weight feel like they’ve tried everything and still can’t control it,” Lori says. “Weight loss, constipation, and diarrhea are always interrupting their quality of life.”

Joanne M. Keller, ARNP, sees the same health issues in her practice, Women’s Health & Wellness in Mount Dora. “The complaint I hear most often is fatigue.”

Lori says she feels women are conditioned to just “suck it up,” pretend everything is fine, and put on a happy face.

“They do this until it’s so bad they have no choice but to get help, and at that point, they seek me out,” Lori says. “However, typically they’ve already spent a lot of money and time and feel even more frustrated.”

Most women find there are no easy answers for the health problems they’re facing, and it takes more than just “popping a pill” to find the good health they seek.

“We begin our consultation with a comprehensive lab functional panel,” Joanne says. “I ask them everything about themselves—what they’re eating, their stress level, where they work, and then a I do blood work. The comprehensive lab work we do is considered a functional panel, which is very different from the conventional approach. It includes genetics, inflammatory markers, hormone levels, vitamin levels, and mineral levels.”

Joanne says doctors normally do not share what the optimal levels are with lab results. “If the range is from 30 to 90, and your level is 35, you’re considered within the normal range. However, the optimal range may be 70 to 90.”

“Nutrition is vital,” Joanne says. “Food impacts the absorption of your nutrients, those vitamins and minerals that keep your body going. We do a stool test to see what you’re not absorbing. Malabsorption can be a big issue.”

She also points to the value and benefit of exercise, however, she readily states, “You can’t out-exercise a poor diet.”

Joanne goes on to say when most patients have fatigue, it’s usually because of the thyroid. “Most doctors only test the TSH, which tells you what the pituitary is doing. It doesn’t tell us what the actual thyroid is, which is the free T3,” she says.

TSH is thyroid-stimulating hormone, and free T3 is triiodothronine, the free, unbound levels of hormone thyroxine, the storage hormone.

Nan Cobb came to Joanne after seeing a number of doctors who could not diagnose what was causing her hands to crack and bleed, meaning she was unable to do simple things such as washing dishes.

“The doctor was referring me to the Mayo Clinic, but I refused,” Nan says. “I saw Joanne at Business after Hours, and she took one look at my hands and said, ‘Candida.’”

Food As Medicine

Said to be the largely unknown health epidemic, candida is a systemic fungal infection, an autoimmune disease.

“I had to be treated systemically, and I also had a leaky gut and my cortisol level was shot,” Nan says. “A lot of detoxes later—and it was a rough time—I’m eating only whole foods, and I’ve lost 100 pounds. The weight loss was a side effect. I did what I did to heal myself.”

Lori says many women put up with a variety of little things for quite a long time.

161 MILLION diabetic households spent $60.4 billion on food in 2016.

7.4 MILLION lactose-intolerant households spent $28 billion on food.

3.6 MILLION gluten negative households spent $15.4 billion on food.